About the School, Education, Student Ambassador
What I Think of QC’s Event Planning Training So Far!
Shawniece Evins is a professional planner, the co-founder of Heart and Bustle, LLC., and a Student Ambassador for QC Event School. She is currently a student of QC’s Event & Wedding Planning and Event Decor courses. Today, she’s here to share how her event planning training is going so far!
Formal event planning training is an essential part of every wedding and event planner’s journey. But there are many programs dedicated to event planning training. It can become difficult to decide which program to enroll in!
In this blog, I discuss my journey into the event planning industry. I will also reveal why I chose to pursue my event planning training with QC Event School, as well as my experience thus far with QC’s Event & Wedding Planning Course.
So, let’s jump right in!
My Journey into Event Planning
Growing up, I always dreamed of a career as a wedding and event planner. My dream began while I was watching movies like The Wedding Planner, or TV shows such as Platinum Weddings and Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?
Fast forward a few years… During my business management externship, I was able to assist the Special Event Planner at the Children’s Museum Pittsburgh. That experience is what solidified my decision to move forward with a career as a professional planner.
I started off planning special events for hotels in my area. After that, exactly one year ago, my friend and I decided to start our OWN wedding and event planning company!
QC’s Online Courses
Over the years, I’ve taken many event planning courses. I’ve also received a certificate of completion. But what I quickly realized was that practically anyone can create an online event planning course and give out a certificate of completion. Certificates and certifications are two completely different things.
Once I realized that I needed a professional certification to go along with my years of experience, I started my search for the RIGHT kind of event planning training. I went back and forth about whether I should enroll in an online program, or if I should enroll in a brick-and-mortar one. Ultimately, I decided to enroll with QC Event School.
Due to my frequently changing schedule, I knew that a self-paced online program would work best for me. I love that with QC, I’m able to read my materials and complete my assignments on almost every mobile device that I own!
Enrolling in My Event & Wedding Planning Course
I decided to enroll in this particular course because I’d recently started my event planning company, Heart & Bustle, LLC. I knew that I would need more than just my experience in order to set myself apart from other planners in my area.
Based on my experience so far, here are my top favorite things about being enrolled with QC Event School:
- I have two FULL years to complete my courses
- Tutors have real-life industry experience
- The courses provides practical, real-world case scenario assignments
- QC Event School has an A+ ranking from the BBB and is ILEA-approved
- QC offers low monthly payments, while also providing a great discount if you choose to pay your tuition in full
- Every month, the school offers a promotion that can make getting your certification even more affordable
- Once you become a QC student, you’ll forever receive 50% off of each additional course you want to enroll in
- QC has a large, online community (i.e. their the Online Student Center and Virtual Classroom), which provides a wonderful way to connect with other students and industry professionals
- Once I complete my course, I’ll receive my International Event and Wedding Planning Professional™ (IEWP®) certification
How My Training is Going
So far, I’ve completed Units A and B in my Event & Wedding Planning Course. I passed both units with A’s – yay! Right now, I’m currently working on Unit C. I’m particularly looking forward to the risk management section of this unit. Risk management and logistics are by far my favorite parts of wedding and event planning!
It’s important that you treat each assignment as if you were dealing with an actual client. Not only because your tutor will grade you based on this – but also because you’ll get the most out of each assignment that way. As I completed my assignments, I reached out to actual vendors and venues. This way, I could ask questions about pricing and setups. I could also bounce ideas off of them, in order to make my assignments as realistic as possible. This was such a wonderful networking opportunity for me!
Each unit includes detailed course materials (some materials are videos whereas others are books) to assist you with your assignments. In Unit A, you’ll get an introduction to event planning. You’ll also learn about:
- Creating an event concept
- The planning budget
- The planning timeline
I remember in the ‘Creating an Event Concept’ section, I was asked to plan a 40th birthday party for twin brothers that love the Star Wars franchise. Since most clients are visual, I decided to do a vision board that included all of the details the assignment required. My tutor, Angela Hodel, complimented me on going with a vision board versus simply filling out the assignment sheet.\
The event planning training in Unit B covers:
- Event venues and catering
- Milestone parties and events
- Birthday parties
- Religious rites and funerals
In the ‘Religious Rites and Funerals’ section of Unit B, you’re asked to choose one of the following events to plan:
- Bar or Bat Mitzvah
- Quinceañera
- Baptism
- First Communion
I decided to go with planning a First Communion, since I’d never planned this type of event before. It was great to step outside of my comfort zone and learn something new! It was also awesome to hear my tutor’s feedback as well. Angela provided me with a lot of helpful, constructive criticism – particularly about things to keep in mind while planning this type of event, which I hadn’t considered in my submitted assignment.
Honestly, Angel has been amazing throughout this process. She provides me with such informative, personalize feedback whenever I complete a unit. Her turnaround time for grading and critiquing my units have been very quick. I also appreciate that she’s so active in the Virtual Classroom on Facebook. Angela is not only a tutor for QC Event School – she’s also the owner of Imagine Events and has years of industry experience. I definitely appreciate those kinds of qualifications in my instructor.
I am very pleased with my experience with my QC Event and Wedding Planning course thus far. I’m looking forward to continuing my event planning training afterwards, too, by enrolling in other courses that QC has to offer! I definitely recommend QC to aspiring planners, as well as planners that are experienced in the industry and want to take their career to the next level!
