Legendary event planning expertise at your service™.

Roots. Experience. Integrity. Connections. Soul .

 

Founder & Lead Planning Consultant for Santa Barbara Wine Country Weddings & Events Kerry Lee (née Dickey) Doehr is also the founder of Engaging Inspiration, a consultancy dedicated to the special event and hospitality industry.   As a third-generation Santa Barbaran, she has made a name for herself in her local events community that has also spanned nationally.

…..the foundation…

Kerry Lee  got her start in the events industry as a Special Events and Public Relations Coordinator for Nordstrom and later as a Director of Catering and Events for the hospitality industry. Over the last 20 years, she has planned over 800 weddings, 1,000 corporate events and trained and certified wedding & event professionals from all over the world including individuals from Hyatt, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton and more in an event & hospitality certification training program she co-wrote and co-founded serving on retainer as the Vice President of Training and Marketing for the Academy of Special Event Professionals (ASEP).

…..other career highlights…

  • Featured speaker for entities ranging from ILEA, NACE, HSMAI Washington DC and Santa Barbara Event Professionals to the annual 14,000 person international ARA Conference in Las Vegas, as well as addressing a  Crown Plaza General Manager’s Retreat.
  • Exclusive on-retainer corporate event planner to the original “horse whisperer” himself, Monty Roberts, handling his corporate event program and upscale destination international corporate clientele including Mercedes Benz, Verizon, and more at his Flag is Up Farms ranch (also called “Whispering Rose Ranch” for weddings) for five years.
  • Regularly featured weddings, events, and articles in leading industry publications- online and print.
  • Regularly-featured author for the industry world-renowned Special Events Magazine , where many of her articles reach the top 4 of Google News.

…..innovations…

  • In 2004, she created, produced and copyrighted an industry ground-breaking type of event: The Mobile Bridal Faire (Mobile Wedding Planning Experience) which earned her an exclusive category in the prestigious Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine, media features, television interview as well as the attention of the Texas Board of Tourism, who was interested in pursuing Kerry Lee’s concept to further their destination wedding stream for their state.
  • Created “Wine With a Wedding Planner”, a complimentary mobile wedding planning consultation held at various venues & wineries open to the public where the  location was announced via Twitter — a “pop up wedding planning service” of sorts
  • Founded & developed the Fireside Series – a “Chat Workshop Experience” for wedding planners to come together, receive valuable education, mentorship, collaborate with others, build community and network over fire and wine.
  • Established the first ever Santa Barbara Wedding Industry Summit:  “Define.  Design. Evolve” in Autumn of 2018 with a second annual one currently set for November 2019.

Throughout the years, Kerry Lee has continued to blaze new trails in the wedding and events industry and has become a trusted resource known for her professionalism, integrity and advocacy of community involvement.

…..inspired leadership foundation & varied clientele…

Kerry Lee regularly keeps up to date on executive leadership training, service standards and event trends.  All of her training to the industry includes her own 20+ years of business experience, service and marketing concepts inspired by Nordstrom, Disney Institute, Four Seasons,  Harvard Business University, as well as continual investment in professional industry and service training.  Newcomers to the wedding industry as well as clients needing expert event planning advice benefit from Kerry Lee’s years as a master event planner, and she is often seen offering master classes or private coaching to those industry professionals wanting to learn from an expert.

Kerry Lee’s event clients include couples from all over the world, a California State Senator, events involving The Secret Service and a Disney CEO. Surprisingly very few of her clients are locals- they are almost always destination weddings and come to Kerry Lee for her expert planning advice as a third-generation Santa Barbaran and deep knowledge of the unique aspects of planning an event on the American Riviera.

…..personally speaking…

Family and balance is the number one priority in Kerry Lee’s life. She resides in Santa Barbara, CA  with her family, loves traveling, staying inspired, the performing arts and staying healthy through one of her greatest passions: dance (she is also a certified dance fitness instructor getting her cardio dance on daily). She was recently accepted into Stanford University’s Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program and keeps busy with her coursework and projects which help her innovate better product and service for all clientele.

You can follow “KLD” as she’s known to friends and family on her Instagram : stories about her personal and professional life as told through photos, or drop her a line to say hello.

Update June 2022: Kerry Lee has accepted an offer from The Walt Disney Company for their Disney Parks, Experiences and Products division working at The Disneyland Resort and effective August 2022, will be in their employ.  For referrals to professional event planners, please visit our Planners of Distinction Referral Page.

Photo by Deb Kalas