Deborah McCoy of the American Academy of Wedding Professionals - Part 1

For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking to Deborah McCoy of the American Academy of Wedding Professionals, an international organization that not only trains candidates that are interested in becoming wedding planners, but also manages a network of wedding industry professionals. Deborah has extensive experience in all aspects of wedding planning, and has written a number of books on the subject. Brides to be are going to find this episode especially fun. So enjoy part one of my interview with Deborah McCoy of the American Academy of Wedding Planners.

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Here is a transcript of the interview:

There are at least seven books for purchase on your site, all written by you. What was the first book that you wrote, and when did you realize you could be a writer?

The first book that I wrote was called For the Bride and it was a large wedding planning bridal reference book. And the reason that I wrote it was because I owned a bridal salon--a large bridal salon in South Florida--and I started working with my clients and listening to what they said and all of the information that they wanted about planning their weddings but couldn’t get. And it sort of turned me on to a need so I went to the libraries, I went to the bookstores etc., etc., and I was reading everything I could get my hands on about weddings past and present and I realized that they were rather antiquated. They weren’t with it. They hadn’t changed with the times. And my clients, the majority were paying for their own weddings and they really wanted hard-hitting, core information about, “Hey, how do I buy liquor at the wedding to make sure I’m getting the best value and I’m not getting ripped off?” “How do I make sure the band I book is going to show up?” ...all of these kind of things. So, what I did was, I started to really, really, really research and I went to the best people the industry had to offer and I just started to write. And no, I did not know I could write. And in fact, even though my degree was in communications, I was not a writer. And I basically, with the help of my husband, who, by the way, was with the "National Inquirer," and who is a terrific writer, he basically taught me how to write. And it was an arduous process.

I’m currently reading a book about encouraging your spouse and helping to unlock their potential, so I love hearing that story.

He really unlocked my potential and he was very rough on me. I would write a chapter and he would read it and he would say, “This is garbage. Just go back and do it again.” Simplify, simplify, simplify. And he basically taught me to organize my thoughts differently, to think differently, to analyze differently, and to write simply.

Are you working on a new book?

Right now I am currently updating my book called The Elegant Wedding and the Budget Savvy Bride and the reason why I’m doing it is because that book was introduced a few years ago and of course the economy was great. Everything was hunky-dory, but I still felt that people needed to know how to do a wedding for less and that’s why I wrote the book. I appeared on Good Morning America with that book. It was a terrific success. And in this economy and in this day and age when the average wedding approaches $28,000, I felt that people need to know that you can do a wedding for less. So I am currently re-writing that book and I hope to have it out within a month or so.

Oh wow, sounds good.

If folks visit your web site, they’ll see all of the different, or at least a sampling of the different media outlets that you’ve had a chance to be a guest on. Not everyone has the confidence and the poise to appear on a national television show like Good Morning America for example.

Right.

How do you put yourself in that mode, and does it get easier?

Yeah, it does get easier over time. The first couple times, it’s a little nerve-racking and it’s... Your nerves control. There’s no doubt about it. And after a couple times, after a few times, you sort of relax and you realize, “Hey, don’t think I’m on television. Just talk to the person that’s asking you the questions and think about what they’re asking and think about your answers.” And you get lost, really, in the interview, is what I’ve found. So my nerves always are shaky in the beginning and then afterwards I’m fine. Now, after fifteen years, I’m pretty well used to it.

And now let’s talk about how you got involved in the wedding industry and what lead you to that field?

Alright, (laughter)

I owned a custom clothing salon in Boca Raton, Florida and my partner and I actually designed and made clothes for women in the city and we made some pretty fantastic things if I do say so myself. And when my husband’s daughter decided to get married I said, “Ok, for your wedding gift, we’re going to design your wedding dress and we’re going to make it. And we’re going to also design the bridesmaids’ dresses for you.” And that was her wedding gift. And basically, I ended up helping her plan the entire wedding besides doing the gowns and the veils and the dresses. And afterward, her friends came to me and said, “Can you help me with my wedding?” And their families came to me and the whole thing just snowballed into a wedding business which tells you that you never know where life is going to take you.

You had the salon, and you also had a flower business.

Yes. Once I had the salon... I had it for about five years. And at that point, I felt qualified to start writing, and actually consulting--becoming a bridal consultant. I was never one of those people that planned one wedding and said, “Okay, I’m qualified.”

And by the way, that’s the problem with many of the consultants that are out there today. They plan one wedding, basically their own, and say “Wow, I really love this. Now I’m a wedding planner.” And that’s the furthest thing they are.

But at any rate, what happened was that after five years in the store and researching and working, and working with brides, I felt that I was qualified to plan a wedding. And so I started to get into wedding planning along with my bridal salon. It just went hand in hand. So that’s what I did. I became a wedding planner besides owning the salon. And then, because I was working with one of the premier designers--floral designers--in the area, we decided to go into business together and we opened Floral Concepts. And the only thing that we did was wedding flowers. I love flowers and I started... I researched flowers, plus, my partner taught me everything. He was just a brilliant designer.

Okay, so many different areas of expertise. And let’s get into the American Academy of Wedding Professionals and your network and the way you educate folks properly on becoming a wedding planner. We’ll sort of gradually segue into that in this interview, and let’s first talk about the web site, aa-wp.com. My first time going there, I noticed there are a number of useful items that you offer on your site, free of charge. Of course you offer the course which is a paid admission but a lot of things free of charge and I’d like to ask you a little bit about each. When I created a free account on your site, I immediately received an e-mail, “Weekly Words of Wedding Wisdom.” Do you enjoy...

Right.

Yeah, and I enjoyed that. Do you enjoy writing weekly for your site?

Yes! Oh I love it! I do the Weekly Words of Wedding Wisdom which is free to the brides. I also wrote a wedding planner that is free to brides. It’s called The Bride’s Bullet Planner and I wrote it basically for those... Knowing the internet and knowing how fast everything is, I really wrote it in bullet points but it’s a really, really concise and comprehensive book, basically, that you can download for free that will take you through the wedding planning process start to finish. I also have up on the site my 10 Commandments of Elegant Wedding Planning which I think is important for every bride to read. We also have various quizzes you can take which are a lot of fun, “How Diamond Savvy Are You?” I love diamonds. I love engagements. And diamonds became an area that I researched and that I know fairly well. And we put up the quiz to see how diamond savvy you are and because the majority of America women get diamond engagement rings when they become engaged so that was important to me. Also, what kind of a wedding planner you’ll be. And the quizzes are up and they’re scored instantly. And we wanted to make it fun for brides so that when you come you see wedding news from around the world and you have the joke of the week and we just wanted it to be a little bit different.

Does a bride need to have a diamond as her engagement ring?

No, not at all. It’s just that it’s become such a tradition in this country, and in fact, nowhere else. In the UK, colored gem stones are what are featured for engagement rings. Basically, it’s an American thing. I think the last time I checked the percentage, about 80% of American women receive diamonds when they get engaged.

I thought it would have been a higher percentage and I didn’t know it was an American popular tradition. Very interesting.

It’s an American popular tradition. If you remember when Diana Spencer got engaged to the Prince of Wales, he gave her a sapphire. When Fergie got engaged to Prince Andrew, she received a ruby, not diamonds. I mean a lot of women prefer semi-precious gems. A lot of women prefer birthstones for engagement rings. A lot of people like antique jewelry for engagement rings.

In addition, another freebie, the audio CD, Plan a Wedding and Save, must be a popular item...

It’s very popular.

Was that a book that you authored and then turned into an audio CD?

No, that was just an audio CD that I did and it was just based on all of my experience in working with brides that needed to save money planning weddings. And I just put it all together and I address money saving through each facet of planning a wedding, whether you’re buying a diamond, tips for saving money when you have a reception, flowers, every single aspect of wedding planning is touched in that CD. It’s really comprehensive.

Do you read the narration?

Yes, I read the whole thing.

Cool. Excellent. And do you think that busy brides and grooms appreciate having it on CD so they can listen while they’re in the car and not have to sit down with a book?

Yes, absolutely. There’s no doubt about it. I mean who lives in a faster paced society than we do?

True. Our time just keeps getting spread so thin.

I know.

You also offer a course sample on wedding gowns. Is this part of the curriculum that someone could expect if they were to sign up for the program.

Yes. I really wanted to put up a segment from the course that brides would relate to and aspiring wedding planners would relate to because the wedding gown is one of the most popular... In fact, “Modern Bride” did a survey and asked brides, “What was the most...” not fascinating, but “What was the best part of planning your wedding?” And the vast majority said, “Shopping for my gown.” So when I put up part of the course that I would best relate to most readers, I wanted to include the segment on wedding gowns.

This is only part 1 of my interview with Deborah McCoy of the American Academy of Wedding Planners. For more information on Deborah and her organization, visit aa-wp.com. Look out for part 2 of the interview, where Deborah will discuss becoming a wedding planner, dealing with bridezillas, and the satisfaction that a wedding planner has when everything works out perfectly. Make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast so you won’t miss that episode or any other.

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