The Ins and Outs of the ABC Education System

By Gloria Boyden, MBC™, ABC Director of Education, Carmel, Ind.

Whether you are just starting your wedding industry career or are already mid-career, you may have realized that your credentials set you apart from your peers. All things being equal with another qualified planner or vendor, why should a client choose you rather than someone else? Clearly, it’s because of your credentials.

Qualifications are important

In a recent article appearing in a regional, Midwest newspaper, the reporter interviewed a wedding planner who said she did not need any education to do her job—she was qualified because she loved her work and the industry. But is that really true? Attitudes like that illustrate the need for education to elevate the industry.

And that education exists. The Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) has a means of achieving industry credentials and advancement. Planners and vendors just need to set a goal and start climbing the ladder. Everything you do earns points, including weddings, educational courses, leadership roles, industry contributions, and volunteer positions. You keep the score and maintain the records to prove your accomplishments. Here’s how to start climbing:

Professional Development Program

Education that earns you the most points. The ABC believes in education and is the only industry association that requires education for renewal. The Professional Development Program that can be purchased from the ABC is worth 25 points when completed. It grants the same points as the Penn Foster program with similar course content. 

Certified Wedding Planner

To become a Certified Wedding Planner, you need a minimum of 10 points in education. Almost any industry-related educational course or seminar, with documentation, counts. You can figure .25 point for every hour of education; the ABC seminars carry more weight. Education has a maximum number of points set at 40.

Professional Industry Experience & Leadership

The other areas where you can earn points are Professional Industry Experience (max 30), which includes assisting others and planning and directing weddings.  Leadership (max 25 points) includes your ABC membership, serving as Local Networking Group (LNG) coordinator, mentoring a new member, and holding other ABC appointments or other industry designations.  

Professional Industry Contributions & Related Activities

Professional Industry Contributions (max 25) includes anything that enhances the wedding industry profession, like writing articles, presenting a seminar, authoring a book, creating a video, or teaching a course. Finally, Related Activities (max 25) includes volunteering, serving as an officer or board member in an industry-related organization, and holding membership in other organizations. This area is how you give back to the industry.

What about designations?

Nothing says you know the industry better than having those little letters after your name—letters that show you have devoted the time and energy to better yourself to your clients benefit. ABC designations and points to earn them are: 

25-49 points: 

Certified Wedding Planner (CWP)or Certified Wedding Vendor (CWV)

50-74 points:Professional Bridal Consultant™ (PBC™)or Professional Wedding Vendor™ (PWV™) 

75-124 points:Accredited Bridal Consultant™ (ABC™)or Accredited Wedding Vendor™ (AWV™)

125+ points:Master Bridal Consultant™ (MBC™)or Master Wedding Vendor™ (MWV™)

The system is progressive. Before you go to any higher level, you must have achieved the designation directly beneath it with points certified by the ABC office. When the system first began years ago, some planners and vendors were grandfathered into the program. This is no longer an option as the system has been in place for many years. To achieve designation, you must submit your points and have them validated by the ABC.

What it takes to make it to the top

Although you no longer need to wait three years to advance in this system, completing the requirements for advancement will take time. The most prestigious, and the most difficult to achieve, are ABC™/AWV™ and MBC™/MWV™. 

While the ABC office issues the designation for the accredited credentials, requirements are different for the masters. To achieve it, not only do you need 125 plus points, you also need to:

•complete an application,

•present a binder of documents that builds from the former levels,

•make a portfolio on a wedding at which you were the lead,

•complete an in-person interview to a panel of Master Bridal Consultants™/Master Wedding Vendors™. The panel judges your worthiness. And, in the end, the points earn you the interview, not the title. Historically, one in three or more candidates do not make this designation.

Remember, working hard for something makes it worthwhile. No one just hands out a college degree, advanced medical fellowships, certified public accountant designation, or the like. If you want to be at the top in the wedding industry, the ABC has a platform to get there. As an accredited or master’s level professional, you can gain more weddings, more credibility, and very likely more income. Start climbing; just remember to keep track of your journey. ••

What’s new to the ABC Point System?

•Applicants need 75-124 points for ABC™ and 125 + points for MBC™.

•The ABC website has separate grids for beginning designations and for those requiring 75+ points.

•There are minimum requirements in each category for ABC™/AWV™ and MBC/™MWV™.

•Applicants must have attended Business of Brides Annual Conference: once in four years for ABC™ or AWV™, and two times in five years for MBC™/MWV™.

•In the ABC™/AWV™ and MBC™/MWV™ designations, new points may need to be recent. Check these carefully.

•To move to PBC™/PWV™ from ABC™/AWV™, you must submit 50-74 points to the ABC office.

•You must be accredited to apply for MBC™/MWV™.

•Every point you claim must have documentation.

•Each member keeps track of his/her own points and documents.