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The Wedding Biz


Jan 27, 2020

Creating events for international clientele is Alejandra Poupel’s realm of expertise. Alejandra is the owner of Alejandra Poupel Events based out of Paris. She caterers to an international clientele, all of whom have different expectations based on their cultural perspective. Listen in as they chat about her early position at Christie’s, taking a pause to raise her daughters, and how she made the transition from art to event planning and design.

Event planning to Alejandra means providing each client with a tailor-made event crafted just for them. She is multicultural and can speak six languages, which helps her to understand different cultures when working internationally. As examples, Alejandra shares a story about some of her biggest middle-eastern weddings.

The fashion industry sets the trends when it comes to the decor at an event. Alejandra’s goal is to create an event that has a theatrical point of view, meaning a beginning, middle, and end. She chats about some of the over-the-top requests, she has received, and how she does everything in her power to accommodate her clients.

Alejandra often works at chateaus and monuments, each with their own unique set of complexities. She speaks about creating events for international corporations and how, even though she only has three full-time employees, she and her team are still able to handle significant events. 

Listen in as Alejandra explains the challenges she faces when planning weddings in exotic locations, where she believes the destination wedding industry will be in five years, and why your reputation is everything. 

Show Highlights:

[01:45] Andy welcomes Alejandra Poupel to the show.

[02:08] Alejandra chats about her upbringing, meeting the love of her life and moving to France.

[02:59] Where did Alejandra find her passion for event planning?.

[03:54] Learn how working at the famous Christie’s Auction House influenced her future career.

[07:03] Hear why raising her daughters resulted in her pausing her career.

[08:58] Alejandra shares how she started in corporate events.

[10:25] Alejandra tells us that an event has to be tailor-made for different cultures and different clients.

[11:46] She speaks six different languages, which comes in handy while planning international events.

[13:00] Alejandra says that with some of her clients’ cultures, she has to find a balance between the older traditional parents and the younger brides and grooms.

[14:07] How have you been able to work in all of these different cultures?

[15:10] Alejandra shares an example of a middle eastern wedding, which has an element of a fashion show and is all women.

[20:16] They discuss how the fashion industry sets the trend for event decor.

[22:22] Alejandra speaks about creating a theatrical experience when doing an event.

[23:59] She shares a story about an event where they designed a custom rose just for the client.

[25:34] Can you tell us about an over-the-top request you have received from a client?

[27:35] Alejandra speaks about the challenges she faces with the events she plans.

[29:28] She gives us an idea of the kind of rules and regulations she must follow when working in chateaus and monuments.

[31:45] Can you tell us a story about a challenge that you had to overcome when working with clients with exotic tastes?

[35:31] Alejandra chats about creating events for international corporate clients.

[37:56] She talks about using freelancers to help her three full-time employees when they are needed.

[39:29] The six languages she speaks are Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Arabic.

[40:38] How did you balance raising your daughters and work when starting your business?  

[42:15] Alejandra tells us about the topics she speaks about at conferences and why she loves being around her peers talking about the industry.

[46:25] Where do you see yourself in five years? Are destination weddings going to continue to grow?

[49:42] Alejandra says that success is her family. It is also waking up every morning being happy and having an excellent reputation.

[51:06] Thank you so much for being on the show!

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Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment 

www.KushnerEntertainment.com

Find Alejandra:

Alejandra Poupel

@alejandrapoupelevents

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Mentioned:

Lynn Easton Part 1 on The Wedding Biz

Lynn Easton Part 2 on The Wedding Biz