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We receive many letters from potential and current ACPWC students with questions, as well as praise
for the classes offered through the ACPWC. The letters we are sharing
with you below have been answered by some of our members. They will help to give you an idea
of the benefits of studying with the ACPWC and attaining your Wedding Coordinator Certification.
Hi,I have been researching the ACPWC because I have been interested in the possibility of a career in wedding/event planning for many years. I asked Ann Nola for a few names and email addresses of former students so I could get some references.If you wouldn't mind taking a moment to tell me how useful you found the class, I would greatly appreciate it. Also, in your opinion, is wedding/event planning is a viable career for a stay-at-home mom?Thank you for any comments you might have. Erika
(view the response) Hi Erika,I started my business 4 years ago, but just recently took the class. I started part time and was successful but I felt I needed the extra training to go full time. After taking the class I realized that I had put it off too long. I probably would have been able to go full time much quicker if I took the class sooner.It is a great learning experience and a great place to gain confidence in your ability to plan events. You will know if event planning is right for you by the second day of class. The class takes an intense look at what you need to know to plan a wedding. The instructor is wonderful, knowledgeable, and approachable. Those were the qualities I look for in a mentor and a teacher.The association is a whole other matter - I joined the association after the class and have been thrilled with the support, feedback and assistance with all the members. I highly recommend both the class and the association and I consider it a must if you are to be a successful event planner in your area.As to your question about staying at home, I am expecting my first child and that is exactly why I wanted to do this full time at home. In my opinion it is a great job to have because you can make your own hours during the week and you will most likely know your schedule a year in advance. You can be a day of consultant only or full service - you can change back and forth depending on your needs. The one thing you must be willing to do is work nights and weekends, but if you can do that then I think it is a great career.Please advise if I can be of further assistance or answer any additional questions.Regards, Jennifer (hide the response)Dear Tricia,My name is Amy Channer. I am 20 years old and live in Boise, Idaho. I have an associates degree in floral design management and I am thinking about taking the ACPWC course. Based on your experience with them, would you recommend this course? Thank you for your opinion and time.Sincerely, Amy
(view the response) Dear Amy,Thank you for contacting me in regardes to your interest in the ACPWC. Before becoming a wedding consultant, I worked full-time and part of that job was to orchestrate quarterly in-services and other meeting for about 400 attendees. Then I seemed to hit an age where most of my friends and myself were getting married - about nine weddings in two years. I so loved assisting with the planning of these events, that I began to do a few on the side of my regular job. After a couple of years, I told my husband I wanted to quit my regular job and become a wedding consultant, but I didn't know where to begin. That's when I found out about the ACPWC. I investigated a few other training opportunities as well, but felt the ACPWC would best fit my needs.I took the one week course in March 1998 and learned more than I can put into words. Having worked a few weddings (and having been a bride) I knew a lot of the basics, but going through training on the myriad of little details, hearing professional consultant experiences, learning about potential clients, full wedding coordination, personal office management, advertising, fees, contracts, etc. - the information that I took away from that week was amazing. I still have my class binder and have referred to it upon occasion.Since completing the class, I have started my own at home business (which has offered a lot as I now have two children), remain a member of the ACPWC (and am starting my second term on the Board), have become a Professional Wedding Consultant (and plan to be Certified this summer), and am doing something I love. I am 30 years old with my own successful business - how many people my age can say that? You are ten years younger - just imagine, especially with your floral experience, where you could be and the business you could have by the time you are thirty.This course saved me a lot of time and energy from doing it the hard way and learning it all on my own. I believe so strongly in the course that this November I will be going through the course again, in training to become an instructor and hope to teach next year in my area (Sacramento, CA). If this is something you are serious about, I say "go for it". In my opinion, you won't find better then the ACPWC Wedding Consultant Course.Good luck in all your future endeavors,Tricia Kihara, PWCAn Elegant Affair Bridal Consulting (hide the response)I am interested in becoming a Bridal Consultant in South Louisiana. Can you tell me what kind of schooling or training that you went through to become a Bridal Consultant? I have been looking on the internet for information but have been unsuccessful.Thank you for your cooperation.Sincerely,Jennifer Boudreaux
(view the response) Hi Jenny!Yes, I can recommend a training course without a doubt! The Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants offers a course that I graduated from in 1995. The association was founded by one of the most respected women in the wedding profession, Ann Nola. Ann has created an association that provides a professional training course that not only educates during the course, but also results in a network of women who work to provide the most professional experience that I could recommend to anyone considering being a Bridal Consultant.Please feel free to call me, but also make sure to look up the web site acpwc.com. There is a chapter in Georgia that is Chaired by a wonderful consultant by the name of Karen Casey. You couldn't ask for a better way to begin your career than with the A.C.P.W.C.! Check out the web site and please feel free to call me if you want to chat, or I'm sure that Karen Casey would also be willing to welcome you to the A.C.P.W.C. with open arms!Take Care and keep us posted!Sincerely,Mary Lou Sanders (hide the response)Dearest Ann,I want to take this small opportunity to give you my most sincere thanks. The class that I took in Boca Raton, instructed by the inspirational Karen Casey, was a life changing experience for me. I would like for you to know that my heart has been touched and my mind has been challenged through this wonderful ACPWC experience. If ever you start to believe that you haven't influenced someone with what you do, please remember this email. Ms. Nola, I Thank you for challenging me with this course, for sending me and all of your students Mrs. Karen Casey, and for being committed to excellence in the wedding industry. You inspire all of us! I WILL do the ACPWC proud as a professional, honest, fair, ethical and creative wedding consultant. I look forward to hopefully getting to meet you soon!Sincerely, Matthew C. Wellborn
(view the response) Dear Ann,Just a note to say 'Thank You' for all your help regarding the course. I know it wasn't easy sometimes trying to talk to each other when I was in a different country and indeed a different time zone whenever we tried, but we got there in the end.The course was superb, I had no idea what to expect going into it, but I learnt so much about the Wedding Industry and how weddings in America differ from those in England. I feel a lot more confident in helping the Bride and Groom plan their wedding day as I now have more background knowledge in which to work with, and pull ideas from.Marcia was wonderful, I cannot praise her enough. She was knowledgable on the topics the course covers and was then able to relate to real life experiences that she had encountered first hand. It helped that Marcia has been in the business for 14 years, as in that time she had come across every eventuality and was able to give us advice and tricks of the trade in how to deal with those situations.I thank you again, and look forward to working with ACPWC in the future.Regards,Sophie CarterEngland (hide the response)Dearest Marcia and Ann, I just wanted to share with you that I worked on my first wedding this last Saturday! It was my cousin's wedding and I am happy to say that everything "went off without a hitch"! I was very comfortable in the role, everyone cooperated, the facility manager and staff were excellent and it all flowed so smoothly. I swear I must have lost some weight with all of my running around! The only thing I found difficult was trying to be a guest while being the consultant for the wedding. I was having dinner and at the same time watching the entire room!! In what pertains to my consultant role, I was able to make a wedding day schedule for the bride and groom, a timeline for the DJ and Master of Ceremonies, help with the guest seating arrangements and floor plan, be the main contact person for the vendors and the guests and use any of the sections of our handbook if I needed to find out what and how to do things.I really feel that it was all due to the training you provided at the class and the handbook that I was able to feel so comfortable and confident in my role as consultant at the wedding. I knew what I needed to do and how to do it - all thanks to your wonderful training!! The course exceeded my expectations, in as many ways as are possible!! I truly believe that it was the best thing I could have ever done for myself and embarking in this new career. I really wanted to thank you both for providing exactly what I needed in order to be a successful wedding consultant! Insight, wisdom, experience, advice and support are what I feel I have been blessed with from both of you. Your expertise in this business is invaluable and I feel honored that I was given the opportunity to learn from it. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you Ann, profusely, for giving the students who take your course the best quality, top-of-the-line, extensively experienced, choice and prime instructors, such as Marcia Coleman-Joyner. It is in appreciation of this fact and through taking the course, realizing this fact, that I'd like to say that you give the ULTIMATE and BEST training possible for future wedding consultants. (And you can quote me on this!) It was my honor and my pleasure to have been instructed by Marcia and the ACPWC!! Sincerely and with warm regards,Laura VillarrealProspective ACPWC Graduate
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Hi Marcia! I am currently enrolled in the home correspondence course. I just wanted to write to you and say that I have enjoyed the course videos with your instruction very much! I follow you very well and we seem to have a lot of the same personality traits which makes learning through the correspondence course fun and exciting for me. I just wanted to write to you and tell you that I have so far enjoyed the course since it seems that in our own busy lives we forget all to often to complement the people around us who influence us in positive ways. I have to sincerely say that after watching about 3-4 hours of the videos that you are already a role-model to me and I appreciate that. I hope you have a good day. And I know I will talk to you in the near future. Sincerely, Tiffany Sue Taylor
(view the response) Dear Tiffany,Many thanks for taking the time to send this e-mail. I appreciate your kind words and am delighted that you are enjoying the videos and course. FYI: You are actually not a member of the ACPWC until you successfully complete the course, receive your "Certificate of Completion" and join the Association. At such time as the above criteria has been met, I will be happy to welcome you as a member.All the best!Sincerely,Marcia Coleman-Joyner, C.W.C. A Joyous Occasion (hide the response) |
