Inspiring Conversations with Deb Hull of Events of a Lifetime Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deb Hull.

Hi Deb , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In the Beginning
Events of a Lifetime Productions burst on the scene 10 years ago when Gillian Marto founded the company and began producing over-the-top luxury weddings including a destination wedding in Jamaica, the country of her birth, for a famous model that was featured in the press. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Gillian moved to Atlanta at 17 to study fashion design and eventually married, had two children, and became a U.S. citizen!

Serendipity on the Sand: The Evolution of Present Day ELP

Enter Debra (Deb) Hull. Gillian met her biz partner, heart friend, and ELP’s Vice President on a beach in Florida. Originally from Ohio, Ms. Hull had lived in the Hilton Head area for over 20 years and had recently moved to Roswell with her husband and three kids.

Gillian and Deb’s children attended the same school in Roswell. They had each heard of the other, but it wasn’t until a trip to Florida for their children’s Spring break, Gillian and Deb spent an afternoon together with their toes in the sand and bonded instantly over creativity, connection and a people-first commitment. While Gillian excelled in logistics and design, Deb was a seasoned, corporate branding and marketing strategist who served as the Director of Marketing for an International solid-state laser company and expanded into corporate consulting for many industry leaders. Gillian had the desire to expand ELP into the corporate market and the women decided that if given the chance, they would partner to make it happen. That fall hotel giant IHG came to them with a project- produce their annual health benefits roll-out. The women reimagined the event into a branded experiential day of Health and Wellness, “IHG’s Well-Being Your Way” incorporating healthy cooking demonstrations, gourmet coffee bars, fashion shows, wellness speakers, music, yoga, massage, and biometrics all in tandem with the Insurance companies’ trade show. The result was not only high employee attendance, but accolades and many Atlanta events awards. The two women have never looked back. Today Events of a Lifetime Productions is a certified women-owned, award-winning boutique experiential design & marketing agency headquartered in Atlanta with outposts in Sarasota Florida and Beaufort South Carolina. Since 2015 they have crafted everything from culturally rich luxury destination weddings and multi-day multi- cultural wedding productions to 600 guest corporate incentive trips and 1500 guest holiday celebrations to non-profit programs for 500 school children to CEO retreats, themed galas, and strategically designed charity and fund-raising event experiences. They specialize in signature health and wellness retreats and custom-designed events for venues to drive engagement and revenue. Their signature? Unexpected, sensory-driven events and installations that aren’t just visually arresting–they’re behaviorally strategic, aligned with brand identity and measurable client outcomes. Each ELP event is tailor-made to client identity and objectives and they have a track record of WOW moments and measurable results. Their successful partnership and commitment to innovation AND results has resulted in a multitude of industry awards from event giants like BizBash, the Atlanta Allie Awards, Modern Luxury Diamond Awards and more. Their signature, experiential projects have been covered extensively in the press. “We don’t just plan events,” explained Ms. Hull. “We create stories that resonate emotionally and align with our clients.” “That’s how we cultivate unforgettable moments,” added Ms. Marto.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As with anything worth doing, and doing extremely well, the growth and success of ELP hasn’t come without challenges and sacrifices. Deb and Gillian are truly the “secret sauce” behind ELP. From the earliest days right up until today, both women are in the trenches– personally overseeing every detail from design to decor to logistics. They have driven U-hauls, washed silverware and even fought off a pesky alligator! “When you hire ELP you get Gillian and Deb,” smiled Gillian. “We have a very small core team that oversees everything, assuring our brand commitment to innovation and excellence is always achieved,” added Deb.

The Covid Curveball
When the pandemic hit, the entire events industry came to a standstill. It was unprecedented-emotionally, logistically, and financially. But given these two women’s personalities and drive, they used the time to shift into creative overdrive. They pivoted in the following ways:
1. Shifting to virtual experiences. They even designed creative care packages that were mailed to those who could not travel to weddings or events to make them feel a part of the special occasions.
2. Reimagined Intimate Gatherings: As micro-weddings, outdoor events and back yard soirees became the norm, ELP embraced the challenge- elevating small-scale events into sensory, unforgettable experiences.
3. Invested in R & D. Deb and Gillian used the downtime to explore wellness-driven event trends and sustainability- insights that now fuel their Signature post-pandemic offerings.
4. Expanded their footprint: Covid gave Deb and Gillian the space to plan expansion into new markets- ultimately setting up shop in Sarasota/Longboat Key and Beaufort, SC. Not going to lie- it was really hard, but Gillian and Deb never let go of WHY they started:
To celebrate connection
To celebrate the human experience
To make memories that matter.
As they leaned into the relationships with their clients and vendor partners, the emotional investment paid off in loyalty- when events came back- so did their clients.
Today, those experiences have resulted in a more resilient, strategic agency delivering more immersive, emotionally resonant experiences in a tech-driven world hungry for real connection.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
What ELP Does & Who They Serve:
ELP is a full-service experiential design and marketing agency which delivers everything from corporate events, incentive trips, C-suite retreats, and trade shows, to branded galas, charity and fund-raising events, marketing pop-ups, signature Health & Wellness Retreats, Luxury Milestone Events, Branded Events to drive Venue revenue, and community art installations and festivals. We also accept a limited number of luxury destination and multi-cultural weddings each year. ELP is pleased to white label for corporations becoming their “secret weapon” collaborating with in-house planners, HR managers, marketing and development executives to bring the latest state-of-the art design and talent to create milestone meetings, sales launches, season-openers, incentives and C-suite retreats.

What ELP is Known For:
Together Gillian and Deb are pioneers of bold, experiential touches like Branded, Live Hand Walls, Champagne Vending Machines, Character-driven Strolling Tables, Flower Trucks, even immersive cultural elements.
ELP has a reputation for the “un usual”— not just unusual– shareable, viral event moments that drive marketing and PR efforts. The ELP aesthetic is stylish, strategic, yet rooted in intentional outcomes- where design aligns exactly with brand goals.

What Sets ELP Apart:
1.A Woman-Owned, Award-Winning Boutique Agency with deep branding and marketing DNA–Deb as strategist, Gillian as Design Visionary.
2.True end-to-end Customization- Every event is tailor-made to client identity and objectives.
3. A Track Record of Measurable Results: Client reviews like “Thank you for the amazing incentive trip. We have been trying to achieve this corporate culture for years.”

Here’s What Gillian and Deb Would Like You to Know about ELP:
1. Connection through Experience: In today’s Tech-heavy world, we craft moments that foster genuine human interaction.
2. Strategic Creativity: ELP Events are built with brand-first thinking–every sensory detail, activation, and interaction aligns with deeper goals.
3. Scale Without Compromise: Whether it’s an intimate Fund-Raising Dinner or a 600-Attendee Conference, every guest feels personally addressed.
4. Innovation is Non-Negotiable: No matter what we do, we will always consistently elevate the unexpected.
5. Results Driven: We pride ourselves on delivering emotional impact AND ROI- clients leave Wowed and meeting their metrics.
6. It’s personal. We are proud to say that our clients have become our friends. The relationship drives trust, loyalty and the courage to think “outside of the box.”

WE would LOVE the opportunity to work with you! Let’s chat. 770.595.9115

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Our Bibles!

We also love the Gather Geeks Podcast by BizBash.
Passion & Purpose Podcast by Louie and Shelly Giglio
Next with Tiger 21 Podcast

Also newsletters from David Adler (GatheringPoint.News) and Julius Solaris. Our own ELP Newsletter “The Edit”

Books:
Let Them: Mel Robbins
Unreasonable Hospitality: Will Guidara
Big Magic: Elizabeth Gilbert
The Art of Gathering: Priya Parker

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.EventsofaLifetimeProductions.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/EventsofaLifetime
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/EventsofaLifetimeProductions
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/events-of-a-lifetime/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/eventsofalifetime762
• Other: https://pinterest.com/EventofaLifetimeProductions