A Message from the founders of The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada, Danielle Andrews Sunkel and Tracey Manailescu:
To borrow a line from Master Wordsmith, Charles Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
What a busy year we have had! We've had disappointments, surprises, accomplishments and many proud moments. We've been imitated, (but never duplicated) time and again.
2010 solidified our International reputation and focus of The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada. Students travelled from Germany, Belgium, Mexico, Hong Kong, St. Lucia, Barbados, Jamaica and many other places to join our classes and association. There are now over 2900 WPIC certified Wedding Coordinators worldwide.
In February, we were invited to visit the County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland where we stayed in a different castle every night! We also attended a Wedding Show in Dublin. Read about our Irish Wedding Adventures here, where we profile the various castles (such as Crom Castle, Belle Isle, Lough Erne Golf Resort, the National Trust Properties, etc) and what they offer to couples who wish to wed or honeymoon in Fermanagh.
In March, we travelled to Bahamas to train and certify 46 people from the Bahamas Bridal Association, which included members from the outer islands, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, the Wedding Coordinators at the Atlantis, Sheraton Nassau, Wyndham Cable Beach and British Colonial Hilton Resorts to name but a few.
Photo courtesy of: Dominic Duncombe Photography
In June, we were invited to train and certify all of the on-site Wedding Coordinators from Palace Resorts in Mexico. We brought 10 WPIC Alumni with us to tour the resorts in the Mayan Riviera to see what they offer our clients.
All thoughout the year, our alumni were offered opportunities to visit Jamaica, Bahamas, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Mexico on various FAM trips arranged through our travel partners; Sandals Resorts, SuperClubs Breezes, Palace Resorts and Air Canada Vacations.
WPIC was sought out by the Media on numerous occasions to share our expertise and opinion for newspapers, bridal magazines and television shows. We were also able to extend several Media opportunities to our members at WPICAlumni.
All throughout the year we ran full-page, national ads in Today's Bride and Weddingbells magazine, encouraging couples to seek WPIC certified Wedding Professionals. To further publicize the accomplishments of our Alumni, we instituted The Wedding Planner of the Month, which publicly showcases and profiles a successful WPIC Wedding Coordinator at the beginning of each month.
During the summer we aquired and renovated new offices with more space to accommodate our growing number of support staff and to better & more efficiently support the members of WPICAlumni. When we were finished the renovations in September, we of course had a party to warm the offices.
During the year we spoke about Wedding and Destination Wedding Planning at the Wedding MBA Convention in Las Vegas, and several Wedding Shows.
We practised what we preach about Continued Learning and we attended wedding and event seminars and conferences in Grand Cayman, Ireland, Mexico, Bahamas, Canada and all over the USA (Las Vegas, New York, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach).
November 1-5, 2010 we held our 6th annual Wedding Professionals Conference in The Bahamas to much Media Acclaim. Our keynote speaker was none other then Colin Cowie.
The other fine speakers included: Mary Dann-McNamee, duo Jung Lee & Josh Brooks, Tom Haibeck, Peter Merry, Andy Ebon, Richard Emanuelle and Megan Cole-Karagory.
Esteemed sponsors included Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine, WedLock Magazine and The Bahamas Tourism Board to name a few.
In order to get ready for 2011, we refreshed and rebranded the look of WPIC with our new logo, added a Facebook fan page and dedicated time each day to uphold our Twitter presence. We will continue to update this Blog at least every Monday and Thursday, and more often if we have interesting news that just can't wait ;) Just as we are rebranding and energizing the look of WPIC, we will be putting our energies into refreshing the inner workings of WPIC and helping our Alumni be the best they can be.
2011 is going to be an amazing year for WPIC!
Thanks for reading!
Danielle and Tracey
Danielle/Tracey!
Sounds like 2010 was full of adventures!! Way to go! Wishing you the very best and much more for 2011!
Posted by: Emilie Faucher | 12/31/2010 at 10:38 AM
Congratulations ladies on all of your accomplishments this year. 2010 was a busy year for WPIC and 2011 will be even busier. I am proud to be associated with such a wonderful group of ladies.All the best.
Posted by: Amira | 12/31/2010 at 10:56 AM
Congratulations Ladies on what proved to be an amazing year for WPIC! I am honored to have shared in many of these amazing adventures and travels across the world! 2010 was an amazing year and I just know that 2011 will surpass even more!
Posted by: Monica Hill | 01/01/2011 at 09:40 PM
Congratulations on a very successful 2010 - I agree and feel amazing vibes for a fabulous 2011. WPIC is THE organization for any serious wedding professional to belong to. Up, up and away.............
Posted by: Claudia - Ontario | 01/02/2011 at 06:59 PM
Congratulations Tracy & Danielle! What an amazing year it has been! 2011 will be even more spectacular!
Posted by: Angela Watt | 01/03/2011 at 12:05 PM
Congratulations Tracy and Danielle! You truly are an inspiration to most of us. I feel truly blessed to have taken this course and looking forward to 2011.
Posted by: nozipholisa | 01/03/2011 at 01:59 PM
Congratulations Ladies! I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store.
Posted by: Danielle | 01/04/2011 at 08:55 AM
Congratulations! Nice photos. Keep posting for more and I'll be anticipating. Thanks for sharing!
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