Laurie Hartwell founded the Certified Wedding Planner Society in an effort to create the type of community she was seeking when she first started planning weddings. She is so proud of the ever-growing family of Wedding Planners who all lift one another up within this organization. Laurie Hartwell has 3 decades of experience in the wedding industry, planning weddings for celebrities and other elite clientele since 1993, and mentoring wedding planners since 2007. She has won many awards over the years, including "Most Helpful Mentor" at the National WEDDI AWARDS, for the impact she has made on the wedding industry all around the world. Laurie has been a speaker for several national industry companies including: - WeddingWire - The Knot - Aisle Planner - Timeline Genius - Wedding MBA - and more!


Krisy Parker Thomas, is the Vice President of the Certified Wedding Planner Society, and the owner of Southern Sparkle Wedding & Event Planning. She is also a Master Certified Wedding Planner through the Certified Wedding Planner Society. Southern Sparkle Wedding & Event Planning is an award-winning wedding planning team with locations in Nashville, Jackson, and Memphis, Tennessee. Southern Sparkle’s work has been featured in wedding publications and blogs such as: - Better Homes & Gardens - MidSouth Bride - MOD Weddings - Classic Bride - Ruffled Blog - The Wedding Playbook - Southern Bride Blog - and more! Southern Sparkle was also named one of The Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville Wedding/Event Planners.