Candice Owens is president and co-owner of Haute Minded Events (HME), a social and corporate event-planning firm specializing in sophisticated and cosmopolitan events. The firm was founded in 2007 and is located in Washington, D.C., and produces some of the area’s most jaw-dropping events, both small and large. HME is the newest division of holy matrimony and thrives on the mantra of turning events from hopeless mediocrity into historic moments.

Ms. Owens possesses an eclectic set of skills that allow her to design, create and direct events with the eye of both a performer and a designer. She is an accomplished thespian with a background in dance and the arts, finding a home in theatrical productions. Ms. Owens not only acts but does more than dabble in the world of dance. She has had a diversified education and career path including graduating from Johnson C. Smith University and attending the Art Institute of Charlotte, where she majored in Fashion Marketing. Her couture eye and envelope-pushing style have landed her stints with Nordstrom and enabled her to design and finetune the look and feel of an event.

After a stint in the wedding-planning division of the firm, holy matrimony, Ms. Owens was able to strengthen the design and management muscles in the world of luxury weddings. While working with holy matrimony, Candice had the opportunity to assist Style Network’s, Season 7, newest planner Vicky Johnson on the nationally syndicated show Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? She developed the special touch needed to deal with one’s most precious day while maintaining a logistics mastery over the flawless execution of an event. Whether working with groups of 500 or 50 Ms. Owens is always able to bring a new level of style and professionalism to both the event and the industry as a whole. She has had the esteemed opportunity to work for clients in the NFL and affiliated sports organizations, planned destination weddings in Mexico, and had the opportunity to meet, greet and be photographed by Rolling Stone magazine with R&B singer Usher Raymond on his 2008 “One Night Stand” tour.

Owens earnestly believes in creating opportunities for those to follow in her footsteps should they so desire. She currently serves as a mentor to other young entrepreneurs that seek to not only realize their dreams, but see them come to fruition; along with volunteering as a screener for the Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore and most recently becoming an LWPI certified wedding instructor, teaching event and wedding planning at the College of Southern Maryland. Some of her accomplishments are being featured in and on Grace and Mercy Magazine, Trends magazine, Balleralert.com, mydeejay.com, Wall of Styles Radio Show, “The Magic Hour,” nationally syndicated shows Say Yes to the Dress, The Dr. Oz Show, Emceeing for TSimone Designs 2010 FALL Fashions line, and becoming a member of the National Association of Professional Women. Ms. Owens resides in Maryland.

Interested in signing up for LWPI’s wedding and event planning courses? Take a tour here. Or sign up for an online course here.

Many of us get into this business because we love weddings: the flowers, the fashion and the fun that comes along with figuring out the details. But there are so many events out there beyond weddings, which is why  Lovegevity’s Wedding Planning Institute also puts a strong focus on event planning. Every class is urged to put on an event during the semester, and one class, led by Marci Bridgeford of Elk Grove Adult and Community Education and the owner of A Joyous Occasion, recently led her students through a fun, rewarding planning process. Marci, who is an instructor with LWPI, says:

“(The) class successfully did this by choosing the charity as a class - The Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento. Led by their instructor every inch of the way they had a representative from the Receiving Home come to their class and they conducted a consultation. They asked all the appropriate questions and got a vision of what the home needed and would want. From there they drafted a donation letter and handed it out to various vendors, local companies and friends to raise money for the event. (Not one cent was an out-of-pocket-cost for the class or instructor). They drafted their vision and budget for what they wanted to create and had that dollar amount as their goal. With the generosity of the community and their passion for the event they ended up raising 3 times their goal and were able to give the home much more than they originally planned.

This event taught the class how to market, how to sell themselves, how to conduct a consultation, how to work with vendors, how to create a timeline, how to create the responsibility lists, how to work the A6 components, how to set up, work the event, and break down the event. It also taught them how to work within a budget and reconcile their books at the end of the event.”

The LWPI students held a party for the home’s girls, and it was about fulfilling desires - not just wants. A budget of $800 was initially planned, but the students ended up raising $3200! Just what did this fun event entail?

* A gym was decked out in all types of cute decor, to make the girls feel special. Pizza was donated, which really helped the budget. And what kid doesn’t love pizza?
* The girls had “points” that they used to buy things in a “store” set up by LWPI students.
* A makeshift photo booth was set up, and the girls could have their pictures taken with celebrities (which were posters of celebrity faces.) This was an especially huge hit, Bridgeford said.
* A henna artist was also brought in, which the girls also really loved.
* And all the extra money in the budget meant that the LWPI students were able to put together gift bags for the girls.

“Implementing an event into the curriculum was a great way to give each student hands-on experience of creating and implementing an event from start to finish,” Bridgeford said.

LWPI would love for all of its instructors to have their students plan this type of event. Lovegevity has always encouraged its students and graduates to get out into the community and do things to help others. This is a great way to get started off on the right foot.

If you received our recent newsletter you know that LWPI is on Facebook. Have you dropped by yet? We’ve been offering daily polls, and we’re loving the conversations that our current and former students are starting. Here are some of our recent questions and a few responses. Want to talk some more about these topics? Leave a comment here to get the conversation started, or visit our Facebook page to share your opinions! And remember - there is a poll posted every day. We’d love to hear your feedback!

1) In your wedding-planning experience, what is the most popular way to serve food at a reception? Buffet, sit down, stations….
* Jadana Donely CWP said: “With the majority of my clients, I see them leaning more towards Buffet Style to offer their guests more variety of food options. I think the cost depends on what is involved in the setup & display and the amount of food being offered. Buffets can become expensive because you are now offering 3 different meats, 3-4 different sides, maybe 2 vegetables, maybe 2 different salads etc… When you have an elaborate display like this the cost is more than a plated meal [in my experiences].”

2) Have any of you planned a destination wedding? What has been your favorite location? Has anybody been abroad?
* Shanda L. Johnson said: “I started out planning a destination wedding in Los Cabos, Mexico but didn’t b/c the bride changed her mind w/ a formal group of guests. I liked the Dreams Resort in Mexico.
I really saw the importance of still having a coordinator 2 work w/… the couple in addition 2 the resort coordinator. The resorts make these “packages” sound good but it’s a lot of fluff. However, I’m a fan of destination weddings in Jamaica!”

3) What is the VERY FIRST question you ask your bridal couples? Budget? Number of guests? Date? We want to know! Discuss….
* From @classicmodern via Twitter: “‘How did you meet?’ My designs are all about telling clients’ stories, so it’s a great way to start the conversation about it.”

4) What is your IDEAL time length to plan a wedding? (Say, with 300 guests.)
* Meagan Vanover said: “I prefer to book most vendors close to the one-year mark. Saturday events can get pretty competitive. My shortest? Just over 3 months. Not ideal!”

5) What non-traditional wedding “cakes” have you seen lately? The cupcake craze rages on, but we love the idea of an ice-cream cake!
* Emily Meyer said: “My fiance is going to have his groom cake be a Guiness flavored, Guinness Mug!”

We can’t wait to see what our certified wedding and event coordinators are going to say next! Find us on Facebook every day. (And you can follow us on Twitter, too.) If you didn’t get the August newsletter but want to be on the delivery list be sure to let us know! A September issue will be going out in a few weeks.

This cute book available from Prezzy Box.

We’ve all heard the old adage that word of mouth is the best form of advertising. And it’s true: People are much more likely to visit a restaurant their friends recommend. Brides are much more likely to book vendors recommended by you, their certified wedding and event coordinator. And vendors are much more likely to recommend you to their customers if they’ve happily worked with you before. But when you’re first starting out, or you’re trying to beef up your business, it can be hard to spread the word. Here are some great ways to go about it:

* Share and share alike. Like we said above, vendors will recommend you if you recommend them. Build solid relationships with your favorite vendors. Some brides go straight to florists and bakers without considering hiring a wedding planner. If you have a good relationship with those florists and bakers they might highly suggest that the bride give you a call. They might also set your business cards out by their register. Remember: Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

* Quality matters. Don’t take on more work than you can handle, or the quality will suffer. Know your limits. Make sure you listen to a bride and know exactly what she want so you can deliver it. Use vendors you know and trust. You’re only as good as they are in the end. And afterall when it comes to wedding and event planning it’s all about the end result.

* Network, network, network. Those vendors can’t recommend you if you don’t know them. Go to networking events and talk it up. People have to know you’re out there, and have access to your website, to refer you to their clients.

* Do good. What do we mean? Get out in the community and show you care. Integrity goes a long way in the business world. Get involved with pro-bono wedding projects. Throw out some free services, but don’t do half as good a job just because you’re doing the work for free. Showing the business community that you care enough about your job to do it great - even when it’s free - shows that you’re serious about what you do.

* Go above and beyond. Sure, you have the testimonials and photographs to show that you know what you’re talking about. But every bride has a certain expectation of how her wedding will look. It’s up to you to exceed that. How can she not refer you to all of her engaged friends when you go beyond what’s expected? Always give 110 percent!

* Never drop the ball. Answer the phone politely and professionally. Return calls and emails in a timely manner. Dress for success. Do you research before meetings so you never look like a deer caught in headlights when a bride asks certain questions. She’ll appreciate your hard work and professionalism, and that goes a long way.

* Get noticed. This is probably the hardest part, but in today’s technological world it’s easier than ever - if you do it right. Facebook, Linked In and Twitter are the obvious choices. They can connect you with people you may have never met otherwise. Utilize your local newspapers and magazines. Creating a strong, local base of business is the best way to get started. From there you can spread your wings.

It may seem obvious, but doing your best no matter what is the best way to get noticed. Customers appreciate a well-prepared planner. Wedding guests appreciate a well-planned wedding. When they ask a bride how on earth she planned such a wonderful wedding she’ll be beaming when she mentions your name. And like we said before, that’s the best kind of advertising there is!

LWPI is excited to announce that it has joined forces with world-renowned design icon Preston Bailey. Together, they will create and launch the first event-design course of its kind, based on Bailey’s 30 years of experience with such celebrities as Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, Uma Thurman, Joan Rivers, Donna Karan, Liza Minnelli, Matt Lauer, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ivanka Trump and others.

Preston Bailey’s Signature Wedding and Event Design course will allow students to experience the step-by-step processes and techniques utilized by one of the globe’s leading wedding and event experts, industry pioneer Bailey. This new course is a comprehensive “how-to” for the industry, providing real behind-the-scenes footage, photographs and documentation, including insights into the wizardry that can make a wedding a one-of-a-kind, magical event for a couple and their guests.

Starting this summer, Preston Bailey’s Signature Wedding and Event Design course will roll out to nearly 2,000 academic institutions around the United States . Dependent upon each school’s administration, the course will be available to both full-time college students in regular classroom environments and adults in continuing-education programs. It will also be made directly available to students through an online program hosted by LWPI.

“Event design has been a life changing experience for me,” said Bailey, the founder of Preston Bailey Designs. “I am excited to share my passion for design by working with the experienced team at The Wedding Planning Institute.  It’s a privilege to help others harness their talents to create weddings and other events that are truly unforgettable occasions.”

Are you interested in enrolling? Good news! You can enroll today! (The class will be available in both English and Spanish.) Want more information on this exciting opportunity? Check out the following links:

* More about the partnership and the course.
* Enroll for the class today.
* Take a tour of the course (English).
* Take a tour of the course (Spanish).
* Visit Preston Bailey’s website.