OUTSTANDING DESIGN, ELEVATED EXPERIENCES
We deliver the utmost in sophisticated design and create luxury events and elevated experiences that surpass expectations. We do this with a renewed focus on sustainability, partnering with vendors and resources that have our blue planet in mind.
The result?
At your event, you shine.
OUR PROCESS
We bring together the perfect team of magic makers for each project we undertake and make it our business to lead our clients to greatness. We’re positioned at the nexus of a wide web of collaborators and tap our resources in just the right way for each client.
When the right people connect
and sparks start to fly,
anything can happen.
"Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.”
- Elizabeth Gilbert
OUR TEAM
Michaella Holden
CHIEF EXPERIENCE OFFICER
"Ideas are pure potential...
Turning them into reality?
That's what's most exciting."
Michaella's experience as an event planner & experiential marketing strategist spans over 20 years. Her work has brought her across the United States from L.A. to New York and globally from Barcelona, Spain, to Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Throughout her career she’s served nationally recognized clients such as Carnegie Hall, Cartier, The Metropolitan Opera, ELLE Magazine, Target, and the NFL, among others. She holds a BA from Barnard College at Columbia University and an MPA from New York University; and lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children.
Rhea O'Connor
EXPERIENTIAL CREATIVE DIRECTOR
"I do what I love and I love what I do."
Creativity, collaboration, and joy are at the heart of everything Rhea delivers. She is passionate about creating experiences for people that create lasting and positive impressions. Exceeding expectations is her speciality.
Rhea has a background in design, event production, project management, and marketing. She holds a BS in Visualization from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, has spent five years working in digital marketing in London and working for top companies in Minnesota, London, and New York.
Jamie Goldberg
DESIGNER
Jamie enjoys using her graphic design skills to help bring stories to life. She loves collaborating with other design thinkers in order to create memorable experiences for different clients. Jamie appreciates how every design process is different and she is driven to create end results that are meaningful and inspiring.
Nikki Zwolski
EVENTS & EXECUTIVE COORDINATOR
Nikki has experience in many facets of coordinating and supports all aspects of the events we produce. With a background in the arts, styling, and events, she is passionate about details and the creative process. Nikki has traveled the world as a professional dancer and brings a disciplined approach to her work.
OUR VALUES
1.) SERVE WITH ELEVATED HOSPITALITY
We serve our clients at the highest level and we recognize that hospitality must extend to everyone we interact with, including vendors, colleagues, and competitors. We exhibit compassion, kindness, and integrity for everyone with whom our paths cross.
2.) CROSS EVERY “T” AND DOT EVERY “I”
We hold our work to the highest standards of excellence, paying close attention to deliver superior quality, and striving for a unique level of professionalism that captures and delivers upon every minute detail.
3.) CREATE A SENSE OF WHIMSICAL DELIGHT
We recognize that joy often comes from the playfully unexpected and we strive to maintain a culture of merriment while creating charming wonder for our clients and guests.
4.) SUSTAIN OUR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET
We value sustainability in all forms — for our planet, for each other, and for ourselves. We keep our blue planet in mind with every choice that we make and we honor our need for balance within our lives and in those of the people with whom we work.
OUR STORY
We believe events can be awesome and awe-inspiring without wreaking havoc on the planet. Sadly, that’s not how our industry works right now. Events are second only to the construction industry in terms of the amount of waste they produce.
We founded Lucent Blue Events to change that. But our story actually begins 30 years ago, when our founder Michaella Holden created a children’s birthday party service with her best friend. Their little business lasted only a few years, but Michaella was hooked. Helping others to celebrate grew into a passion and she’s never looked back.
Michaella studied theater in college. She opted for a directing thesis, recognizing that directing a play is not all that different from directing an event. After volunteering at fundraising galas for the New York City Ballet and the Save Venice Foundation, she knew she had found her calling.
She cut her teeth planning benefit events for a small arts nonprofit, moved on to direct events at NYU’s Wagner School, and eventually landed at the famed David Stark Design and Production, where she produced events ranging from the Opening Night Galas for Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera, to the fashion week launch party for Prabal Gurung’s collaboration with Target. She eventually also worked on luxury weddings and private corporate events for celebrity event planners Marcy Blum and Bronson Van Wyck – projects that took her from Miami to Vail, to Dubrovnik and beyond.
Producing events from a dynamic office in New York City was always exciting, always hard work, and yes, sometimes quite glamorous. But it could also be heartbreaking at times. Pop-up shops would result in dumpster loads of garbage when they were over. Some venues in New York didn’t even recycle (imagine all the bottles and cans produced when a bar is serving thousands of people…). So when Michaella returned to her home state of Minnesota, she set out to start a company that would put sustainability at the core of its practice, without sacrificing on luxury. And thus, Lucent Blue Events was born.
"Luxury is in each detail."
- Hubert de Givenchy