Wedding Industry Unites for Ukrainian Humanitarian Effort

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Aug 25, 2022, 08:49 ET

TEANECK, N.J., Aug. 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As owner of a wedding industry leader, Brian Lawrence has welcomed interns into his professional life. Not long ago Lawrence was reviewing applications and came across one from Maryna Poberezhna of Ukraine who had applied just two days before the Russian invasion.

Brian Lawrence - organizing a wedding industry effort to raise money for Ukraine

Maryna at an arboretum at her home town in Ukraine

Lawrence wanted to help Poberezhna. But beyond her immediate needs, he wanted to do more. "I wanted to do something meaningful to help the people of Ukraine and started a Facebook group," explained Lawrence. "I invited other industry leaders to brainstorm together on humanitarian efforts." Through his website design and SEO firm for the wedding industry, Lawrence has extensive contacts in the United States.

Wedding Industry Leaders for a Better World is a who's who of influencers with substantial connections to business owners who are part of this $57 billion commerce. And those owners work with couples who are part of the 2.5 million weddings performed each year in the US.

One of Lawrence's top allies is famed wedding industry speaker and foremost expert Alan Berg. Joining Berg are well known wedding industry podcaster Brandee Gaar and Richard Markel, founder of Association for Wedding Professionals International.

Venues are typically the first stop for wedding planning and their owners and managers have deep roots in their local wedding communities. Both Ershad Zamani, a developer of virtual tours for top wedding venues and Abed Elsamna and Hassan Mahmoud, co-founders of wedding planning app VenueX, are key members of the Facebook group.

John Goolsby, state coordinator for the Association of Bridal Consultants in California, is also part of the group. Goolsby is also a well-known wedding industry speaker and heralded videographer. And Jessica Lehry Bishop has a wide outreach with wedding couples through her blog The Budget Savvy Bride.

Lawrence also called upon his contacts in the wedding entertainment industry. Keith Kokoruz has extensive business-to-business contacts with DJs and photo booth owners as producer of The Marquee trade show. And Matthew Campbell, owner of My Wedding Songs, is the creator of a website used by thousands of wedding couples and industry pros alike.

The goal is for these industry influencers to spread the word about the relief effort to other wedding professionals. They, in turn, can promote the cause to their clients. Wedding Industry Leaders for a Better World has designated Nova Ukraine for its online crowdfunding efforts. Plans are also in the works for raising awareness and funds through wedding education conferences, trade shows, and industry associations.

To learn more about Wedding Industry Leaders for a Better World, contact Lawrence at 201.244.5969 or email [email protected].

SOURCE Brian Lawrence