The Special Event 2009

The premiere conference for those in the event planning industry is just around the corner. The Special Event 2009 will be held in San Diego this year, from January 27 through January 30. I signed up to attend last week and I can't wait!

I've wanted to go to this conference for several years now and each time it rolls around, I've had a scheduling conflict with an upcoming event. Well, this year, there's no conflict since a January event falls in the middle of the month!

One of the special lectures I signed up for {and am most excited about} is the Wedding Luncheon. The guest speaker this year is Carley Roney, co-founder and Editor in Chief of The Knot, Inc. In addition to this luncheon, there will be an opportunity to explore the Designer Wedding Gallery where a select few designers are invited to showcase their tabletop design talent. The thought of going to this luncheon makes me so excited!

It is a bit of an investment to attend this conference. Between registration, hotel and airfare, it costs about $2,500 to attend. And that doesn't include food and incidentals. But, I think it's going to be well worth the cost. And since I obtain educational credit for each session I attend, I'll find myself that much closer to being eligible to sit for the CSEP exam.

For those who don't know, the CSEP {Certified Special Event Planner} exam is a rigorous examination that requires a lot of event planning education and experience, community involvement and business excellence to be allowed to take. It has been a personal goal of mine to take this exam. There are only a couple CSEP's in the entire state of Michigan. Probably because the test is as tough to earn enough credits to sit for as it is to take! In the next year or two, I hope to announce my passing of this exam!

So, if you have the time and you're an event planner {or a vendor working in the special event field}, I strongly encourage you to look into this conference. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

~Jodi