Lovegevity's Wedding Planning Institute and The Association of Bridal Consultants Announce Partnership

ROSEVILLE, Calif., July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wedding Planning Institute, a division of Lovegevity (LWPI), and The Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) have partnered to offer LWPI students access to ABC's local networking events, seminars, and conferences. LWPI students will receive an application discount of $35.00 when becoming an ABC member and are invited to attend local ABC chapter meetings as a way to meet other ABC professionals. LWPI's Certified Wedding and Event Planning (CWEP) graduates will receive ten (10) points towards ABC's Master Bridal Consultant designation and one (1) point per eight (8) hour continuing education course offered by LWPI. The new partnership will integrate efforts to strengthen the industry and open additional career paths for those in the wedding planning profession.

"As the industry leader in wedding and event planning certification, it made perfect sense for us to partner with the industry's oldest and largest professional association for wedding planners," says Cho Phillips, Executive Director of LWPI. "Making an introduction to ABC to our students during their certification and training will increase both of our efforts to support the professionals in the industry through conferences, local networking, and continuing education."

"Many ABC members are already instructors at LWPI, so a partnership was a natural fit.  We are honored to be working more formally now with LWPI, and we invite all LWPI students and graduates to join ABC," says David M. Wood, President of ABC.  "The LWPI community should enjoy getting to know and learning from their fellow wedding professionals at ABC. We open our arms to all new members from LWPI and we look forward to helping each of them grow their wedding practice revenue."

"We are all delighted with this partnership and look forward to being the primary organization that will enhance the LWPI graduates' professionalism. The Association of Bridal Consultants has so many benefits available to members – many local networking groups, a multitude of professional directors covering many areas, a great wedding magazine published for professionals in the industry, and a fantastic internal support system. Welcome aboard! We look forward to hearing from you," says Renee Grannis, Director of Ethics and Compliance for ABC.

Elise Enloe, ABC Director of Education, adds, "Education and networking are the cornerstones of ABC. All of our programs and events have been created or updated by a top ABC wedding professional with a successful wedding planning practice. We look forward to having LWPI students and graduates as members of ABC."

"Because education and workforce development are LWPI's primary focus, this partnership will create additional educational career opportunities for seasoned ABC members to share their knowledge and expertise with our students and strengthens the career pathway from education to industry professional," says Jerry Madson, Director of Operations for LWPI.

About The Wedding Planning Institute:

The Wedding Planning Institute, a division of Lovegevity.com Inc., is the industry leader in certification and training for wedding and event professionals. LWPI has established an academic network of nearly 2,000 accredited colleges and universities in the United States, as well as a network of international colleges offering LWPI's Wedding & Event Planning Certification. Established in 1997 by Cho Phillips, LWPI was founded with the sole purpose of providing an academic career path for aspiring wedding and event planners. In 2010, LWPI partnered with world-renowned event designer Preston Bailey (www.PrestonBailey.com) to produce Preston Bailey's Signature Wedding & Event Design course to add to their catalog of continuing education for Wedding and Event Professionals. Classes are available to students around the world and can be found at: http://www.theweddingplanninginstitute.com/calendar

About The Association of Bridal Consultants

The Association of Bridal Consultants has been the professional organization for the wedding industry since 1955 and has over 4,000 members, currently located in all 50 states, and in 31 countries. The Association of Bridal Consultants is a membership service organization, designed to increase awareness of the benefits of working with a wedding planner, and to improve professionalism in the wedding industry.  http://www.bridalassn.com/AboutUs.aspx 

SOURCE Lovegevity