Success is not about the destination, but rather the journey.” Listen as Andy and his guest, Zainab Alsalih, Founder and Managing Director of Carousel Events, a bespoke event design and wedding planning company based in Dubai, discuss the way Abi sees and photographs a wedding, his need to find the love-story with his clients and the importance of good visuals plus much more on this episode of The Next Level.  Abi is the Founder and CEO of Malekfoto Films and Malekfoto Weddings. Abi is a two-time Emmy-winning cinematographer, filmmaker, photographer, public speaker, and two time Telly Award winner. His wedding visuals have attracted over 60 million viewers around the world. Zainab shares how attuned to his couple’s love story that Abi always is, the way he is involved through the whole process, and why knowing how the planners are designing the decor and lighting, for the event, helps give him the best visuals. They also speak about his use of storyboarding when preparing to shoot an event.

Listen, as Zainab and Andy speak about Abi’s definition of success and how he believes that it’s not just about the wedding day itself but also about the journey to the event that’s important.  Abi is very dedicated to telling each couple’s love story through photographs and film. He thinks of each event like a cinematographer, with the couples as the stars and the guests as the supporting cast.  Don’t forget to listen to Andy’s new podcast, The Music Makers. It’s a podcast about behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most influential music industry pros around including artists, recording engineers, record producers, songwriters, managers, record industry executives, and more. You can find The Music Makers podcast by searching for it in your cell phone’s podcast app or by going to www.themusicmakers.com . 

SUPPORTING THE WEDDING BIZ Become a patron and Andy and the show: For as little as $6 per month, or $0.75 per episode, are you willing to support the industry insights Andy brings on his podcast? If you are so inspired: contribute.

Show Highlights:

[01:06] Welcome to the show, Zainab!

[02:04] Zainab discusses how Abi views a wedding when he is filming.

[03:14] Zainab shares that Abi is quite attuned to the love story between his couples.

[04:25] She likes how Abi gets to know his couples, how it will be designed, decorated, and the lighting, so he knows how he will portray the event.

[06:07] Abi likes to storyboard a wedding, which is something neither Andy nor Abi has seen before.

[09:51] Visuals are extremely important in today’s world, when people go to social media to find you.

[10:43] Zainab discusses Abi’s definition of success.

[11:42] “It’s really not about the wedding day itself as much as the journey to that day.”

[12:46] Thank you so much for being on the show!

Links & Resources:

Follow The Wedding Biz on Social:  The Wedding Biz The Wedding Biz on Instagram: @theweddingbiz The Wedding Biz on Facebook: @theweddingbiz Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment Support The Wedding Biz by clicking here.   Find Abi: Malekfoto Weddings Malekfoto Films @malekfotoweddings Instagram | Facebook Inner Conflict Documentary   This Week’s Guest Co-Host, Zainab Al Salih, Founder and Managing Director of Carousel Events Zainab Al Salih Carousel Wedding Planner and Event Design @carousel_weddings_events Instagram | Pinterest