Alison Laesser-Keck
director of events & creative
Alison is a fifth generation Californian and Bay Area/Napa/Santa Barbara native who has produced 400+ weddings, from exquisite gatherings in private estates to massive weekend to week-long productions in destinations globally. Armed with a degree in counseling and twenty-five years in hospitality, she's a quintessential "people person" and a true left brain/right brain split. In 2008, after a decade in the restaurant and bar industry, she branched out on her own to follow a dream - the rest, as they say, is history. When she isn’t working (this is rare!), she dorks out on finance and wellness podcasts, and enjoys traveling and celebrating whenever possible.
Favorite travel spot: anywhere new
Bryan Keck
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & TRAVEL
Bryan has been in hospitality for 25 years, working for a James Beard-award winning restaurateur in Seattle prior to joining forces with Alison in 2011. As the head of operations, he oversees the endless amount of “back of house” logistics involved in global event production and travel management, although his real superpower is how he makes people feel. He is our team translator, speaking conversational Spanish, Italian and French, and a proud Midwest native whose entire career has involved taking care of people. He loves hockey, the beach, the gym, a solid negroni, and working with his wife (his wife wrote this).
favorite travel spot: roma, always roma
Our Story is Rooted in a Shared Love of Hospitality, Travel, and People
We met in a bar; more specifically, working in a bar. It was the end of the summer and our lives were headed in different directions (Bryan to San Francisco and Alison to Chicago). A long-distance relationship immediately ensued; our first real date while on a cross-country road trip en route to be together. We’ll celebrate sixteen years of marriage and twenty-one years together this summer.
We've lived up and down the California coast, in cities throughout the Pacific Northwest and Midwest, and even had lengthy stints in Vancouver, BC, and in various parts of Southeast Asia. When we’re not 'on the road,' we split our time between San Francisco and a pied-à-terre in Austin (there’s no better BBQ). Our work takes us throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as to North, Central, and South America; we average 50 flights a year. We credit this vast and diverse experience—not just in travel but in truly immersing ourselves in these destinations—as a critical component of the success of our events. We look for clients who value a collaborative, trusting, and fun relationship with their planners, culminating in something rare and special. We realized a long time ago that the aesthetics of an event only go so far, and it’s how we make you and your guests feel that has the lasting impact. For more about us, check out a recent podcast interview below. Thanks for thinking of our team!