Planning Perfection!

Hello and how are you on this ‘It’s almost Friday’ day? lol I don’t know about you, but by the time Thursday rolls around I always seem to suffer from a touch of mid-week blues! your feeling knackered, there’s nothing ever any good on the ole tv and your just looking forward to the weekend commencing – but you know what? I’m not singing the blues today! oh no! I’ve got few reasons to do a ‘Thursday Twist & Shout’ of happiness

So 1.) I start my nail art course tomorrow!, those close to me know that over the past year or so I’ve turned into a bit of a nail art GEEK, literally! I’ve been self teaching and D.I.Y’ing my way through various styles and techniques, with the help of Youtube (Youtube is amazing, you could literally teach yourself to fly a plane through their videos! lol) I’m forever sporting some sort of techni-coloured designs on my claws! (as you can see below) to the point,that on the odd days that I’m not rocking any color on my talons, people are genuinely confused and thrown! “Wait, where’s the nail art?! your nails are plain? is something wrong?!” lol So I decided why not make a side-living out of my passion/obsession as a Mobile Nail Art Technician?! and with that idea I looked into enrolling in a course! I signed up in January and have been counting down the days til I start and now it’s finally here I’m BEYOND excited, so watch this space for the launch my nail art company 

*All photo’s taken and designs done by me*

2.) I was greeted today by over 10 comments on my blog posts! now this may sound like a silly or trivial thing to be happy over, but I have been blogging for over a year now and have never had the joys of receiving any reader feedback! Silly I know! I mean obviously aside from my lovely loyal friends and family (and possibly my cat Sasha), I’ve always hoped that somebody out there must stumble across my blog and read my non-sensical wedding chatter; but to actually read lovely comments by people who a.) took the time to read what I wrote and then b.) take some more time to write a comment on my posts – is so heart warming! So even if only ever receive 10 comments  in all my blogging days, they’re all greatly appreciated!…..gosh sounds like I’m accepting an Oscar or Grammy award! what a Sappy girl I am  - get a hold of yourself woman! lol

OK so since I’m on such a Thursday high, I thought I would talk to you today about something close to my heart – no not Shoes! lol  - Wedding Planning, but more specifically the UKAWP - no I haven’t gone all “urban” on you and dropped some new-fandangled text speak; the UKAWP is the ‘UK Alliance of Wedding Planners’ it’s the Industry body for the wedding Market. Their job is to encourage, promote and ensure professionalism within the wedding planning industry  through seminars, events and  training courses for any aspiring and experienced event planners! They’re also a source of knowledge and guidance to all brides-to-be helping them to find a Wedding Planner they can trust; as any Event Planner the UKAWP recommend or promote is always and only a member of their organisation - like myself and Dominique are! and I have to say I couldn’t agree more with this ethos, I think it’s great that Planners are be able to add to their skill ‘tool belts’ through all the professional educations seminar and events they organise and also that the UKAWP is a a trusted source for Brides to be able to confidently search for a planner for their big day. Which is no small thing by the way! finding someone who you can trust to manage and organise your special day is not a easy decisions to make and on top of that, brides should be able to know that when they hire a Wedding Planner they’re going to receive the best service possible, from someone who is honest, professional and actually cares about the job in hand – their WEDDING DAY! lol

But what I really love about UKAWP  is that its managed by two ladies who are wedding planners themselves and are actively running their own events companies: Bernadatte Chapman of ‘Dream Occassions’ and Sandy Moretta from‘Tern Events’. Being an Event Planner myself – albeit a new one – it’s nice to know that the organisation is under the supervision of ladies who have over 10 years experience and are really passionate about this industry! The Lovely Bernadette (the original founder of the UKAWP) took the time to let me know the reasons behind starting  the UKAWP, the importance of having an organisation such as theirs, their upcoming events and also the future for the UKAWP:

The Story:

“Back in 2003-2004 I was receiving phone calls from brides saying their wedding planner had disappeared with their money, at the same time I would get emails from people wanting to become a wedding planner and asking how I startedDream Occasions. It led me to think there was a need for a) professional training and guidance on how to launch a wedding planning business and b) somewhere to help brides choose experienced and reputable planners for their wedding. I spent time thinking about what made a good planner and how we could introduce a code of ethics to its members. The UKAWP has seen such growth since its inception and is now recognised as the leading organisation for wedding planning training and membership”

September 2012 – Mix and Mingle – *Photo’s taken from UKAWP website*

The importance of UKAWP:

“It helps the bride choose a wedding planner that is experienced, that is insured, doesn’t take commission and can show references for past events they have organised. And for the planner? They can show brides they are serious about their career by continuing their learning at UKAWP events. Planners get a sense of community from the UKAWP, many freelance for each other enabling them to experience weddings different from their own client base. They also benefit from a much larger marketing budget then they would have, the UKAWP advertise on many of the major wedding blog and publications and are also striving for new ways to market our members to brides.”

October 2012 – UKAWP Study Tour to New York City – *Photo’s taken from UKAWP Website*

UKAWP Events:

“April – We have a marquee workshop in London where we will explain the logistics of organising a marquee reception including the different types of structures available & how important lighting is.

May – A northern marquee workshop, probably in Leeds plus our last training course for the Spring will be Step by Step in Manchester. This is also the month for our annual members meeting whereby we discuss the past years activity and brainstorm new marketing plans for the forthcoming year, we actively ask members for input so we are spending money in the right areas.

June – a meet the planner afternoon is planned where those interested in the career of wedding planning can meet some new and experienced members + a director to really hear about what it is like as an active wedding planner. No glamour, just straight talking facts . Details of this will be announced very soon

September – our annual mix and mingle social evenings will take place in various locations across the UK

November - we are proud to be one of the speakers and exhibitors at the UK Wedding Conference http://theukweddingconference.co.uk

Also the training courses will start again from September and in November”

7th February 2013 – Matching Wine and Food for Weddings - *Photo’s taken from UKAWP website*

The Future:

“There are so many exciting plans for the UKAWP many of which we can’t share with you yet! We are working on a new bridal focus with bespoke branding, this will be ready to soft launch by May. We have plans for a new membership category which we have to keep quiet for now until we are ready to announce the details! We will also be holding more workshops come the Autumn, the next planned topics will be PR from a journalists perspective and floral emergencies and we will be growing the sister company to the UKAWP namely wedding venue excellence http://www.weddingvenueexcellence.co.uk“

Well I hope you enjoyed todays post? especially all you brides-to-be out there? I think it’s really important to know there’s a organisations out there; such as theUKAWP that is truly waving the flag for industry professionalism and planning perfection! Make sure you head back over my way real soon, as I will be bringing you our ‘Supplier of the Week’ John Natlacen of  Churchmouses Cheeses and his lovely Cheese Cakes – thats  a savoury cakes made of ACTUAL cheese people! until then….

Stay blessed and we’ll speak again soon.

xx