Wedding Planning Class Offered

A wedding planning course will be the first offering in a new curriculum that Pierpont Community & Technical College of Fairmont State University will launch this fall under its Food Service Management/Human Services program.

The wedding planning course will be the first course offered as part of a one-year certificate program in Events Management. Those interested in wedding planning may also take the course as an independent offering. The instructor for the course, Carrie Swiger, owner of Unveiled Event Planning and Design in Charleston, developed the Events Management curriculum with Dr. Beth Newcome, Chair of the Pierpont C&TC School of Health and Human Services.

The wedding planning course will offer students a perspective on what a wedding planner does and all of the steps involved in planning a wedding and reception. The course also covers how to work with vendors and negotiate contracts, an overview of the types of jobs that exist in the wedding industry and how to start your own wedding planning business.

"One of the most important aspects of wedding planning is organization," Swiger said. "Whether the wedding costs $4,000 or $45,000, organization is the key to success. People are putting the most important day of their lives into your hands. One unsuccessful wedding could tarnish a wedding planner's reputation forever. To be successful in this business you have to be a listener and a detail-oriented, organized, creative, multi-tasker."

A 2002 Fairmont State Community & Technical College graduate with a degree in fashion design, Swiger started Unveiled Event Planning and Design in her hometown of Charleston in 2002. Her business provides full-service and partial wedding planning, event planning and alterations. Swiger currently operates the North Central West Virginia portion of her business from her home. She is currently searching for a retail location in the Bridgeport area. Her goal is to have two fully operational retail boutiques similar to the one in Charleston.

"The boutiques are important to give the client a place to come, look through books, get ideas, purchase a gown and bridesmaid dresses and do the planning," Swiger said.

In addition to Unveiled Event Planning and Design, Swiger also owns Operation Glass Slipper, a West Virginia non-profit that provides dresses, formals, suits, accessories and makeup to young men and women in order for them to attend proms, dances, leadership conferences and other school-related functions.

For more information about the class, call Swiger at (304) 367-4219 or e-mail her at carrie.smithswiger@fairmontstate.edu.