AWP's Efforts

This coming September, AWP Malaysia will mark its 2nd year anniversary and I think here is where Leticia and I, as the co-founders of this association would like to count our milestones as well as express our sincere gratitude and thanks to all the committee members who had relentlessly, in one way or another, lent us their support and encouragements.

Starting the Association was no easy feat and it took us a good 7 - 8 months of deliberations and planning and not to mention, the tediousness of applying for our license. We are NOT registered with the ROC but we are registered with the ROS - which basically means we are NOT a money-making company or organization - despite what a few sour grapes would like to think. I mean, when we and the committee work on any of the AWP projects - these are based on our "volunteering" time and we do not draw a salary from this Association. We know, we know, it is a thankless job almost 100% of the time - and YET, there are still those who doubt us, who slander us and who..... bitch about us. But hey - we can't exactly control what you think or say. We shall not give in to these back-lashing and continue to steer the Association down the right path and at the same time, root for mutual benefits for all our members.

Looking back - here are some of events that brought us to where we are today :

Cathay Cineplex Online Contest in partnership with Cathay Damansara (promotion of Bride Wars starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway)
Cathay cineplex online contest in partnership with cathay damansara (along with the Bride's War partnership, AWP together with Cathay Cineplex Damansara also carried-out an online contest for members of the public. Prizes for the winners are sponsored by members of AWP)

Cathay Wedding Showcase
Cathay Wedding Showcase (AWP, using the Bride's War platform was offered a premium space at the entrance hall for members of AWP to showcase their wedding items - decor, favours, photography were all displayed to create publicity mileage for both the association as well as the individual members)

Cathay Wedding Exhibit
Cathay Wedding Exhibit (As a side-special, the AWP also organized a wedding exhibition at Cathay Cineplex's preview lounge from the 6th - 8th February. This is done in line with the movie premier of Bride's War. The exhibition showcased member photographers with their enchanting photography styles and moment-capturing instincts)

Valentine's Special at The Curve
Valentine’s Special @ Curve (as part of the Valentine's month activities, AWP organized a Valentine's Special, working together with The Curve to bring a different kind of wedding showcase to members of the public)

Platinum Lounge @ Cathay
The exclusive platinum movie suites at the Cathay Cineleisure opened its doors to our AWP photographers to create a museum photo exhibit to cinema patrons and friends. The promotion was held in conjunction with the month of love. Photographers who participated were Zach Chin Photography, Fabulous Chapter Photography, Edmund Tham Photography and Ideal Wedding.

Berjaya Love Me Do
Berjaya Love Me Do contest winner, Kelvin Teo Seh Kiat & Kimberly Yap Huay Sean had their grand wedding at the Berjaya Langkawi Resort & Spa on the 23 April 2009 and what a celebration it was indeed for the happy couple and their sixty invited friends and family! Congratulations once again! AWP endorsed the entire contest / event.

Garden of Eden Contest
The Association of Wedding Professionals Malaysia launched the “An Escapade : Garden Of Eden” online contest last August. With various vendors and service providers who are current members of the AWP co-sponsoring the event, contestants had a chance to win some great prizes – including a pre-wedding photography package with some of the top-notch photographers in town.

Tourism Malaysia Langkawi Expedition
As the first step in recognizing AWP in its effort to jointly develop weddings for tourism in Malaysia, the tourism ministry had invited AWP to do a thirty-minute presentation to tour agents and press from China who are greatly interested in this market. The presentation took place in Langkawi and we received fantastic response from the tour agents and press. Members wishing to work together with China - please contact AWP for more information.

Community @ Heart
In association with Community @ Heart, a non-profit charity organization aimed at providing workshops for the residents of Klang Valley. One such was the pre-marital wedding workshop for soon-to-be-weds and part of the course offered couples a helping hand from AWP on how to plan their wedding. The event was a fun-filled one with That Special Ocassion, Ideal Weddings, Truly Scrumptious and Beauty Haven.

Tourism Malaysia Brunei Expedition
Still working in tandem with Tourism Malaysia, this time around, AWP was invited to speak in Brunei at the Tourism & Weddings Seminar hosted by the TDC Brunei. Of course, all our members were specifically showcased for this special slideshow presentation.

Indian Summit by Tourism Malaysia
AWP did a presentation on destination weddings to a group of wedding planners from India. Yet another effort to bring in the destination wedding market by Tourism Malaysia.

AWP Media Munches
In a bid to bond further with the media, AWP launched the Media Munches - where it is an afternoon of fun & gossips between AWP and members of the media. Here is where good food and great company is enjoyed - without any mention of work. This is a monthly affair and we thank our main sponsor Prince Hotel for your support throughout.

AWP & Asia Bridal Summit
AWP Malaysia was invited to be a member of the Asia Bridal Summit - which is a Federation of Asia & Pacific Bridal Associations. This would further stretch our network beyond Malaysia and we would in the near future, be able to have workshop exchanges with our other country counterparts for ideas and know-hows.

AWP &TV3
From the Media Munch, AWP had successfully gained the support of TV3, and our members are now being showcased on the TV3 wedding website on a monthly basis. The two volunteer writers from AWP (Kris Wong and Eileen Lui) will contact members for interviews, feedbacks, etc.

AWP Wedding Wishes
In another colloboration with TV3, in an aim to "give back" to the society, AWP launched the Wedding Wishes Project, working with organizations like MAKNA to ensure everyone has a meaningful celebration.

For more photos and details of the news and events by AWP - please click here.

We have certainly come a long way. We still have a whole journey ahead of us. We strive to uphold the credibility and professionalism of this tiny (but growing) wedding industry and we hope you will too. For those who believe in us - it is for you guys that we continue striving ahead - without getting paid.

Thank You.

Joining Forces

Leticia & I first met back in early 2005. It was thanks to Kris, another industry friend and partner-in-crime who made this 'meeting' happen. He got us both on a radio interview together.

We've heard how bitchy the industry can get - but the two of us simply hit it off quite well from the get-go. Sometimes, it's difficult to say why or how. It's just good vibes. And likely - smart thinking from both parties.

I guess it was at this point, we were feeling that perhaps individually, it would be difficult for us to conquer the world. Hmmm...It was just a matter of the stars being aligned *eyelash batting*. In any case, we didn't waste time with the new-found friendship. It very quickly materialized into an "online love affair" - we exchanged trade secrets, we shared information about good vendors, bad vendors and the plain nasty ones, we passed on clients to one another when our dates were booked, we warned one another about potentially "psycho" clients... and really..... that "online love affair" of ours still exists right up till today - it must say something when I exchange more emails with Leticia than I do with my real lover.. and vice-versa!

We kept our own businesses running and even though we were supposedly competition - we actually didn't really see it that way. Simply because our working styles were quite different. They still are. Naturally, the types of clients we attract are very different too. She's the feminine, girly-girly type.... whilst I am more athletic and outdoorsy. As such, herein lie the differences between our portfolios - she features prim-and-proper weddings whereas I feature the breezy destination weddings which are usually outdoors. We are even bitchy in our own different ways! (That's right - we admit that we are. Plain and simple - you don't run your own businesses by being a push-over).

Where we synergize is through our "let's go get it" attitude and our very head-strong characters. We are both the types who would twitch with anxiety when the work platter is empty. And even if it was full, we would still be coming up with fantastic ideas and saying "Do you want to do it??" and the next thing you know - we're working ourselves halfway through a whole full platter of work. We don't give up easily and we are simply said - pretty damn strong. Not just "head-strong", but physically and mentally strong too. And you know what? We deliver.

So, believing that since two stubbornly head-strong characters could combine their efforts to make it work very well for their businesses, and having been encouraged by Tourism Malaysia, we sat down for coffee one day, and decided we were going to start an Association. Thinking (stupidly!) that the entire wedding industry, like us - also believes in the "United We Stand" concept. And thus - the birth of Association of Wedding Professionals (AWP) Malaysia in September 2008. The Association was the first venture that Leticia and I worked together on - and I have to say - even I was surprised at how well we worked together!

We're still working very hard on the Association and trying to sign-up more "believers". We are grateful and thankful of course, to those who had supported us in this endeavour. You could go to AWP's website to see all the good stuff that we had done for the Association and the members thus far.

We had not looked back since the founding of AWP. We've worked on numerous projects together and it was only a matter of time before we really joined forces - this time, to take on the Indochina market with The Wedding Planners. And there are numerous more projects in the pipeline that we are looking forward to doing together.

Because - one thing's for sure - why settle for one of the best when you can have two of the best?

**Photo taken at the AWP Launch on 4th September 2008