Research Page

I am a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am currently pursuing a Public Relations degree from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Recently, I became interested in event planning. After a lot of research, both on the Internet and through talking with professionals in the field, I have decided that I would like to pursue a career in the wedding consulting business. My ultimate goal is to be a special events planner for a country club one day.

I already have some experience with event planning. As the junior class president of my high school, I led the planning, budgeting, and execution of the Senior Prom. I also served as a member of the UNC Dance Marathon Marketing Committee. As a member of this committee, I contacted local businesses and solicited donations to help raise $100,098.33 in support of the UNC Dance Marathon. The Marathon is a student-led fundraiser for the UNC Children’s Hospital. I also serve on the Durham Relay for Life Publicity Committee. Although I have some experience with event planning, I am not very familiar with the wedding consulting business or with special events planning as an occupation.

I want to do more research on event planning because I have several questions. I would like to learn more about the business of professional event marketing. I know that there are many on-line tools and resources available to planners, but I want to know what these resources are and how they can be used. I know that wedding consultants offer many different services, but I would like to find out more about these services. My topic of research would be of interest to anyone interested in special event planning and who would like to pursue a career in this field.

UNC Library catalog:
special events
event marketing

Expanded Academic ASP:
event planning
bridal consulting

Search Engine on Web <http://www.dogpile.com>
special events professional
corporate event planning
wedding receptions AND country clubs AND north carolina
event management

Hoyle, Leonard H. Event marketing: how to successfully promote events,
festivals, conventions, and expositions. New York: J. Wiley, 2002. Call
number GT3405.H69 2002.

Allen, Judy, 1952- The business of event planning: behind-the-scenes secrets of
successful special events. Toronto: J. Wiley & Sons, 2002. Call number
GT3405.A54 2002.

A Catered Affair. 0.5 in., 95 min. MGM/UA Home Video, Culver City, CA, 1956.
Call number 65-V2835.

“Cvent, StarCite team for online meeting, event planning.” InfoWorld, 12 March
2001, Volume 23, Issue 11, 33. Database on-line. Available from Expanded Academic ASAP. [27 January 2003].

“More Brides Going Online To Plan Their Weddings.” HFN74, No. 23, 5 June
2000, 14. Database on-line. Available from Buisness and Industry, [30
January 2003].

Mosteller, Rachel. “Web pages useful modern tool for engaged couples Web
sites can give out reception directions, background, gift ideas.” The
Herald-Sun, 29 Sept. 2002, Life section, E1. Database on-line. Available
from LexisNexis Academic. [17 January 2003].

Patrizio, Andy. “Event planning enters the Internet age—Starcite takes the
headaches out of sending requests for proposals to hotels.”
InformationWeek, 5 June 2000, 43. Database on-line. Available from
Expanded Academic ASAP. [27 January 2003].

“Senada.com facilitates corporate event planning.” Direct Marketing, Oct.
2000, Volume 63, Issue 6, 66. Database on-line. Available from
Expanded Academic ASAP. [27 January 2003].

Watts, Christina F. “Here comes the money: fashioning a bridal consulting
business.” Black Enterprise, July 1994, Volume 24, 29. Database on-line.
Available from Expanded Academic ASAP. [30 January 2003].

1) Title of Web page: America’s Top Wedding Links
_______ Web Address: http://www.topweddinglinks.com/
_______ Brief Description: A national directory of wedding vendors. This site has
_____________links to thousands of wedding and honeymoon planning services
_____________and vendors organized by city and state. It is very easy to
_____________navigate. It also provides information about wedding
_____________etiquette, history of traditions, statistics, and other useful
_____________information for any wedding coordinator.
_______Source of Web Site: Sponsored by A Wedding Day.com and America's Top Wedding Links, Inc

2) Title of Web page: Event Wise
________Web Address: http://www.eventwise.co.uk/
________Brief Description: This Company was the winner of the 2001 IBM
_____________E-Buisness award. The site is easy to navigate. Although it offers
_____________a variety of party packages for UK-based Corporate Events it is still
_____________an excellent site to get ideas for hospitality, away day, Christmas,
_____________and conference packages.
______Source of Web Site: unknown

3) Title of Web page: Hope and Dreams Simple and Elegant Weddings
________Web Address: http://www.hopedreams.net/
________Brief Description: This is the web site of a wedding coordinator in
_____________Durham, N.C. The site provides important details for wedding
_____________attendants such as directions, wedding details, and suggestions for
_____________where to stay. It is easy to navigate and very professionally laid
_____________out. The site also explains, in detail, the services provided by the
_____________wedding consultant.
_______Source of Web Site: Hope Lawrence

4) Title of Web page: International Special Events Society
________Web Address: http://www.ises.com/
________Brief Description: This is the official site for ISES. The purpose of ISES is
_____________to join professionals from a variety of special events disciplines so
_____________that they can learn from each other. The site provides
_____________links to each local chapter’s web site. It is a good tool to learn
_____________more about ISES and how someone like me could get involved in
_____________the events planning business.
_______Source of Web Site: ISES

5) Title of Web page: Web Event
________Web Address: http://www.webevent.com/
________Brief Description: This site gives more information about even
_____________calendaring and group scheduling software. There are very
_____________informative demos about the different software capabilities.
_____________The site is educational and would be useful for business, educational,
_____________government, and nonprofit events.
________Source of Web Site: WebEvent Inc.

The meeting and event industry is a $300 billion worldwide business, and the Internet is quickly becoming an important tool for today’s event planners. (1)

Software and websites, both private and public, save time and money for planners by allowing access to important information at a click of the mouse.

Senada.com is an event planning tool that enables professionals to create, send, and manage branded invites and RSVPs. (2) A new form of software is available online to help planners calendar and schedule their events. This software can be purchased online at StarCite.com. StarCite.com is a private Web portal that offers services to members of the event planning industry. StarCite.com allows its users to select hotels and convention centers in their choice city by electronically sending one request for proposal. (3)

The Internet is also changing the way wedding coordinators do business. Traditionally, if a wedding attendant had a question about where to stay or where the couple is registered, they would call the mother of the bride. Not any more. The Internet is being used to provide wedding attendants with this information. One wedding coordinator in the Durham area saw the trend of wedding Web pages rise among her clients. Hope Lawrence, owner of Hope & Dreams wedding coordination, has several clients with their own web page. Lawrence also gives her brides the option of setting up a page on her Web site (www.hopedreams.net). (4) Wedding Web pages are a convenient way to gain access to important information without bothering the bride and groom.

(1) Patrizio, Andy. “Event planning enters the Internet age—Starcite takes the headaches out of sending requests for proposals to hotels.” InformationWeek, 5 June 2000, 43. Database on-line. Available from Expanded Academic ASAP. [27 January 2003].

(2) “Senada.com facilitates corporate event planning.” Direct Marketing, Oct. 2000, Volume 63, Issue 6, 66. Database on-line. Available from Expanded Academic ASAP. [27 January 2003].

(3) “Cvent, StarCite team for online meeting, event planning.” InfoWorld, 12 March 2001, Volume 23, Issue 11, 33. Database on-line. Available from Expanded Academic ASAP. [27 January 2003].

(4) Mosteller, Rachel. “Web pages useful modern tool for engaged couples Web sites can give out reception directions, background, gift ideas.” The Herald-Sun, 29 Sept. 2002, Life section, E1. Database on-line. Available from LexisNexis Academic. [17 January 2003].

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