About – AACWP

About AACWP

We started with wedding planning….

Founded in 2007 by a group of dedicated wedding professionals, AACWP was established to provide education for aspiring wedding planners and to elevate the standards of those already in the field through certification and ongoing professional development.

The founding members included Marsha Ballard-French, Trudy Baade, Jenny Cline, Laura DeBow, Shari Johns, Micki Novak, and Karen Radford.

One of AACWP’s primary missions has been to offer training and mentorship to individuals who wish to become wedding planners. Secondarily, AACWP offers Certification status to those who wish to participate in ongoing education and ultimately reach the highest standard in wedding planning.

We expanded to other industry professionals ( florist, photographers, DJs, bands, beauty stylists, stationers, videographers, rental companies – 16 categories in all.)

In its second year of operation, the AACWP Board introduced the VENDI AWARD gala, recognizing the need for collaboration between wedding planners and the best industry professionals to create exceptional weddings and events. The VENDI Award was established to ensure that all AACWP members have access to top-tier professionals. Each year, members nominate the best professionals across 16 categories, followed by a two-ballot voting process. The prestigious award, “The Vendi,” is then presented to the winners.

In 2023, the Board voted to expand membership to other industry professionals, acknowledging the vital partnership between wedding planners and various sectors within the industry.

Come join us, our most important mission is to improve our industry and we need all the energy and talent we can get!

AACWP Code of Ethics

As members of AACWP, our planners commit to the following pledges:

Commit to personal conduct, professional behaviors and business practices that are ethical and legal.
Be truthful in all advertising.
Be honest with prospective clients about previous wedding experiences. Also, be accurate and document the expected services and fees to be rendered in a written agreement.
Commit to continuing education and sharing of ideas among AACWP members.

Avoid making false statements about other AACWP members or other wedding professionals.
Decline income from vendors that would influence vendor recommendations to clients. Instead, all endorsements will be based on the best interest of the client.
Work in a respectful manner with other wedding professionals, while providing leadership to the wedding team and advocacy for the client.

The mission of the AACWP is to educate wedding planners and to promote wedding planning practices of the highest quality to ensure that client expectations are surpassed.