The Wedding Guys are proud to announce the recipient of the third annual Bruce A. Vassar ICON Award. This award is given out annually to an event industry professional who exemplifies what it means to be an innovator and leader in the local community and showcases a dedication to philanthropic efforts.
Past recipients include Jessica Barrett, Amy Zaroff, and Maari Cedar James. For the 2023 Bruce A. Vassar ICON Award, we have chosen Lindsay Frank. This woman is a vanguard in our local industry and is someone who makes an impact on everyone she meets. She worked closely with The Wedding Guys at the start of her career and is now a known leader in Twin Cities events and beyond. Get to know more about Lindsay below as she shares her favorite moments of her career, including some incredible stories about working with Bruce.
Like many Minnesotans, Lindsay grew up on a farm in a rural community. After graduating high school in Owatonna, she attended college at the University of Wisconsin – Stout. She initially dreamed of being a bridal gown designer but soon found that this wasn’t the right route for her. She then shifted gears and changed her major to Event Management, “This led me to an Intro to Events class where I heard about ‘The Wedding Guys’ coming to campus to hold interviews for their upcoming internship for Randy to the Rescue,” Lindsay says. She was ultimately hired for this job where she met Bruce and Matthew and never looked back.
During her internship with The Wedding Guys is where she recalls her fondest memory of Bruce, “We were in San Francisco for an episode of Randy to the Rescue. We had been filming all day and were starving. Finally, around 10 PM we got to end our day and go get dinner,” Lindsay reminisces. “The restaurant we went to didn’t serve dessert. Bruce, like me, had a huge sweet tooth. He was so mad that there was no dessert that the entire walk home to our hotel he talked about how he was going back to order every dessert possible from room service when we got back.” She says they were up for hours filming so none of them thought he was serious. “The next morning when I went to his hotel room to meet for the day and there was a stack of eight dessert plates outside of this door. He had ordered every single dessert the night before. When he walked out and saw the plates still there, he said ‘S***! I was hoping those would be gone by the time you came this morning.’ We laughed so hard.”
The guidance of Bruce and Matthew throughout this position led Lindsay to where she is today. She is currently the Director of Sales and Marketing at Event Lab where she is passionate about getting to meet and work with people from all over the city, “I can go to so many venues, vendors, and client’s offices. We can host events of any size, anywhere and it has really allowed me to grow my connections in the industry,” she describes of her current role.
Working in the event industry has many benefits and for Lindsay, it’s the people, “The most rewarding part has 100% been the teams I have been on and the people I have worked with. Events are hard work and the people in the trenches with you are so important. I am so thankful for the life-long friendships that have formed. You don’t make it if you don’t have those people you can count on,” she shares.
When asked what the most memorable event she’s been part of is, she says that Make-a-Wish’s annual gala has had the most impact on her. Working for this event in multiple capacities over the years, she says “It is such a humbling feeling to know you’ve helped play a small role in Minnesota kids getting their wishes granted. You see so much hard work put in all year for one 5–6-hour event, and in return, hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised. It pushes you creatively to find ways year after year to help them reach their goals.”
Lindsay is also involved in the community in other ways, most notably with the National Association for Catering and Events (NACE). She has served on the board for the past five years which has provided the opportunity to give back to more than 25 local organizations in the community. “A lot of these experiences have been based around food and beverage. It is incredibly impactful to see what can happen when you share or prepare a meal with people – oftentimes complete strangers who are going through some of the most challenging times of their life. Dinner around a table is so good for any and all,” Lindsay states.
Over the years, Lindsay has had some inspiring role models to look up to, “First, Bruce. I would write pages and pages about his role in my career, in my NACE Board of Director position, and in life. He is someone I admired and still do, so much. I also look up to Allen Plante. He has a great burst of energy with a great reputation for high-quality work. He shows that events can be fun while still being executed professionally and to the highest service level. He is such a delight!” she says.
When thinking about current event design trends, she finds ideas and trends, like many of us, on social media. “I like to follow event companies in other cities. It is interesting to see what is trending in other markets around the country,” Lindsay goes on to say she also loves to follow food and beverage accounts. “It is amazing to see the parallels between culinary and design. I love seeing the return of bread making, and people planting gardens to grow their own produce and herbs. These ideas are presenting in design in such beautiful forms! Coastal grandmother. The return of the supper club. Backyard happy hour with homemade lemonade and fresh-cut flowers. It all plays a role in the current design trends.”
To be honored with this year’s award gives me a lot of pride. I also feel this gives me such a push to keep working hard and to keep finding ways to give back. Bruce would expect nothing less!
Though finding balance is one of the most challenging parts of being in the event industry, Lindsay has a few sage tips for managing work, life, and philanthropy. “Find a few important places to you – organizations, non-profits, client accounts, young event professionals to mentor – whatever these select few things may be.” She advises to channel your energy into those few spots and show up 100% where you can commit yourself versus trying to do it all. “You will get more out of being present in a few select places than trying to make every event industry association and networking organization your home,” she continues.
As Lindsay continues to grow in the industry, she wishes to see more collaboration and less competition, “We are truly one team at the end of the day. This city is so small, and we rely on each other so much,” she states. “My hope is to see more respect and support for each other’s work and less focus on whom we compete with. We all represent the Twin Cities event market, and it is each of our responsibility to work to better it.”
“Without Matthew and Bruce hiring me at 19, I don’t know — or want to think about —where I would be,” Lindsay says of how The Wedding Guys have impacted her career. “They taught me how to set up pipe and drape, how to use a radio when at an event (when to say ‘Go for Lindsay’), how to make trade show floor maps, and how to spot trends in the world around us. I have so much respect for both of them, especially Bruce in my years after college, who taught me so much.”
She also reminisces on a time when Bruce gave her some advice she’d take with her forever, ”In my early 20s, he told me I needed to lay off the statement necklaces from Charming Charlie. Looking back, that is probably a top-five tip from him. He had zero problems giving me fashion advice.”
Choosing Lindsay as this year’s recipient means so much to The Wedding Guys, and we are excited to honor another talented person in our community who holds a special place in our journey. Thinking about previous year’s winners, Lindsay says she looks up to these women in the industry greatly. “To be honored with this year’s award gives me a lot of pride. I also feel this gives me such a push to keep working hard and to keep finding ways to give back. Bruce would expect nothing less!”
