Aussie-based planner partners with DOT: Philippines pushed as premier wedding destination

CEBU, Philippines —  A Cebuana-founded startup company based in Sydney partners with the Department of Tourism (DOT-Philippines) in Australia to help promote the Philippines as premier wedding destination.

WePlanr founder Erika Veloso-Wielopolska announced the launching of #ThrowbackWeddingOfTheYear,. The competition aims to promote the Philippines as a premier destination of choice for Aussie and Kiwi couples seeking beautiful, tropical wedding destinations -- and to promote the fact that the Philippines is also home to many talented local wedding suppliers.

“The tourism and hospitality industry has been heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic, and we are thrilled to support an innovative startup such as WePlanr in their efforts to promote tourism to the Philippines,” said the Philippine Tourism Attache´ for Australia and New Zealand Norjamin Delos Reyes.

“While waiting for our borders to re-open, the competition is a great way for us to show off what the Philippines has to offer to couples everywhere,” de los Reyes added.

WePlanr is the first-ever combined destination wedding planning and marketplace platform based in Sydney, Australia designed specifically to help Australian couples to get married in remote destinations across Australia, New Zealand and in Southeast Asia, launching first in the Philippines.

It aims to provide a simple and easy platform for couples to get inspired, connect with friendly industry experts in the Philippines, and easily manage every detail of everything they need to pull a wedding together, with its automated budget tracking, easy in-platform communication channel, calendars and reminders, and quotes and invoices--all in one place.

“I’ve always been a believer that talent is evenly distributed across the globe, but opportunity is not,” said Cebuana-Australian Veloso-Wielopolska.

“Now more than ever, the world needs a platform to help democratise access to opportunity - and that is what I plan to achieve, for creative wedding talent everywhere, with WePlanr. Of course, as a proud Filipina, we are launching first in the Philippines for destinations outside of Australia,”’she said.

To realize its mission, WePlanr is inviting resorts, and wedding suppliers all over the Philippines to be a part of the highly anticipated launch of the platform, coinciding with the start of the competition.

For a limited time, WePlanr is offering 50 percent off on their joining fee, on or before January 15, 2021 to coincide with the start of the competition. January 15, 2021 to coincide with the start of the competition.

To join the competition, couples will need to record a short video answering the question “What made your wedding more fun and more amazing in the Philippines?” along with photos and key details of their wedding.

Videos will be shortlisted each month to go in the running for the monthly cash prize. The videos with the ‘most likes’ as voted by the public based on a set criteria will be deemed the winner for that month. Grand prize winners will then be selected from the monthly winners to be crowned #ThrowbackWeddingOfTheYear.

Winners and official partners of WePlanr will be featured in a special magazine printed by WePlanr, to be published and distributed at various Australian Wedding Expos in 2022 and the grand prize winner will be featured on the cover of the magazine.