We are very excited to announce Wedding Planning Excellence (WPE) 2015, a two day seminar organised by the UKAWP to support new and experienced wedding planners providing practical, educational sessions for their business growth and development.

WPE is the brainchild of Bernadette and Sandy, UKAWP’s directors and owners of Dream Occasions and Tern Events respectively. WPE was born as a result of their driving passion to promote professionalism in our industry, empower fellow planners with practical knowledge and create a supportive community.

After the success of the past four editions, WPE is coming back for the 5th time with a program full of insightful and helpful advice to help you define the areas you can improve on and give you the tools to push your business to the next level!

You will find all the information you need on the WPE website, however here’s some key facts about the seminar:

When?

Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November 2015, hopefully right at the end of wedding season, while you are planning and thinking about what changes you need to make for the next.

Where?

The beautiful Millbridge Court Wedding Barn (Frensham Rd, Surrey, GU10 3DJ), which we secured via the lovely Emma of Coco Wedding Venues, a fantastic resource for your UK venues search!

What should I expect?

We have devised the two days so that you can choose to attend one or both days depending on your level of experience and years in the business. Speakers are still being confirmed but this is what you can expect.

Day 1 has been tailored to newer wedding planners (< 3 years in business) and it will cover the following topics:

* How to style your brand, with branding specialist and author Fiona Humberstone 

* Calculating your worth to ensure profitability

* Marketing your business through social media and blogging

* Scheduling your time and batch your tasks

* How to deal with challenging wedding projects while staying true to your brand values

* Styling shoots and building your team & supplier list

 

Day 2 has been planned to help experienced planners fine-tune their skills and take their business to the next level:

* Getting the life and lifestyle you want, with life & business coach Polly Alexandre 

* SEO masterclass

* Diversifying your business for profit

* Customer service: the small things that will improve your client experience

* PR: how to get on, and stay, on the editors’ radar + innovative ideas to showcase your expertise

* Growing your business: the ins and outs of employing staff and renting office space * Breaking the luxury-market barrier, with James Lord of Quintessentially Weddings 

Each session will last approximately one hour, enough to cover the topic in depth and give you time to ask questions. At the end of day 1 we have also slotted in a dedicated panel discussion to give you the chance to ask senior UKAWP planners all your burning business questions.

What else will be provided?

In addition to knowledge we will give you food, drinks and great upbuilding company – the recipe for a great time!

Kalm Kitchen will provide a light lunch and refreshments on both days, and at the end of day one, for those who can stay, we will host dinner and drinks for a spot of networking.

How much?

For a limited time only you can book each day at £275 members and £325 non members.

Once the Early Bird offer expires, the investment will be £375 per day (£325 for UKAWP members), including food and refreshments. 10% discount will be applied to day 1 + day 2 bookings.

How to book

Head over to www.ukawp.com/wpe/registration

Why us?

There are so many interesting and creative workshops for wedding professionals that choosing one to invest your money and time on can be hard. We understand this, so we have listed 5 reasons to choose WPE which we hope will help you make your mind up:

1. WPE has been tried and tested. We ran it consecutively for 4 years before having a little break; the feedback from previous attendees has been fantastic (here are just some of the reviews from previous delegates). In 2013 we decided to take a break to review the format and focus our energies on our Alliance, but we were so overwhelmed by the number of planners asking us when WPE would come back that we just couldn’t ignore them!

2. The program is dedicated solely to wedding planners. You won’t have to sit through sessions where you have to pick and choose the information that is relevant to you – the whole seminar will be tailored specifically to you.

3. We, the UKAWP directors, are planners first and foremost. We know what it’s like to start your own business; we understand the struggle of standing out in a competitive market, of being entrepreneurs as well as wives and/or mothers; we have made mistakes and learnt lessons and just like you, we too recognise the need to constantly evolve and develop your business so as to keep up with our dynamic industry. By splitting the program into two to cater for different levels of expertise, you can be confident that you will be surrounded by people who can empathise with your challenges and answer your questions in a way that will truly benefit you.

4. This year WPE has been planned in collaboration with some of our members – a group of wedding planners who have been in business from as little as 2 years to as much as 10+. We’ve listed and consulted with them to fully understand your needs at various stages of your career. By leveraging their individual strengths, as well as their level of expertise and years in business, we’ve devised a program that we strongly feel will be crucial to your development.

5. The UKAWP is an alliance with long-standing reputation. We have dedicated the last 11 years to educating new planners, teaching best business practices and promoting professionalism. WPE is not a new business venture. It’s an extension of our already well-established business that allows us to share with you the knowledge and experience we have acquired throughout the years.

We are confident this year’s WPE will be better than ever. We are excited by this learning opportunity and we can’t wait to share the experience with you!

If you have any other questions feel free to get in touch.

 

Photo Credit: Simon Carr