Event planner to bring extravagant experiences to Longboat Key

Whether you want to organize a work retreat in a pyramid with descendants of Mayan warriors or hold a charity gala with a release of 1,000 live butterflies, Gillian Marto knows how to plan it.

New Longboat resident Marto is bringing her award-winning event planning business, Events of a Lifetime Productions, to Longboat. She is eager to start forming a community here on the island and getting the party started.

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“The most challenging event I ever planned was when this company hired us to do their incentive trip in Mexico,” said Marto. “So we took 1,000 people. It was five days. Our welcome night event was in a pyramid that was five or six levels. Each level, we had a different experience. One level was a tequila tasting, one was cigar rolling. One of the levels had authentic Mayan warriors from the region. It was crazy and so much work but so successful and worth it.”

Marto moved to Atlanta, Georgia, from Jamaica when she was 17 to study fashion design and merchandising. After working in the fashion industry for years, she became a stay-at-home mom and started to dip her toes into hosting parties. 

“People always said to me, ‘You need to be an event planner,’ because I would host big extravagant house parties all the time,” said Marto. “So when my kids started to get older, I went to work for an event planner to see if I enjoyed it and I fell in love.”

Marto worked for different event planning companies, planning bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs and weddings. Nine years ago, she started Events of a Lifetime Productions with her business partner, Debra Hull. Marto is the president of the company with their headquarters being in Atlanta. 

Marto’s company plans a variety of events from destination weddings, extravagant corporate conferences, and charity galas. Their goal with every event is to provide an unforgettable experience that you can’t get anywhere else.

“We are very adept at designing custom one-of-a-kind grand openings and pop-up events like an 'Alice in Wonderland'-themed Mother's Day High Tea for hotels and luxury restaurants,” said Marto. “We also have a niche in luxury cars, having produced events for Bentley and Ferrari. We also have been honored to be asked to create experiences and social events for area yachts. Deb and I both love to be on boats so we hope to do more of those as well. Truthfully, I am really looking forward to bringing our talents to our new friends and community.” 

Marto was named Atlanta Event Industry’s “Rising Star” and recognized as one of Best Self Atlanta’s “40 over 40 Stand-Out Women.” She was also featured as one of Atlanta’s dynamic women by Modern Luxury.

Marto moved to Longboat Key in December 2022. She recently planned her first event in the area, “Music That Matters.” This event was a donor season kickoff party for the Van Wezel Foundation.

“Our goal is to listen to our clients all the time and then take what they want and give it as a unique experience,” said Marto. “People are so used to the same cookie cutter events, where you eat a chicken dinner, sit and talk. But, we wanted them to have very experiential feelings. I wanted them to have all their senses touched. We focus on that experience where the guests would walk away and already be thinking about how they can come back. That's the key to doing these events. It's not just to have a party, it's a party with a purpose.”