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Speaker Focus: Options London

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011

Oh my goodness WPE is literally days away, I can hardly contain my excitement! We hope to do some blogging during WPE but until then let me introduce you to Hannah Walter from Options London, Hannah will be presenting to the planners on Friday at 4:45pm. Options is a fabulous linen and design company in London and they will talk about how to ensure your tables don’t let the design down. Do visit their website and look at the endless table design ideas as well as their hire catalogue.

 hannah

What’s your USP?

Options provides a mixture and quality and diversity for every event.

What’s your signature dish?

A good beef wellington never fails

Do you have a favourite restaurant?

Mien Tai in Clapham Junction, a tiny Vietnamese with great service and food to match 

How would your clients describe you?

Friendly and helpful (I hope!) 

Have you ever had a challenging client and how did you deal with it?

Every day! You just have to keep a cool head and never let them know that you’re struggling…

What is your vice? 

Spending my lunch break planning my own wedding in minute detail. (I’m not even engaged)

Describe yourself in 3 words

Cheerful, motivated and good-natured.

Name one blog you follow religiously

 Garance Doré (I was lucky enough to meet her at London fashion week, starstruck doesn’t describe it) and the Academy of Culinary Arts

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Training as a Wedding Planner

Monday, January 17th, 2011

Spring dates for 2011

We still have some places on our Spring 2011 courses for both ’Business Practicalities‘, and

‘Step by Step‘. To learn more about how we can help you become a successful planner download our BROCHURE, to register complete our booking form here which will then take you to the online payment page.

We believe the most successful way to learn a new skill is by interacting with likeminded individuals which is why we only run classroom based training. Held at locations throughout the UK there should be a date and location convenient for you. We are registered by the UK Government’s Register of Learning Providers (UKRLP).

Business Practicalities
5th & 6th Feb (London)
19th & 20th Feb (Cheshire)
9th & 10th Apr (Northants)

Step by Step
26th & 27th Mar (London)
7th & 8th May (Cheshire)
21st & 22nd May (Northants)

Cost £599 (each course) Including:
VAT
Full lunch & refreshments
Concise course notes to take away with you
Certificate of attendance
Attendance logo to use in marketing materials and website
CD of useful templates to use in your new business
Get noticed - the ‘Do your own PR’ workbook (Business Practicalities)
Flower council handbook (Step by Step)

One to One Tuition
If you are unable to make one of the dates listed then you might be interested in One to One training with a tutor. Simply review the topics covered in both courses and email training@ukawp.com with your preferred selection. Prices start from £750 incl. VAT for 7 hours, additional costs for mileage or hotel meeting rooms are applicable.

How should I compare your course to others?
We appreciate you may wish to compare courses before choosing the right one for you. A few things you should ask when making enquiries:

1. Who wrote the course and is it a US or UK text?
2. Who conducts the training and what is their background/experience?
3. Can you speak with previous students for feedback?
4. Do they have other services to support you after the course has finished?

Still unsure if this is the right course for you? Contact Bernadette who can give you details of our many successful past students to clarify any grey areas.

All courses are taught by the directors of the Alliance all of whom have at least 7 years experience as wedding planners, wouldn’t you rather learn from an expert rather than from a faceless tutor?

For useful background information on entering a career in wedding planning you might like to look at Next Step

To view a video on the work of a wedding planner featuring one of our Directors, please click here

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Events 2012 Overview – 1st Quarter

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

As always the UKAWP are going to be incredibly busy with events throughout 2012 so we thought we better start telling you about some of the plans for the first few months of the year!

WPE ‘12 - Wedding Planning Excellence

WPE ‘12‘Wedding Planning Excellence’ was first established in 2009 and in essence is a training seminar for wedding planners. The directors of the UKAWP along with our members devised a specialised programme designed to inspire and educate you with your business, there are 2 days of intelligent, inspirational speakers for you to learn from.

WPE is held over 2 days Friday 2nd & Saturday 3rd March 2012 at the fabulous 51 Buckingham Gate in Central London. There will be a Friday night dinner off sire which again is optional, more details to be published on the dinner in the New Year.

UKAWP member rate - for one day £170, for both days £320 / non member rate - for one day - £180, for both days £350 / Dinner is £45

We suggest you visit the beginners guide to WPE and will leave you with just one testimonial:

Testimonial

UKAWP “did WPE inspire you for 2011?”

WPE Delegate “Hell yes - thank you” & “Yes, yes, yes”!

Training Webinars

Following our successful webinar launch in November we will be running a series of additional ones throughout 2012. The webinars will be a combination of topics designed for new planners and for more advanced learning by already established planners.  We hope that the flexibility of being able to join a webinar online will appeal to many who cannot travel easily to other training we organise or have missed a previous session.

Please keep checking our blog and website for details as and when we announce them.

Title:  ‘The basics of organising a marquee reception‘ - based on the presentation given at WPE ‘11

Tutor: Bernadette Chapman, UKAWP Director

Date: Wednesday 8th February 2012

Time: 6pm-7pm

Cost: £60

How to book your place:  go to our booking form here

Technical details:

You will need internet access with speakers and will be sent an event invitation which will require you to set up a password. At the relevant webinar time you will need to log in. You will be able to hear the tutor deliver the session as well as be able to see a slide presentation on screen. You will be able to ask questions online via a chat page. Further notes will be posted to you following your registration.

Testimonial following our “marketing your business” webinar

“I think it’s an excellent way to offer a bite-sized training course as it means it’s easily accessible. This is really important for those of us that are trying to juggle other responsibilities such as jobs or children, as it’s often difficult to get away for a full day. I really liked it that you talked around the slides/course notes rather than just reading them verbatim. The discussion gave some really valuable insights into starting your business.”

Workshops

We held various workshops in 2011 both in London and Wimslow. Topics have included: Floral Emergencies, Fixing the Bridal Dress, PR Basics

We plan to run the London workshops again from April 2012, if there are any topics you would like us to cover let us know!

In the meantime save the date for the 9th February in Manchester for a Northern PR Workshop hosted by Julia from Bridesup North

Training Courses

The successful training courses run by the UKAWP start again in February 2012.  See below for the planned dates. To find out more information, to download the brochure or indeed to book please visit our training page

Business Practicalities: 18th & 19th February (Northamptonshire) and 21st & 22nd April (London)

Step by Step: 24th & 25th March (Northamptonshire) and 19th & 20th May (London)

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Wedding intern needed for January 2011

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Kelly Chandler the Marketing & Finance Director for the UKAWP, and owner of  The Bespoke Wedding Company is delighted to be offering  a short-term unpaid internship for the new year. The details are below:  

Dates: mid January to mid February 2011 (4-5 weeks)

Days: Two days per week - must be two days of either Monday, Tuesday or Thursday.

Hours: 10am-5pm or thereabouts

Location: home-based office in East Horsley, Surrey - closest station is a 10 minute walk: Effingham Junction (40 minutes from London Waterloo); a car is a bonus but not essential.

Role: This is an opportunity to get to know the workings of a typical busy and experienced wedding planner’s small office but with a focus on a very specific IT/marketing project. It would suit somebody who has a passion for business and marketing as well as wedding planning itself; it may well suit a recent student of the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners. The candidate must have exceptional IT skills and be very confident in working with blogs, Twitter and other social media as well as have an ability to resize photos, prepare slide shows, work with an Ipad etc.  A confident, self motivated candidate with exceptional communication skills  is required. An eye for the luxurious and the creative is essential as is attention to the finer details.

Apply: Please apply in the first instance with a covering email about why you would be suitable and CV to weddings@thebespokeweddingco.com. If shortlisted you will be contacted and a suitable face to face or phone interview arranged asap.

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Stay Motivated

Friday, November 26th, 2010

Working as a wedding planner can be at times isolating with hours spent doing internet research or making phone calls. You might be wondering why the phone isn’t ringing and why you don’t have enough bookings for the following year.

Many planners now talk with each other on a daily basis via twitter  which is great for building up close relationships. The downside however is you can get disheartened if your fellow planners seem to be talking about new bookings they have picked up or always seem to be off out for another consultation. You might wonder why not me? Last year we wrote an articled called ‘Don’t believe the hype” and I think it is well worth a read to put everything in perspective.  

Sometimes we spend too long thinking about our competitors and what they are doing instead of working on our own business plan. Start focusing on you and your USP, who are you trying to attract? What is your niche? What makes you different? At the end of the day there is only one you, you are unique. I know for my wedding planning business  I attract a lot of small business owners, bankers and solicitors (normally marrying each other!). Most of my functions are marquee events and I am well known for it.

But what about you? How are you different? Do you have a plan for reaching your clientele? Are you active or reactive? Or as business coach Ray Hutchin would say, are you spending time working ON the business (PR, Marketing, Finance, Planning) or just IN the business (actually planning the weddings) ?

You won’t get every job - remember that the main reason a bride will choose you over another planner is personality. It is rarely because one planner had a ‘prettier portfolio’ or ‘more testimonials’ or ‘was cheaper’, it will be because she bonded with one over the other.

Increase your knowledge - make sure you are as fully educated on weddings as you can be, attend one of our courses or workshops (coming soon to 2011) or WPE. Read industry blogs like Think splendid or the new ‘wedding industry’ series by Claire at English-Wedding. Buy books on business like Paula Gardner ‘Do Your Own PR’ or specific ones on marketing, advertising.

Build referrals - you can’t just rely on referrals from past clients to succeed. Ideally you should build relations with suppliers and venues who would be happy to recommend you for jobs. Only by building a relationship with a supplier or venue can you get referred by them, it all takes time so MAKE the time to network with them on a regular basis even if just a phone call once a month to see how business is.

Some quotes to end - Josie from Savoir weddings says “as far as I’m concerned the more brides see the work of talented wedding planners and stylists the more likely they are to use them and recommend to friends and family. Which only does the industry good. And that is great for all of us”

I love this tip from Liene at Think Splendid (if you don’t already subscribe to her blog make sure you do so today) “Take three minutes each Friday to send an email to someone you admire professionally letting them know.  It may be just what they need to hear at the time”

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Mentoring from the UKAWP

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Need to talk to someone who really really understands your business?

Everyone tells you that setting up in business is tough but they often don’t tell you that it can be isolating, particularly when you’re a one woman (or man) band!

We’re very aware at UKAWP just how much planners love getting together with other planners and sharing and helping each other - our social events are always very popular and we’re about to introduce more events so that planners can get together more often. But if you want one to one business advice and support in a structured and methodical way from the experienced Directors and full members of UKAWP, then mentoring may be just the thing to keep you sane!  Take a look here .

 Here are some recent testimonials on this service:

 ”With Kelly, I was able to discuss marketing and PR ideas, structure my business plan in terms of priorities, and discuss details of some of the weddings I was working on. It gave me the one-to-one business service I needed to develop solid business foundations.” Marine Kerivel-Brown, Boutique Wedding

 ”The time that I have spent with Bernadette, has been invaluable in helping me put together plans and understand the priorities for my business.  The benefit of being mentored by a UKAWP director is the ability to tap into their knowledge and experience; from a specific wedding query through to how to implement standard business practices in our industry.” Elizabeth Gall, Simply Elegant

And to help with budgets, we have just launched a new offer whereby you can take a 10% discount on the first year’s mentoring if you have completed a Business Practicalities or Step by Step training course within the last 6 months.

So why not add some business mentoring to your Christmas wish list this year and set you on a great path for 2011?

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Training a lot of left-handers!

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

Lefties - we're in the company of Angelina Jolie

Lefties - we're in the company of Angelina Jolie

On 16 and 17 October I had the pleasure of training a wonderful group of new wedding planners on our Step by Step training course. As ever the students were from a range of backgrounds including management consultancy, construction and classical music to name but a few. Most were at the beginning of their wedding planning career, seeking to gain a practical grounding in the field before launching their own businesses.

One interesting fact which was discovered over our lunch break on day 1 however was that 5 out of 8 in the room were left-handers. Of course this prompted quite a lot of discussion. And as one of those left handers was the course tutor ie. me, it seemed only natural for me to do a bit of research on the finding. According to Scientific American 15% of people are left-handed, whereas in our little group 62.5% were.

What does it mean? According to an article I found on ehow.com left handers tend to be more athletically inclined (good for running around at weddings), to have more spatial awareness (good for designing a room layout) and to think more quickly (good for running a business and getting on with the million tasks needed everyday). According to a study by Dr. Alan Searleman of St. Lawrence University in New York, “true” left-handed people-those who favour their whole left side for physical activities have twice the problem-solving skills and a higher I.Q. than right-handed people – all very useful too!

And we’re in good company, I’m amazed by the number of famous left handers including: Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama; Prince Charles and Prince William; musicians Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Paul McCartney; scientists Isaac Newton, Marie Curie and Benjamin Franklin; artists Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci; and historical figures Alexander the Great, Charlemagne and Julius Caesar.
Oh how proud I am to be a leftie!

Wedding planners – tell us are you right or left handed?

Data Credit: http://www.ehow.com/about_5412903_left-vs-right-handed-people.html
Photo Credit: http://listicles.thelmagazine.com/2009/08/13-famous-left-handers/
Training courses: Step by Step

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Good working relationships

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

It’s long been known that the relationship between in-house venue co-ordinator and independent wedding planner hasn’t always been a rosy and smooth one, however with a bit more understanding of both roles, UKAWP believe the relationship can blossom and bloom to everyone’s advantage, most importantly to that of the bride and groom. 

Kate Fletcher of Kate Fletcher Events  has sat on both sides of the fence and provides some insight here:

 Having started my career in event management in the corporate sector, my ‘wedding’ career began setting up a new wedding venue. I offered the personal touch to the happy couple, showing them round the venue, answering their many questions, reassuring them at all times that everything will be taken care of. Liaising with the caterers, selecting the wines - even setting the tables to their requirements. Yes, a venue does provide a great deal in planning your day and this is how it should be as you are paying a premium.

 A venue does however have many weddings every month and in most cases does not simply have the resource to provide a full co-ordination of service for each and every aspect of the wedding planning . An independent wedding planner is personally involved with the bride & groom and their families, acting as their ‘PA’ to organise every detail to create the day they have always dreamt of. From ‘mood boards’ and styling advice, sending invitations and collating guest responses to liaising with suppliers, negotiating discounts, managing the wedding budget - the list is endless. It also allows the couple time to relax in the months leading up the wedding, something a venue will welcome.

Planners and venues should be on the same side of the chess board - white of course!

Planners and venues should be on the same side of the chess board - white of course!

 For those venues that are slightly sceptical about wedding planners, please be reassured. We are here to make your lives easier, to be part of the team, not to bark instructions from a clipboard! A good wedding planner takes calls from the bride day and night. We field the countless questions a bride undoubtedly has and call you once, rather than ten times or more! We know you have rules and regulations, not to be awkward and dictatorial, but to ensure things run as smoothly as possible with a ‘tried and tested’ method. Finally don’t forget, it will be the wedding planner they turn to on the day when the string quartet has lost their way!

 Working at a wedding venue has been a great advantage to my business. I appreciate the hard work a venue does to ensure every wedding is special for the couple, but equally I can relay the planning process and procedures to the bride and her family, hopefully offering the minimum of stress to all.

 A wedding venue and a wedding planner should be the perfect marriage - don’t you think?

Written by Kate of Kate Fletcher Events who is an associate member of UKAWP.  

UKAWP has run training courses for new wedding planners since 2005 and spend much time teaching students the essentials of venue finding, working successfully with venues and planning together as a team. To find out more about our training courses, please take a look here

Thank you to Annie Armitage for the photo.

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Place available on Step by Step training course

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Due to a bereavement a student for this coming weekend has dropped out so we have 1 place available on our Step by Step training course taking place this Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th October. This course takes the new planners through from securing that first client to the day itself and the relevant event managment and organisational steps needed to deliver a  successful wedding. For more information take a look at our training brochure here and to book contact Bernadette Chapman on bernadette@ukawp.com or 01376 561544.

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Want to become a wedding planner?

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

The UKAWP are well known for our in depth and honest training courses for those wishing to become wedding planners. With so many training schools out there it can be hard to know which one is right for you. Today I would like to talk to you a little about our newer course launched in July 2009. Following feedback from clients attending our Business Practicalities course we realised students wanted to learn how to actually plan a wedding, thus Step by Step was born.  The 3 directors of the UKAWP teach the courses personallyand it involves many practical exercises. The courses are held in spring and autumn as naturally, summer months are rather busy for full time wedding planners.

When can I attend

16th & 17th Oct 2010(Crowne Plaza, St James, London)
13th & 14th Nov 2010 (Staverton Park, Northamptonshire)
27th & 28th Nov 2010 (Cheadle House, Cheshire)25th & 26th Sep (London)

To sign up please go to our booking form

What topics are covered on this weekend course?

This course is aimed at those who have already launched their business or have attended business practicalites already. This course literally teaches you how to plan a wedding from the moment you have been hired. We go through how to create a client budget and work out what % of the budget should go on certain areas. We advise how to create payment plans for clients and what to do if you have a client bank account. We show you examples of the different ceremonies in the UK and how etiquette plays a part in todays weddings, albeit in a modern way. Then its time to discuss suppliers from how to find them to what questions to ask . The final part of the weekend takes you through the day from the ceremony up until the evening entertaiment.

To view the full list of topics please download our brochure

What is the cost

£599 inc. vat

What is included?

Full lunch & refreshments on both days

Concise bound notes to take away

Certificate of attendance

Logo to use on future marketing material

CD of useful templates

Flower Council Handbook

Recent Feedback

 

March 2010   Alexandra Moseley
“it exceeded my expectations as it allowed us to address any concerns about weddings and ask questions specific to what we are doing.”
   
July 2009    Annie Procter
“Thank you, the course gave me far more confidence and a lot of useful info. Great to be taught in person..”

 

 

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