Australian Academy of Wedding and Event Planning

This month I had the great pleasure of chatting to an Academy colleague, Nicole. Nicole is a Course Specialist with our US and Caribbean campuses, but she also works with international Décor training company, IWED Global. The Academy has partnered with IWED to offer a combined Design and Décor course which gives students the opportunity to gain hands on practical experience and develop a deeper understanding of the theory of design at the same time. To find out more about this course and how you could pursue a career as a Decorator, listen to this month’s Podcast and visit our website to find an overview of your study options. To receive the first 3 lessons from the course absolutely free, christine@aawep.com.au

In this episode of the Business of Weddings Christine, our Director of Education, talks about creating a styled shoot for your wedding brand. It can be hard when first starting out to have the images you want for your portfolio and putting together a styled shoot is a fantastic way to showcase your creativity and style to potential clients. Christine talks you through some top tips on how to get the most out of your shoot and to ensure you get images that reflect your brand.

Around 2 years ago, Nicole Stevens completed a course with the Australian campus of the Academy of Wedding & Event Planning. Also around this time I began mentoring her as she worked on an idea for a Destination Wedding Business. When we first started working together, Nicole was shy and nervous about the future, but I could also tell in those early days that she was passionate and driven. She set about researching her business ideas whilst travelling overseas and from there a new idea started to emerge; pursuing an Internship in the United States. Upon her return to Australia she started to focus her energies on that goal and I was lucky to be able to continue to follow her progress towards her dream. Today, Nicole is completing a Traineeship with Ivory & Beau, a Wedding Planning company based in Savannah, Georgia. She has just enrolled in her second course with us, an Advanced Professionals course via our US campus and with the support of her employer, she is working on being able to stay in the US long-term where she plans to continue her Wedding career. Nicole’s confidence has grown dramatically over the last few years and she is as passionate and driven as she always was, which is why I am so excited to be able to share her story and insights into working in the industry with you, in our very first Academy Live Podcast for 2016.

This month I am talking with Graeme Dean of Dream Wedding Insurance. We all understand the need to insure the valuable things in our lives and a wedding is no different. This is where Dream Wedding Insurance comes in; by providing peace of mind to Australian couples, planning their weddings. Our Podcast provides a valuable insight into what wedding insurance is and how Wedding Planners can be part of helping to ensure their clients are protected in the case of having to re-organise their wedding. Excitingly Dream Wedding Insurance are offering Wedding Planners referral fees for couples who take out insurance with the company. This means that as a Wedding Planner you can assist your client with insuring their wedding and be rewarded for doing so. To find out more, listen to our Podcast or contact Graeme at Dream Wedding Insurance.

This month my guest on Academy Live is Academy Advisory Board member, Cathrin D'Entremont of Cathrin D'Entremont Weddings. Cathrin is a Planner and Designer who works in the Perth region and her business has been operating for 12 years. 12 Years! In our opinion this makes Cathrin one of Australia's most successful wedding professionals and she has some fabulous advice for any of you who want a long career in the industry too. I hope you enjoy this month's Podcast as much as I enjoyed recording it for you.

This month I have the pleasure of bringing you an interview, with Lisa Macale of Willow Tree Creative. Lisa is a Graduate of our Diploma in Wedding & Event Planning, an AAWEP Tutor and the Creative Director of a very successful Wedding Styling and Coordination business that operates out of Brisbane. Her work is regularly featured in your favourite wedding magazines and on blogs, most recently in White Magazine. You can see Lisa's styled shoots for White Magazine here and here. In our chat Lisa offers you her unique perspective of moving from student, to business owner and now a Tutor of others looking to follow in her successful footsteps. I hope you enjoy, this month's Podcast and a big thank you to Lisa for taking the time to chat with us.

This month I have the great pleasure of chatting with Wendy El-Khoury of Wedded Wonderland. However, with 320,000 Instagram and 630,000 Facebook followers + Over 1 million visitors to www.weddedwonderland.com since September 2014, I expect many of you will already be very familiar with the Wedded Wonderland Brand. During our conversation, Wendy shares her passion for the Wendy industry along with valuable advice for how to approach your own social media marketing. We also discuss the growth of the wedding industry in Australia and what that means for us as Wedding Planners, Stylists and Designers. I hope you enjoy this month's Podcast and if you would like to make the wedding industry your passion, contact me on 1300 854 200, to discuss how we can help you make that dream, a reality.

This month's Podcast comes to us via our sister campus in the UK and is presented by UK Wedding Planner, Course Specialist and Tutor, Zoe McKeown. Her guest is Heidi Thompson of Evolve Your Wedding Business. Heidi is a member of our UK Advisory Board and her business is focused on helping people in the wedding industry market their business online and on a budget. She offers simple, but clever and effective advice for how to create a consistent flow of leads for your business and that is the topic of today's Podcast; getting clients for your wedding business.

Behind the Scenes with top Melbourne Wedding Planner

Digital Marketing for your Wedding Business

Being A Wedding Blogger

Choosing a Photographer for Styled Shoots

Launching a Wedding Business