Making dreams into reality every day.

AACWP Training
Are you considering a career as a Wedding Planner?

In-Person Training
Check back for details about our next session!

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The next session of group online training will be announced soon.
Click here for more information about our online courses.

AACWP’s training is the first step towards a successful career as a Certified Wedding Planner. Upon training course completion, you will receive a course completion certificate. You are then eligible to apply for membership as a Trained Wedding Planner (TWP) with AACWP.

AACWP has three designations for its members:

  • Trained Wedding Planner
  • Certified Wedding Planner
  • Certified Master Wedding Planner

AACWP has been training professional wedding planners since 2007. Engaged couples and vendors in the industry look for professional planners, and they know the first thing to ensure competency is training and certification. There are many programs available, but only AACWP offers you an excellent curriculum, a mentor experience, continuing education, and fellowship with other professional planners.

AACWP’s four training courses provide in-depth training by experienced professional planners, along with guest speakers chosen from among the top wedding industry vendors. Our Curriculum Committee continually strives to review, update and ensure the attendees receive the most current information on wedding planning, trends in the industry, and how to build a business. AACWP believes in the importance of great education and growth. We encourage you to join us! 

in-house-wedding-planner-training

Payment for the complete course includes:

  • Continental breakfast, lunch and light snack each day
  • All training materials in digital format include our course book, handouts, and exercises
  • Online examination at the end of each course day

Each course day is $425. An advance registration rate of $375 per course will be available to students who register and submit payment prior to the deadline stated on the payment page.

Following is a description of what each course day offers:

Defining the Role of the Wedding Planner

  • Identify skills needed

Service Categories and Levels

  • Understanding the services offered by professional planners

Business Fundamentals

  • Business ownership and start-up information

Marketing Fundamentals

  • Building your portfolio
  • Advertising
  • Social Media

Pricing Your Services

  • Operating costs
  • Pricing your services with various fee structures

Presentation and Personality

  • Professionalism
  • Putting your best foot forward
  • Necessary skills

The Interview

  • Choosing your client
  • Certification and confidence

Vendors

  • Building a contact list
  • Compiling your database

Etiquette

  • Common etiquette questions
  • Who pays for what?
  • The wedding planner’s role and resources

Basics of Planning

  • Discussion with your client
  • Creating a budget
  • Creating a timeline
  • Final details

Handling Emergencies

  • The role of the wedding planner
  • Emergency kit
  • Special Event Insurance
  • Emergencies and practical approaches

About AACWP and Membership

  • Let’s talk about Certification

The Ceremony

  • Basic elements
  • Civil/Secular
  • Basic order of service and logistics
  • Walk through

Reception Planning

  • Choosing the venue
  • Floor plan—table sizes, seating, dance floors, etc.
  • Banquet Event Order
  • Reception traditions

Each course is taught in one day. To receive a Certificate of Completion, you must attend each course, pass the examination at the end of each day, and complete and pass the assigned homework in the allotted time frame. For those students who take the course days separately, homework will be assigned after the final course is completed. We suggest all four courses be attended within a 24-month period.

What Our Students Are Saying

“My favorite part about this course was that we got to learn from a lot of different planners and industry professionals about the industry in different aspects of planning a wedding. Learning how to budget to run a company and learning each point of contact with vendors and clients for a wedding really helped me understand how I can do better in my job every day.”

“It was very thorough. Having some industry experience and still learning something new each day was really awesome.”

“I think that everything taught was complete, and it was really incredible to learn all the things from this class. I learned some things that I was doing wrong and things that could really help me improve and make myself a better wedding planner.”

“The professionals who came to speak to us each day were so prepared, so open, so knowledgeable. They were incredibly engaged, and it was obvious how much they care about the AACWP and our success.”

“I loved the information I got from this course. It definitely lived up to the hype and I'm excited about the continuing education meetings if they are anything like this education.”

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does AACWP offer an online course?

Yes! Our online course consists of webinars, videos, and digital downloads of course materials. Each student has one month to complete the entire course (4 sections divided over one-week periods each). The best part? They still get direct interaction in live Q&A sessions! Click for more information.

2. Can you recommend a course in my area?

We do not have a list of courses taught by other organizations or listed by area.  We encourage you to reach out to your local industry organizations if you prefer local training opportunities.

3. Does this course apply to my area?

Yes!  AACWP developed these courses using general information that applies to most weddings in the United States.  We do not focus on a geographic area other than we invite local vendors as guest speakers to the courses.

4. Do you allow international students?

Yes, however, we do not offer certification to international students as this requires a membership. Membership is only available to those in the United States.

5. Will I be certified after taking the course?

After the course, if you complete all the requirements, you will receive a Certificate of Completion.  To become a Certified Wedding Planner, you must become a member of AACWP and complete the requirements listed here.

6. How long is the course?

Each in-house course day is from 8:30 am to approximately 5:00 pm.

7. When and where will the next course be?

Typically, dates are announced and registration is available a few months prior to courses. Information can be found on our Homepage and on the Training page of our website. The best way to learn about future courses is to sign up to receive our emails.

8. Who can I contact with more questions?

Please contact our Training Course Director, Stephanie Evans, with questions about our courses at training@aacwp.org.