Jo-Anne Brown of Celebrations stands next to a variety of themed Christmas items in her Enchanted Store

By Mwangi Ngamate
Mwangi@caymannetnews.com

Prominent local events planner, Jo-Anne Brown, has announced plans to enter the world of publishing, with titles “Jo-Anne Brown Wedding Collections”, along with her first book “Caribbean Wedding Style”, early next year.

A market leader in event management in the Cayman Islands, Ms Brown’s company, Celebrations, is in the process of developing the manuscript for the wedding collections.

“We are still in the early stages of producing the book, which will largely be a pictorial, and we are currently assembling all the event and wedding pictures that will be used. Once that is complete, we will focus on finalising the manuscript,” executive assistant at Celebrations, Juliette Heath, noted.

“We have yet to decide on a publisher, but have had a lot of interest for the book, including the Canadian Wedding Association, which wants to pre-order their copies.”

Speaking during the Christmas Open House and Customer Appreciation Evening held at the Mirco Centre on Wednesday, 28 October, Ms Brown also noted that Celebrations is celebrating its 16th anniversary of operation. The company will be giving a special offer for the entire month of November to those who purchase roses.

“This is our 16th year in business – our “Sweet 16 Year” – and we will be celebrating for the entire month of November with an offer of purchasing 16 roses for the price of 12 and in-store special offers all month long,” she said.

In reviewing the current year, Ms Brown said one highlight was being asked to participate in the Engage 09 Something Blue Wedding Symposium held at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman, which featured some the biggest names in the international wedding industry.

Seventy-five luxury wedding professionals from across the world met for three days to attend the business symposium.

Ms Brown was given the honour of being one of the key speakers, as well as lead designer for the final evening Gala Dinner.

“We got great international exposure, as a result of which we are working on some incredible new ventures that will be announced early next year.

“We used it (the symposium) as an avenue to network, share stories and gain inspiration from the best of the best in the wedding industry,” Ms Brown explained.

She has also been invited to the Turks & Caicos Islands this month to speak at the 5th Annual Wedding Conference of Canadian Wedding Planners.

During the grand opening ceremony on Wednesday night, invited guests received discounts of up to 25 per cent on all items in the Enchanted Store. Prizes were also given throughout the night, courtesy of the Marriott, the Wharf, the Ritz, and the Westin and Hemingway’s.

The entrepreneur noted that Celebrations’ inventory of Christmas trees this year were more beautiful than ever, and ranged from traditional to contemporary.

“As always, we have everything you need to dress your own or let us do it for you,” she noted.

“We are hoping to arrange a Christmas family fun day for the last weekend in November where children will be able to meet and have their picture taken with Santa, among other activities,” Ms Heath added.

Special Olympics Cayman Islands was the recipient of all proceeds raised from Celebrations’ Annual Wreath raffle.

Ms Brown thanked all participating partners who worked with Celebrations throughout the year, among them included: Kate Allenger (violinist), Vivendi for an unbelievable performance, Intec Sound & Lighting for their hard work and continued support, 7 Fathoms Rum, CayBrew, Cayman Corker, Mixmaster DJ of Krystal Entertainment and Azzurro, who did the catering that evening.