The Truth Behind Celebrity Events

by Max Tiu, September 2016 Contrary to popular belief, famous people are not hard to please as long as you deliver quality service and pay close attention to details. After all, celebrities are just like us who simply want their milestones to be celebrated in style. That being said, competent suppliers are needed to make their special events memorable. As a supplier who has done a few celebrity events, local and international alike, I do not consider myself an expert, rather, just someone who is blessed enough to have experienced working with them.   Fortunately, the ones whom I have done work for are sweet, kind and considerate. They were not unreasonable and ruthless brats like how the media portray most of them to be. One of the incidents I remember vividly is when a bride mentioned in one of our planning sessions that she wanted a certain look for the event styling. The then groom-to-be responded lovingly, “Hon, that is way beyond our budget”. Expecting her to argue her case and get her way, I was pleasantly surprised when she said in a humble manner, “I understand. What if we do this instead… ”, then proceeded to her next option which was less costly.   This made me think… the media had painted her image as a rich spoiled brat, but nothing could be farther from the truth. This brings me to my next realization. I used to believe that celebrities, especially famous ones, are never concerned with budget constraints. I always thought issues like that are reserved for mere mortals like us. But I guess in times like this,...

An Interview with Max Tiu: Following Your Passion

by EntrepNegosyo, December 2013 Article Source: http://www.entrepnegosyo.com/Blog-Content/an-interview-with-max-tiu-following-your-passion Max Tiu has been in the events industry for over 16 years, beginning his career in hosting and singing way back in the late nineties. Who would have thought that performing in events could be enterprising? In fact, he left his stable job in Makati to go full time in this endeavor, which wasn’t even particularly high in demand around that time. “I started singing and hosting in weddings, debuts and birthday events in the Filipino-Chinese community”, says the trilingual host who is known for his good command of the English, Mandarin (including Fukien- a Chinese dialect) and Filipino languages. “The experience I gained in the corporate world helped a lot in developing my professionalism. In fact, I was the very first Filipino-Chinese emcee to come up with contracts for my services, at a time when verbal agreements were all that was needed to close a deal”. Over the years, Max Tiu has successfully crossed over to social events for Filipinos both local and overseas, foreign nationals, even corporate events landing him jobs with the likes of Reader’s Digest Asia, Globe Telecom, and various special events for five star hotels like the Edsa Shangri-La Manila, Mandarin Oriental Manila, Solaire Resort and Casino, Resort’s World Manila, amongst others. “I never thought that emceeing and singing would bring me this far. All I wanted was to perform, as I cannot imagine life without music”. As most Filipino-Chinese emcees are required to sing, Max Tiu is one of the very few who can really sing and deliver an impactful performance. Having been blessed with a rich...