Are you an aspiring wedding and event planner in the Akron, Ohio, area? Heather Porcella is already running a successful business, and she can show you how it’s done.

Heather Porcella considers it an honor to create a spectacular wedding that brings her client’s vision to life. As the owner of Truly Your Events, Heather was voted the “Best Wedding Planner for 2008” in the Akron/Canton Ohio area by the MyFoxCleveland.com Hot List. Her company has coordinated numerous events of various sizes, budgets and styles.

After graduating from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and a minor in Business Administration, Heather worked in Residential and Commercial Interior Design as an art teacher and as a floral designer. Her experience planning showers and weddings for friends combined with her education led her to create her own event-planning business in 2003. Truly Your Events offers the latest in wedding-planning trends including eco-friendly designs, full event coordination, and free initial consultation to provide clients complete planning services to help them save time and money and alleviate stress.

After becoming an LWPI Certified Wedding Planner in the spring of 2008, Heather agreed to share her knowledge and expertise with students in the Wedding Planning Institute’s certification course at the University of Akron. Heather will be teaching aspiring students how to become successful wedding planners by bringing personalized attention and creativity to every client’s occasion. “In today’s busy world, trying to plan a special event can be very stressful and time consuming. By providing solutions to the demanding needs of event design and coordination, you can allow the client to enjoy a stress free celebration,” Heather writes.

Candidates for the wedding-planning certification course at the University of Akron can register by calling Cheryl Beckwith at 330-972-6460 or by visiting http://www.uakron.edu/ce/schedules/WeddingPlanCert.php. The Spring 2010 session is scheduled to begin April 12, 2010, and will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. for eight weeks. Tuition is $795 and includes classroom instruction, textbook, six months’ online curriculum and support access, and post-graduate job-placement assistance.

Pam DuVal has had a passion for weddings and events for as long as she can remember. After years of planning events for friends and family, she decided to make her dream a reality and start her own business, Promised Hearts Wedding Planning.

Prior to becoming a wedding planner Pam was business office manager for nursing homes and assisted living facilities in the New Bern, North Carolina area. She gained invaluable knowledge in dealing with people in stressful, complex situations. Her experience with finances as an office manager has helped her to plan and manage her business as well as plan events with any type of budget.

Working almost every wedding with her husband Joe, Pam recently expanded their business by opening a retail/rental shop in downtown New Bern. By constantly searching for new and unique items, Promised Hearts Inc. carries everything a wedding planner needs for their next event; rental items, candelabras, specialty linens, candy stations, unique gifts, wedding accessories, anniversary items, and more.

WPI Instructor Pam DuVal

Pam is a Professional Bridal Consultant, co-director of the New Bern area networking group, an active member in the New Bern Chamber of Commerce, and a certified Sandals expert. Pam’s main goal is to teach students that by providing an exceptional level of personal care, they can help their clients have a memorable and enjoyable experience from the time they start planning until the big day, regardless of the event size or budget.  

As an Instructor for The Wedding Planning Institute’s How to Become a Certified Wedding Planner course, Pam strongly believes having a professional certification in the wedding planning industry gives her students “the training and credibility to become a trusted planner. Brides especially, must have confidence in their planner,” she says.  “You will be spending a lot of time together and you must be able to have that level of trust.”

“Wedding Planning can be a great career that is fun and extremely fulfilling. It is exciting to see all the pieces come together the day of the event,” Pam adds. “To see the happiness on the bride’s face and to know that her big day has been a dream come true makes me happy. I just love what I do!”

Candidates for the Wedding Planning Certification Course at Carteret Community College can register by contacting Kris Workman at 252-222-6204 or krw@carteret.edu and by visiting their website at:

http://www.carteret.edu/CCedhome/schedules/viewdetail.php?courseNumber=534&classIndex=906

The spring 2009 session is scheduled to from January 14, 2009 to March 18, 2009 and will meet Wednesdays from 5:30pm to 9:30pm for ten weeks. Tuition is $795 and includes classroom instruction, textbook, six months online curriculum and support access, and post-graduate job placement assistance.

Nancy Hoffmann-Allison has turned a lifelong love of art and cooking into a successful business that began as Hoffman & Company Catering and then evolved into Allison’s Events, a full service wedding and event consulting and design company that has won awards from The Knot Magazine, Austin Wedding Day Magazine, and the International Special Events Society of Austin, Texas. After studying Art and Art History at the University of Arkansas, Nancy began her career by learning banquet and club management while working for Hilton Hotels.

Turning that experience and her mother and grandmother’s cooking lessons into Hoffmann & Company Catering in 1989, Nancy spent most of the next two decades planning, designing, cooking, and presenting her catering menus at thousands of events. Along the way, she mentored students from local high schools and culinary arts schools. Many of her employees started their careers as her apprentices.

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Marissa Mortimer, creator of Lavish Occasions is one of the most sought after event planners in the New York Metropolitan Area. Marissa realized her calling to plan outrageous and extraordinary events back in the early 90’s when she sang for wedding ceremonies. At the young age of 30, she is known for her commitment to surpass her clients’ expectations and for creating intimate weddings and extravagant upscale affairs for a long list of clients, including many of Staten Island’s elite.

Marissa’s experience as a wedding singer was what first exposed her to this industry and the love affair has continued ever since. She was named one of the ‘Top Ten Entrepreneurs under 35’ in Staten Island-Central New Jersey area by Industry magazine in 2005. A recent achievement was being selected to teach the Wedding Planning Institute’s How to Become a Wedding Planner course at the prestigious Wagner College to help current and aspiring wedding planners to gain industry certification.

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Robert Meli began his journey in the hospitality industry, and started doing event design simply by helping close friends and family plan the occasional dinner party and offering advice on home décor. From this came referrals and advice quickly became consulting. After years in the business, Rob still experiences great pleasure in transforming his client’s dreams into reality. His originality along with his innate eye for color and design set the stage for what was destined to become his company Bella Rose (www.bellaroseevents.com), which is quickly becoming a recognized leader in the field of lifestyle design. Robert is acknowledged as an artistic visionary whose expertise, exceptional creative talents, and impeccable reputation have made him an extreme success throughout Florida.

Robert is sought after for his over the top original receptions and ceremonies which stray far from the average cookie cutter wedding. Robert has designed and produced weddings for clients who expect nothing less than perfection, including celebrities and high profile professional athletes. Bella Rose creates unforgettable weddings that allow couples to become honorary guests at their own wedding and creates a lifetime of blissful memories and cherished moments for them and their entire family. Regardless of whether a client wishes to create a black tie dinner at an exquisite hotel, steal away to an exotic destination for a wedding weekend, or gather friends and loved ones under a beautifully decorated canvas in a private backyard, Robert ensures that wedding dreams becomes reality.

“We work closely with our couples so they may enjoy the entire process of planning the wedding as well as the special day itself. Our clients receive the wedding that best reflects their true personality and style. From the wine to the music to the very last dance, every detail will be fine tuned to perfection,” says Robert.

Robert attended the University of Central Florida where he majored in Organizational Communications and Minored in Journalism/ Advertising. He believes in staying active in the wedding and event industry as well as giving back to the community.

Robert is the President of Wedding & Event Professionals of Tampa Bay, a Certified Consultant with the Association of Bridal Consultants, Active Dynamic Dad & PTA Board Member at Mc Mullen Booth Elementary School, an active Member of the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce, and holds a seat on the City of Safety Harbor Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Robert is also a certified instructor for The Wedding Planning Institute, a division of Lovegevity, which is taught at St. Petersburg College in Clearwater (www.WeddingPlanningInstitute.com). Robert lives in the Tampa Bay area with his wife and 2 beautiful children.

Candidates for the wedding planning certification course at Saint Petersburg College Center for Continuing Education can register by calling Jackie Addis at 727-341-3184 or by visiting their website at http://www.spcollege.edu/AC/lifelong/wedding.htm. The fall session begins on September 27, 2008 and will meet each Saturday from 9:00am to 2:00pm for eight weeks. Tuition is $795 and includes classroom instruction, textbook, six months online curriculum and support access, and post-graduate job placement assistance.

Elaine Deluca thrives on making people happy. After several years of planning social events, she established her company, Exquisite Events, in 2002 to provide a personal approach to wedding and social event planning. Located in the historic village of Roslyn, NY, Elaine and her staff provide consultation and planning services throughout the New York tri-state area, with a specialty in planning tented weddings at area vineyards and estates. Exquisite Events was awarded the title of “Best of Event Planners” in 2007 by TheKnot.com, a premier wedding website.

In recognition of her wedding planning proficiency, Elaine’s advice and expertise has been sought out by publications including Manhattan Bride, Long Island Weddings of Distinction and Newsday and the company’s events have been featured in New York Magazine and Wedding Bells Magazine. Exquisite Events recently expanded its services to offer a collection of fine stationery and favors to complement weddings and wedding-related events of all styles.

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Shafonne Myers is living her dream by helping others realize their dreams. While attending Mary Baldwin College, she coordinated all social events on campus through her direction of the Baldwin Program Board. That experience helped her further develop the leadership, creative, and organizational skills she brings to her clients as well as to her classroom students.

Since graduating from MBC, Shafonne founded and is president of Making Your Event Special, a top wedding and event consulting firm in Richmond. Continuing her tradition of bringing people together, she organizes bride and groom socials and workshops, as well as hosts Virginia’s first wedding and event planning radio talk show (Wednesdays at 7pm - www.makingyoureventspeciallive.com).

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Sherry Lopez has a passion for creating distinct events. She developed her attention to detail, grace, and style working on the event staff while attending Azusa Pacific University and discovered her love for the details that create events ranging from intimate luncheons to high profile weddings and events.

In 2003, Sherry opened her own company, Your Wedding Planner, utilizing her keen understanding of what makes an event special: paying special attention to the flow, timing and execution of every detail, and the deep knowledge and vast resources of vendors to make each event a success.

Since then, Your Wedding Planner has become the company of choice for savvy, stylish clients in Albuquerque and throughout New Mexico. Dedicated to continuing education, Sherry has continued her education through many outstanding organizations such as International Special Events Society, The Association of Bridal Consultants, New Mexico Wedding Professionals, and The Wedding Personalities of New Mexico as well as instructing wedding planning certification students for The Wedding Planning Institute (www.WeddingPlanningInstitute.com).

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Juanita Hozey has always lived to help others. For two decades of her life, Nita dedicated herself to nurturing over ninety foster children in her home and shares that level of care and commitment with her wedding planning clients and her students at Piedmont Technical College in Greenwood, SC. Beginning with her own wedding, then her siblings, and eventually her foster children, she developed her love of wedding planning without the thought of opening her own business.

After her husband retired, Nita was initially content with raising their adopted son, loving their many grandchildren, and continuing their work with foster children. Her interest in wedding planning also continued as she noticed the lack of resources for brides in her small South Carolina town. She started her own business, Praise Unlimited Weddings, by acquiring several florists. She quickly grew her wedding planning inventory of candelabras and floral supplies to include stores of linens, centerpieces, columns, tables, chairs, and tents.

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