Second wedding? This Manhattan Beach company has two gift ideas

Marc Conneely, president of Maroxx Luxury Lifestyle Products in Manhattan Beach, loves weddings.

“A wedding brings family together,” he said. “It’s a fun place to be.”

But, he notes one aspect of attending a wedding that is less than enjoyable—finding the right wedding gift. With Maroxx, which Conneely began in 2016, he hopes to change all that.

“My inspiration for starting the business was the fact that 2.3 million people get married in the U.S. every year. Almost fifty percent of those couples are getting married for a second time, and that can make picking out the right present even more difficult,” said Conneely.

Conneely was approached by a friend attending just such a wedding, who had no idea what to get the happy couple.

“My logic behind Maroxx is that a gift must be unusual, useful, lasting and hopefully be a constant reminder of the person who gave it,” he notes.

“I started thinking about the gap in the marketplace for special wedding gifts. People would always say ‘I have no idea what to get them,’” he said. “I came up with the idea for two special products. We have the Maroxx stainless steel double insulated ice bucket and stand, and the Maroxx nylon picnic backpack for two people.”

Conneely explains that these two items were standouts for him initially not because of a marriage, but because of his own divorce.

“The only two items I took with me were an ice bucket with stands and an old-fashioned wicker picnic basket,” he said.

But his own variation on these items as a wedding gift improves these classics.

“Our stainless steel double insulated ice bucket and stand has a stunning design, looks fantastic even when empty. Insulated means no dripping condensation,” said Conneely. “I was in the Savoy Hotel in London, they had a wonderful looking ice bucket, but the waiter had to come and change the ice bucket because it was dripping. I thought, wait a minute, even the Savoy has ice buckets that drip. I was looking for eighteen months to find a wonderfully designed ice bucket and stand with no condensation, and I found it.”

Conneely’s other Maroxx product, the black nylon picnic backpack for two, is equally special.

“It was created by the Maroxx South Bay design team; it’s ideal for a picnic, at the beach, concert or living room floor,” he said. “It has cutlery, glasses, even a cheese cutting board, and along with the food area, there is an area where you can keep three bottles. The backpack comes with a 25-oz. water or juice bottle, and then there is room for two bottles of wine. That should be right for the Hollywood Bowl or Polliwog Park.”

According to Conneely, a former TV executive, both products are designed to last a lifetime.

The entrepreneur grew up in Ireland and was raised in England, where he got his start as a wedding DJ/emcee. He spent nearly a decade leading honeymoon travel tours across Europe. Later, in 1990, Conneely said he negotiated the deal to make MTV the first Western network to broadcast in the former Soviet Union. After leading Wedding TV for six years and three years as president of MTV China, Conneely moved to the U.S. in 2010.

“I thought I would be here for just a short period of time, but the talent one can come across here, I was blown away. If I want media sales or marketing, it’s all around this area, and there are so many ways to find people to work with you,” he states. “Being in the South Bay, we have Silicon Beach around the corner really, and the cutting edge of IT and social media. There’s no better place to be, and it rains a lot less than in London,” he laughs.

Maroxx Luxury Lifestyle Products are available at Maroxx.com and on Amazon.