Ria Kentjono Turnbull worked as the Director of Weddings in one of Bali's well renowned Resort and was in charge of 500 weddings a year. It was not until last year, when she was invited to attend Weddings Beautiful Worldwide, 'Wedding Planner of The Year Awards' in China that she realized Indonesia's need of a standardized wedding industry in knowledge and experience. From that notion, The Wedding Academy was born, to facilitate aspiring wedding planners to reach an optimal standard as well as equipping them with the help from the professionals of the industry.
In your opinion, what makes an outstanding wedding planner?
An outstanding wedding planner is someone who is willing to go the extra mile, really spending time doing research on their clients including visiting their house to get a feel for their tastes, how they dress, what food they eat, favorite colors, what movies and music they like.You put all this together to develop their unique wedding concept. This is a much personalized service which I think a lot of the wedding planners in Indonesia are lacking. Most of the time it is a "copy and paste" wedding, the same wedding we've all been to a hundred times before. More and more wedding couples are looking beyond this 'wedding by numbers' and want their one of kind, fun and special wedding.
Do you have any tips for brides-to-be on how to pick the right wedding vendors among the limitless options?
With the growing number of wedding vendors out in the industry, here are a few things to pay attention to before pinning a vendor. Check to see if they invest in a good website; to me that's a first mark of a professional vendor. Next, is it easy for you to get in touch with the vendor? If the vendor doesn't answer mails and messages within 24 hours it's probably wiser to look elsewhere. Also, pay attention to legal processions and assets. Are they a registered company? Do they have an office? Do they provide a legal contract for their services with a clear explanation of what services you get for your money? Don't forget to check with other wedding vendors and other couples who have used their service and lastly, you can simply ask them whether they're certified by The Wedding Academy.
How would the learning process be in the Wedding Academy classes? Is it fun and practical or will it be more serious and text-book based?
It's more to the fun and practical side, of course! We have designed the course to make it interactive and enjoyable. We have deliberately broken up the curriculum to include several workshops, relating to photography, videography, event & floral design, hotel & vendor management, public relations & marketing, food & beverage, bridal design and wedding planning, by the most successful Indonesian wedding planners and vendors.
Do you have any tips for aspiring wedding planners to compete with established wedding planners out there?
First tip to offer, get professional. Invest in a really good website and be active with your social media accounts. Post interesting snippets on your page, to tell the community that you're driven and talented. Second, spread the words. Contact everyone you know and get in front of everyone that is likely to make your business a success. Let everyone know what you're doing and how hard you're willing to work to make their wedding a success. Third, get certified. Enroll in The Wedding Academy and learn everything there is to know to become a professional wedding planner.
What can we expect from a graduate of The Wedding Academy?
You can expect students of Weddings Beautiful Worldwide to have a comprehensive education in all aspects of professional wedding planning, from writing contracts, organizing invitations, bridal fashion styles, wedding ceremony etiquette, event design, directing all types of religious ceremonies, honestly the list goes on and on. Shortly, you can expect an internationally accredited wedding planner.
What can planners learn at Wedding Academy that they wouldn't find anywhere else?
There are a lot of wedding planners who don't have the necessary skill and The Wedding Academy is here to teach them and bring them up to what we consider the minimum standard of acceptable practice for wedding planners in the wedding industry in Indonesia. If we create an Indonesian wide level of certification that any client can identify as trustworthy, then we will create a stronger belief in our wedding industry as a whole.
You can learn more about The Wedding Academy by visiting their website, here.
