On the 2^nd & 3^rd of March the UKAWP held their 4^th annual seminar. As training director WPE is my ‘baby’ thus I spent many hours organising speakers & getting partners on board to create the perfect mix of business vs industry specific topics. Each year WPE is getting bigger and more exciting though with 31 delegates we are still not at the level of the U.S conferences which attract hundreds of planners from across the world. Maybe one day we can hold WPE in the Cayman Islands instead of London!

I headed to London on the 1^st March with my wonderful co-director Sandy Moretta so we could start stuffing the swag bags and work with 51 Buckingham Gate on the room set up. We were lucky this year to have so many fab suppliers on board for the bags.

We had cake (GC Couture) cake pops (NOTHS) bottle openers (iBarco) scented candles & massagers (51BG) magazines (brides & your London Wedding) greeting cards (cutture) cookies (the cake house) and of course chocolate (artisan du chocolat)

After a wonderful breakfast on the 2^nd we made our way to the seminar room to greet Simon & Victoria from Euphoric Flowers and James from Wedding Creative who were our WPE partners. Between them they created a sparkly blue backdrop for the stage & a pedestal of flowers inc. some wonderful blossom. On each table Euphoric had provided small cubes of plants as we didn’t want anything high, it was a conference after all! We then placed some cute lasercut butterflies & schedule provided by Cutture into the displays.

When delegates arrived they were given a delegate folder before enjoying some tea & pastries prior to the seminar starting. It was so nice seeing friends and colleagues from all over the UK, with many WPE is the only chance we get to see each other like Andrea from Cheshire and Nikki from Yorkshire. In fact I did have to keep telling the ‘Northern planners’ to behave during the seminar as they were rather enthusiastic!

Over the 2 days we had 11 speakers, too many to summarise here, but I did enjoy…..

Lloyd Dobbie – who explained post processing and what a difference it can make to the end image. It was fascinating seeing the difference of before & after shots. I till can’t understand why he can’t make me look like Angelina Jolie when he takes my picture but that’s another story altogether!

Jules Cardozo-Marsh – explained the key things to remember when hiring a make up artist but also gave us some great tips on makeup for us personally as wedding planners. And the best bet? She decided I’d be her muse for the demonstration.

TT Tents – Andrew was very enthusiastic with his presentation, when I saw the number of slides I did think how will he cover it all but we were able to whizz through. His presentation style was very entertaining and I know the planners learnt a lot from him.

IBarco – I use Debbie for many of my marquee and barn functions and I have a lot of respect for her. I think we all enjoyed the Thunder toffee vodka shot at the end of day 1. Some planners more then others!

Ellie Sanderson Boutique – Ellie runs 2 wonderful bridal boutiques (wish one was in Essex) and she explained abut trends she is seeing for dresses and accessories. She split us into teams and asked each team to create a different look , my team had to dress the model as if the wedding was in a Helsinki Cathedral. We had fun building the look and didn’t agree with the judge’s low scores (I think Ellie agreed with us though!)

Whitney Wing Drake – I have been liaising with Whitney for a joint Dream Occasions and Wish Wonder Dream project, and was delighted when she agreed to present at WPE. It was fascinating hearing about trends in the U.S but also the different services offered to brides.

 Photo Credit – Lloyd Dobbie

On the 4^th & 5^th March the UKAWP held their 3^rd annual seminar for wedding planners, WPE 11. Held once a year WPE is a dedicated seminar for wedding planners with a hand picked programme of speakers. It is a mix of business motivational talkers to industry experts. I feel it is vital to increase my knowledge to ensure I am the best I can possibly be. By continuing my education it shows clients I am serious about my career as an event planner.

Of course there is the social aspect of attending WPE, catching up with colleagues I communicate with over email and Twitter, some who live across the breadth of the UK. On the Friday evening there was an amazing dinner held at 10:11 Carlton House Terrace, the décor was truly astounding and I loved hearing about the history of the property. The food served by FoodShow, how lovely it was to be pampered rather then doing the pampering!

What made this year different however was that I was asked to present, I am know for my knowledge of marquee weddings so on Friday afternoon I gave some insider tips to the delegates,  I often give advice to planners that call me and of course teach on the UKAWP courses, but this was the first time I had presented in front of already trading planners. 

The feedback I received from the planners was wonderful.

“Made me want to do a marquee wedding!”

“Really useful and made me really think about a marquee event I’m doing”

“Very comprehensive and expert presentation”

“really useful tips & hints”

I also had the opportunity to meet  8 Dutch planners who attended on Saturday as part of their educational trip to the UK, they belong to an organisation called BWPN . It was fascinating learning about the differences AND similarities between our clients weddings. 

If you would like help with your marquee party or wedding please contact Bernadette to check availability and arrange a FREE consultation.

Photo Credits – Lloyd Dobbie  

As a director for the UKAWP I am very excited about one of our upcoming seminars for wedding planners, back for its 3rd year WPE aims to empower wedding planners and motivate them for the busy and quiet times. This year as well as being behind the scenes to help organise the event I am delighted to announce I will also be a speaker. I will be presenting on the Friday afternoon and hope to help the attendees understand the complexities involved with marquee functions. Each speaker has completed a Q&A for the UKAWP blog but I thought you might be interested as well, so keep reading for my answers!

What’s your USP?

I specialise in marquee events in East Anglia and have become well known for using a twist on ‘Country English’ functions.

What’s your signature dish (personality or food)? 

A big pot of hot chili – perfect for minimal effort at parties, strange thing for a party planner to say I know!

How would your clients describe you?

Clients always comment on how calm I am both in the planning process and on the day itself, they have said this in turn helps them stay calm!

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

There have been a few! I remember one controlling groom a few years ago was incredibly rude to me and suppliers we were meeting that day. The final straw was when he questioned every suggestion I made. I decided to cancel the contract as I won’t work with anyone who deems it acceptable to talk down to me or disregard any advice that they are paying me for. I agree with Siobhan that you need to set boundaries from the start; if you answer your mobile from clients at 11pm then they will feel this is acceptable for future calls.

If you could plan/ be involved in a celebrity wedding (alive or dead) whose would it be?

I would love to plan a wedding for any member of Take That, I’m not fussy! I think they would be a lot of fun to work with, I’d have no trouble finding a good evening band + lets face it looking at them (any of them) during planning meetings would be a joy J     

What’s your biggest achievement since launching?

One of my biggest achievements was recognizing the need for an alliance of wedding planners in the UK. I am so proud of what the UKAWP has done over the years, the dedication of my fellow directors and the enthusiasm of our members.

Whenever I have a large marquee event with 30+ suppliers I feel proud that everyone arrives on time and the schedule go according to plan – at the end of the evening I breath a huge sigh of relief because with marquees you never know what ‘could happen’! I hope to cover some of these scenarios at WPE….

What is your vice? 

Reading far too many Romance Novels – just as well I work in the industry for romance!

Describe yourself in 3 words

Professional, loyal, imaginative (I have too many ideas floating around sometimes)

Name one blog you follow religiously

Oh gosh, only one that is difficult. Can I cheat and say I love reading www.kerrymorgan.com/photoblog & www.lloyddobbie.com/blog to have a peak at their recent weddings + www.stylemepretty.com to see what those creative US brides are doing AND www.lovemydress.net  to see what creative brides in the UK are doing.

Last weekend I attended the annual ‘Wedding Planning Excellence’ seminar held at the beautiful Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire. Held over 2 days there were a range of speakers from business coaches to florists. I came away very inspired not to mention I was able to network with my wonderful colleagues at the UKAWP. I’m already looking forward to next years seminar!

On Friday and Saturday it was the first WPE seminar held at the Down Hall Country Hotel in Hertfordshire. The speakers we had were very inspirational making it well worth taking 2 days out of the office. Equally as important was the networking with planners over dinner and drinks on the Friday. A synopsis of the seminar & pictures will be uploaded to the UKAWP site this week.