Fort Myers, Fla., August 21, 2008 – The Wedding Planning Institute is offering a Wedding Planning Certification course on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. starting Aug. 26 at Edison College Lee Campus, where students will have the opportunity to become Certified Wedding Planners in only ten weeks.

The Center for Professional Development at Edison College has partnered with the Wedding Planning Institute, the nationally recognized industry leader in providing certification and training for wedding professionals, to offer the Wedding Planning Certification course for students looking to break into an exciting and profitable wedding planning career.

Karen Scott, proud owner of the Bridal Antique Boutique and Elegant Weddings, will provide textbook and real life experience instruction drawing on years of planning events. Full of enthusiasm and energy, Ms. Scott brings today’s wedding industry to life in the classroom with easy to understand practical lessons and examples.

Students may also have the opportunity to gain hands on experience at real weddings, meet with local vendors, and participate in class trips to tour venue sites and facilities.

Ms. Scott is eager to teach the Wedding Planning Institute’s certification course, as it will “give students a better idea of what to expect in real life in a fun and hands-on way, not just a classroom perspective.” She adds, “It’s going to be real stories, real people.”

Edison College’s Center for Professional Development offers courses for credit and non-credit programs designed to provide high quality education opportunities to members of the community.

The Wedding Planning Institute is a division of Lovegevity, Inc®, a national event planning agency whose mission is to present busy couples with the best resources and tools to help plan their wedding and strengthen their marriage through relationship education.

To enroll in Edison College’s upcoming class, contact Wendy Thompson at 239-489-9235.

On Saturday, August 16, 2008, America’s favorite television personality, Ellen DeGeneres married her long-time partner, actress Portia de Rossi, in an intimate ceremony at their Los Angeles home. Their wedding, the most celebrated same-sex union in California since the landmark state Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed gay and lesbian couples the same fundamental “right to marry” as other citizens, was attended by nineteen guests, including the couple’s mothers and several Hollywood celebrities.

Eleven years after proclaiming her sexual orientation to the world, DeGeneres and her new spouse are gracing an upcoming People Magazine cover detailing their highly anticipated ceremony. “What can I say? I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” says DeGeneres. “She’s officially off the market. No one else gets her. And now she’ll cook and clean for me.”

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Beginning this week, Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. Of the 125 million tourists that will visit the Chinese capitol city this year, about 7 million will be present at the athletic events. The rest of the world will watch from home as the world’s athletes compete. But, how does this massive event come together?

“The scope of the Olympics is staggering, with so many moving parts that it would make even the most experienced event planner start wheezing with anxiety,” wrote Elizabeth Millard in Baseline Magazine. Event planners are crucial to arranging all aspects of the Games, including everything from transportation and accommodations to VIP seating and catered meals.

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