UKAWP - THE LEADING INDUSTRY BODY FOR THE UK WEDDING PLANNING MARKET

Posts Tagged ‘Training’

A fantastic bunch of students

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Recently I taught 11 students on our Business Practicalities course in Ipswich. It was a really good group of students with some amazing experience under their belts already. They asked some very interesting and thought provoking questions over the 2 days and I feel very confident once they launch they will be an asset to the industry. In fact on the Sunday I was so impressed with the quality of work the students were producing that I decided to share one of the editorial pieces with you by Kirstie Findlay. Happy reading.

Are you having a SIZZLING summer wedding??

 Most brides seem to prefer getting married between the months of May and August. Why is this?? We can’t guarantee the weather in this country these days. I’ve been caught in a rain storm in the middle of July but went to an amazing sunny wedding in December in the Lake District. Don’t get me wrong I do love a summer wedding and there are lots of up sides to this but I urge you to consider the winter months as well. Let me sent the scene for you….Imagine arriving at a Christmas card scene at a tiny country church with snow laden trees sparkling in the winter sunshine. Your bridesmaids wearing burgundy dresses with soft fur wraps. A feast of tasty winter warmers and hot mulled wine at your wedding breakfast. There are lots of practical pros for winter weddings as well, such as the cost of venues and suppliers. There are often heavy discounts for weddings “out of season” and suppliers have more time to spend on your every need as they don’t have as many other clients at this time of year. So don’t let the rain put you off, there are loads of beautiful wedding umbrellas, bridal boots and amazing indoor venues to choose from.

December weddings can have that magical Christmas wow factor so don’t rule it out!!

 By Kirstie Findlay

 

New wedding planners at UKAWP training course

New wedding planners at UKAWP training course

Seeking interns

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

We believe very strongly in work experience and practical training here at UKAWP and an opportunity has arisen for an internship which we wanted to publish here:

We are looking for 3 very special interns to work with Dream Occasions, Dream Occasions Hire and at times the UKAWP. Please read the following to see if you are a suitable candidate. The candidate must be willing to work from the home office belonging to Bernadette, based in Essex, UK.

What is an internship?
An internship gives someone the chance to experience the administrative side of event planning and to further your skills. It is an unpaid learning experience.

 Why undertake an internship?

  • o Will help you determine if this is the career for you
  • o Enables you to gain experience before entering into paid employment
  • o Enables you to make professional networking connections with suppliers and event planners
  • o Enables you to (hopefully) receive a commendable reference from Bernadette Chapman
  • o Enables you to learn from Bernadette, a wedding planner since 2002 and director for the UKAWP

Skills

  • o A passion for weddings and events
  • o Extremely organised
  • o Detail orientated
  • o Confident personality
  • o Ability to adapt to a home office environment
  • o Excellent communication skills both written and spoken
  • o Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Office and the internet
  • o An understanding of social media inc. Twitter and blogging

Hours:

3 days per week (flexible on the days), 10am - 2pm

Length/Availability

1 month

Start Date

1st intern:          4th - 28th May

2nd intern:         1st - 24th June

3rd intern:         28th June - 22nd July

 If you are interested please send an email with CV to Bernadette at bernadette@dream-occasions.co.uk.

Training places available!

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Due to some unfortunate recent student cancellations and postponements we have the following availability on our Manchester courses this winter.

  • - 1 space on Business Practicalities, 14th & 15th November, Cheadle House, Cheadle
  • - 3 spaces on Step by Step,  5th & 6th December, Cheadle House, Cheadle

Please contact Bernadette Chapman asap if you wish to register.  www.ukawp.com

UKAWP Training

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Our autumn/winter courses for 2009 have now sold out so we are very pleased to announce the Spring 2010 dates for ‘Business Practicalities’, ‘Fine Tuning’ and ’Step by Step’. Visit our training page for further details and a downloadable brochure. Remember our courses always sell out so don’t leave it too late before booking.

UKAWP students hard at work

UKAWP students hard at work

9 Steps to Success

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

Today we hear from one of our regular guest bloggers, Action Coach Business Coach, Ray Hutchin. Ray wants to share with us a  simple 9 step process to achieving success - sounds good!

To achieve success in life I believe a simple 9 step process will help us all and here it is:-
 
Dream It
Goal It
Plan It
Task It
Action It
Measure It
Review It
Achieve It
Celebrate It

The first seven steps are all vital in achieving what we want to achieve, I don’t believe any one of them can be missed out (in fact we all go through this process subconsciously, but I believe we achieve far quicker and better results if we do it consciously).
 
So let us look at each one very quickly (as we could write a whole book on each one):-

Dream It – this is our roadmap, if we want to get anywhere we need to know where we are going and the same is true in life and business. The only thing that can hold us back is our imagination and fear.
 
Goal It- we need to turn our dream into a smart goal or goals, which gives us some focus and a timeframe.
 
Plan It – we need to break the dream down into smaller steps (sometimes called milestones) otherwise a goal can seem so daunting that we never get started on it. In fact most business owners actually spend more time planning their annual holiday than they do on planning where they want their business to go.
 
Task It - This is a very important part of the process and a part that most people never do, this is where the plan is broken down into tasks, when this is done all you have to do is then carry out the tasks to achieve your goal. Easier said than done though in most cases.

Action It- this is where a default diary comes into its own, allocate time to do the tasks and ensure they get done and you are a step closer to success.
 
Action It – This is about sticking to the plan and carrying out the tasks as scheduled and not letting anything distract you – because if no actions are taken then nothing will happen.

Measure It – You must measure the results you get from the tasks, I have seen far too many business owners make assumptions about the results they have got, only to find out when they have been measured that they have been way out.

Review It – One of the hardest steps to do, taking time out to reflect and think about the progress and what has worked and what hasn’t, so that changes can be made and if necessary go back to a high step in the process and make adjustments to the plan.
 
Achieve It – if all the above is followed and you persevere and the goals were SMART you should achieve your Dream over time
 
Celebrate It – once achieved celebrate – enjoy the feeling of achievement, so amongst other things, it helps to motivate you to achieve your next dream.

Step by Step Training

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Last weekend marked the exciting launch of our new training programme for new planners - Step by Step.  Designed to pick up where the Business Practicalities course finishes, we were very pleased to be teaching it after months of work agreeing, writing and tweaking the content!

It seemed like a resounding success and the group of 10 pioneer future planners made teaching the course an absolute pleasure. As we worked our way round the intricacies of selecting, vetting and building relationships with good suppliers from outside caterers to film companies, the students were full of questions and excited by the level of detailed information given, the kind of stuff that only those who do the job know!  The course covered the elements of planning from the moment the planner is hired until the end of the big day itself.

As with our Business Practicalities course,  the range of students was diverse and dynamic with students from across the entire UK aiming for different sectors of the market in their new and existing businesses but all seeking excellence and professionalism which is music to our ears!

The next Step by Step course takes place in Northampton in October.

And whilst we’re talking training, our ever-popular Business Practicalities course for Northampton in September (as well as London in October) are sold out.

London training sold out

Monday, July 13th, 2009

The UKAWP Business Practicalities course offered in London (10/11 October) is now sold out. The next available course with places takes place on 19/20 September in Northamptonshire. For more information please go to our website where a full brochure can be downloaded.