Wedding Planner Introduction Course by Y.E.S. Labour Department HKSAR

ABC Annual Conference 7 to 9 Nov 2010 at Phoenix

I will be sharing "Chinese Wedding" with Wedding Professional Worldwide at the 29th Annual Business of Brides Conference. Welcome to join and share knowledge with WPS from around the world.

Get ready to get Hot, HOTT, Haute!!! Your HOTT (High Octane Twenty Ten) AZ Conference committee is elated to welcome you to the Valley of the Sun for the 29^th Annual Business of Brides Conference. Bring your family and plan to arrive early and stay late for conference to enjoy the incredible weather and multitude of activities at your fingertips when you visit the scenic Sonoran Desert! Phoenix, AZ averages over 300 sun-filled days a year with average temperatures in November ranging from 47 – 74 degrees.

Starting with a selection of optional sessions on Sunday, we guarantee a haute time with Sasha Souza, MBC our Monday design presenter, and a HOTT finale with world renowned designer, David Tutera on Tuesday. From sunrise to sunset, there will be lots of hot educational topics beginning Sunday afternoon through our closing session on Tuesday.

The trade show will be adjacent to the registration area, and will be open Sunday and Monday with ABC Corporate members to help you build your business. Visit the trade show on both Sunday and Monday to be eligible for a chance to win haute table seating for featured speakers, and more drawings will be offered on site!

At Sunday night’s Red Haute Couture Chic Opening Cocktail Reception, you will experience various degrees of Hot, HOTT, Haute at each upcoming HOTT event! Dress “HOTT” Hip, Opulent, Timeless, Trendsetting for this chic cocktail lounge reception held outdoors amidst towering lit palm trees, lush foliage, bubbling fountains, and crackling fireplaces.

Monday night you will be wined and dined Tuscany style for Haute Romance at The Castle. Tuesday night your taste buds will sizzle with our optional evening on-site event, Hot and Spicy Sunset inspired by local and popular favorite cuisine! Wednesday afternoon find out why Arizona has much more to offer in our Mountain (Arizona Biltmore Resort), Lake (Millennium Resort Scottsdale McCormick Ranch) and Desert (Desert Botanical Garden) tour showing why Phoenix and Scottsdale are two cities which are hot in the desert!

Can’t wait to see you in Arizona in November – don’t miss this HOTT conference!

Last year conference

Dream makers by Joyce Kam - The Standard

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Weddings are not just for smitten couples. Lovers who do not want to leave their nuptial bliss to chance usually seek out wedding planners. And the figures show there is demand, especially for those who are qualified.

In 2008 alone, about 47,300 couples tied the knot. Up to a fifth of them will resort to wedding planners.If, as government marriage portal ESDLife calculates, the average spending on a wedding banquet is HK$130,000, then the planner is looking at between HK$10,000 to HK$20,000 per job. And, as with most jobs in Hong Kong, paper qualification tells. So it doesn't hurt to get one. The Open University is offering a certificate course in wedding planning management. The part-time program teaches wedding history, etiquette and customs, event management, bridal image design, running a wedding planning business and the skills needed to be a master of ceremonies.

Katemagg Chau Lo-sin is the program's instructor as well as a professional. She says demand for wedding planners has shot up since people were allowed to hold marriage ceremonies outside the Marriage Registry and churches in 2006.

"Generally speaking, I believe 20 to 25 percent of Hong Kong couples seek the help of wedding planners. In the United States, it's 30 to 40 percent. So it's a market with great potential."

The course takes 90 hours and costs HK$16,800. Graduates can take an exam and be accredited with the Association of Bridal Consultants. Chau also offers students the opportunity to shadow her in planning an actual wedding. There is money to be made in weddings, said Chau. "On average, wedding planners charge 10 to 15 percent of the total cost of the wedding banquet, depending on their involvement. For instance, some clients ask us to plan the whole wedding while some only need us to manage the big day," she says.

Lu Chan, 30, decided to try her hand at it after completing her studies in August. "Wedding planning is a challenging career," said Chan. She should know: she has been managing events for 10 years. "You need to be able to think fast and multi-task. On the big day, a person might complain the microphone is not working, while another might tell you the food is not properly prepared. I need to understand the situation, come up with solutions, present the options to the couple and let them decide because, after all, it's their wedding." She said the program has given her the opportunity to be of service while improving her own skills. "My communication skills have improved and I have learned to be thoughtful and meticulous because I know a mistake can ruin the most important moment in someone's life."

Courses start in April, June and September. Visit www.ouhk.edu.hk/ lipace for details and to enroll.

ABC HK 1st Regional Seminar at Parkview Hong Kong 27 Sep 09

http://katemagg.blogspot.com/

Association of Bridal Consultants — Hong Kong Office has started its operation since September 2009 and successfully held the first regional seminar on 27 September 2009 with over 100 wedding planners and vendors from local HK, Mainland China and Taiwan attended. Special thanks to The Hong Kong Parkview for the venue and catering arrangement. Big thanks to Fiona & Francis for their great Flute and Guitar Duo performance; Mr. Yoshi Kohara, Director of Asia to give us a lecture on ABC international and Japanese wedding; and speakers included Dr. Pauline Wan, Ms. Lo Kan Fong, Mr. Franky Wong and Ms. Yolanda Che. Finally a big round of applause to all attendees, ABC members, Guests and our partners from China and Taiwan, who made the effort to join the captioned full day seminar. We are proud of your active passion in becoming the best Wedding Professionals in the market. ABC HK wishes you all the best.

多謝各中港台賓客，講者，朋友，ABC會員及準ABC會員來臨ABC香港分區第一次的區域研討會。ABC是目前全球最具規模及權威的婚禮統籌協會，至今已擁有超過５０多年的歷史。自1955年成立，ABC在39個國家上有會員超過四千人並成功地發展了有規模的教育系統。藉此機會感謝Mr. Yoshi對我們的信任及支持，協助ABC在香港中國的發展。

感謝Fiona & Francis的演奏，讓我們有機會去欣賞你美妙的音樂。Fiona和她的團員在現場音樂演奏，婚禮，私人聚會和活動上有豐富的經驗。 他們也會彈奏流行音樂，爵士樂，巴西，民俗和傳統季節性歌曲。Beautiful live music for weddings, private functions and events... Fiona at 9284 1926 Francis at 9711 0744 contact@franciswan.com www.franciswan.com

日本是世界上最有名的國家給新人舉行旅遊婚禮。日本人在世界各地上都是一個卓越的民族。我很幸運地去年認識到其中一個卓越的人士，他是一個非常和藹可親和英俊的男士。我們立刻產生了種快樂的化學作用...是在建立於亞洲香港區的專業婚禮教育上。 亞洲市場總監Mr Yoshi，是Sophia Trading Co., Ltd的總裁。Yoshi在1992年開始這個特別的交易業務行業，在日本有多年為瑞士信貸銀行和富士銀行進行外幣匯率及貨幣交易的經驗。Yoshi的主要業務包括在日本的婚紗禮服進口和批發，酒店或網站顧問和為婚禮統籌師進行訓練。Yoshi自2002年以來已代表協會參加日本的活動。在他的領導下，許多亞洲成員自2007年起迅速發展。

準備處理 “哥斯拉新娘’

婚前恐懼症是一個典型的婚禮部分，其中的一些新娘會瘋狂地緊張不安，害怕丈夫會喪失生命。在現實生活上，這種情緒可能意味著即將的關係是不適合你，或者你根本還沒有準備好...那麼當然有機會會取消婚禮...但重要的是我們作為一個婚禮策劃師意識到，大多數夫妻，即使是最好的新人已經經歷了熱情和幸福這麼多年，婚禮前的恐懼好可能令新娘成為一隻哥斯拉...她就會把你逼瘋狂和刺激你的腎上腺素..最終要接受心理輔導.

Ms. Pauline Wan 尹婉萍小姐

註冊社工（香港）認可催眠治療堷訓導師（美國）

醫學顧問（香港教育專業人員協會）臨床實習導師 (香港大學行為健康研究中心)

中華禮儀

三書，六禮...提親，時辰八字，聘金（聘禮），結婚禮物，安排婚禮和婚禮儀式...這些種種傳統儀式一直影響到我們在香港的現代中式婚禮。中國是第三大的國家，擁有超過13億人口，56個不同種族，中國有很多不同變化的婚禮習慣。他們之中，有些很有趣，而其中一些是正式的。這一點很重要，我們作為婚禮策劃師必須了解中式婚禮禮儀的重要性。

羅勤芳女士 羅勤芳中華禮儀

專業大妗有限公 司禮儀總監

婚禮舞蹈文化

舞蹈一直被認為是以合作拍檔的方式來選擇每個人，就像很多動物也一樣。在西方人的婚禮文化上，新娘和新郎的First Dance是一個很重要的環節。傳統上，First Dance是華爾茲舞。現在，ballroom dance不是一個普遍的技能，亦不是夫妻的“慢舞”...這是我們的榮幸今天有我們的下一個嘉賓與大家分享一些簡單的舞步，舞蹈。學會跳舞不單是在婚禮上，而是要學會如何享受跳舞，以改善情緒穩定和交友技能。 Frany Wong被描述為一個才華橫溢的年輕專業，他在南華早報是一名教師，編導，演員和活動推廣。他自1991-2在加拿大許多省份贏得了許多舞蹈比賽獎項。在加拿大大學畢業多年後，Franky進了一個非同尋常的職業生涯，而不是他的另外專長白領職業，他自1999年之後在藝穗會開始了他的興趣﹣舞蹈教學。 Franky at dance_frank@yahoo.com www.fun4u.com.hk

Eco Wedding

海洋表面溫度一直是全球最熱的紀錄，在過去3個月，根據美國國家海洋和大氣管理局。海洋溫度為62.5攝氏，平均每年6月至8月，會高於比正常1度。相比以前的估計，海洋溫度和海平面上升高於百分之五十。溫度的上升影響了很多動物，使他們無家可歸。我們可以做什麼，我們如何改變。Yolanda Che at 9010 2780

www.greenmyplanet.net

恭喜大家成為ABC的新會員，感謝參與ABC第一屆香港區域研討會。再次感謝Mr. Yoshi，各特別嘉賓，各位朋友。還特別感謝陽明山莊為我們提供那麼好的場地， Photographer Uncle Paul和團隊，Maria，Gewn，Elaine和Charlotte (來自University of Kent的學生)。再次充心多謝您，並希望在我們的下一屆研討會再見。