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About US

Who We Are

The JWPA is a membership-based association for wedding professionals and related service providers in Jamaica, including but not limited to wedding planners, photographers, videographers, designers, florists, musicians, DJ’s, caterers and event coordinators.

Become A Member
  • Exhibit professional and ethical behaviour.
  • Treat all our clients fairly through transparency and trustworthy representations
  • Communicate thoroughly with customers regarding all aspects of products and/or services that are being provided or sourced on their behalf
  • The provision of a contract of services to our clients from which we operate, being aware of the legal responsibilities set out in the contract and of the consequences for non-performance
  • Providing clear costing to our clients with no hidden fees
  • Treating our clients, partner vendors and service providers with the respect by trying to provide timely communications while engaging in business with them
  • Settle disputes professionally and promptly.
  • Treat other wedding professionals with respect and not discredit, slander, or otherwise misrepresent other members of our industry
  • Assist in the advancement of the wedding industry through continuous education, training, and networking with other vendors both locally and internationally
  • Observe all laws and regulations and obtain the requisite licenses and permits where applicable
  • Honor all agreements made with customers, suppliers and service providers.
  • Recognition by the international wedding industry and your peers as the standard of excellence in Jamaica.
  • A direct link to and description of your business on our website
  • Free publicity through our media contacts and on our social media platforms
  • Attendance to two (2) networking events per year at no charge
  • Submission to our quarterly newsletter, covering international industry news and trends, JWPA news and collaboration opportunities
  • Local and worldwide networking opportunities.
  • Inclusion in promotions such at styled shoots for submission to international publications
  • A professional gold standard by using our logo for your advertising collateral.
  • Access and discounts to international conferences and industry education events throughout the country and the world.

Membership Benefits

Membership certainly has its perks! As a JWPA member, you’ll get the benefits you want and need to take your business to the next level!

Why Join JWPA?

  • Local and worldwide networking opportunities
  • Inclusion in promotions such as styled shoots
  • A professional gold standard by using our logo for your advertising collateral
  • Free publicity through our media contacts and on our social media platforms
  • Attendance to two (2) networking events per year at no charge
  • A direct link to and description of your business on our website (coming soon)
  • Quarterly newsletter, covering international industry news and trends, JWPA news and collaboration opportunities
  • Access and discounts to international conferences and industry education events throughout the country and the world.
  • Recognition by the international wedding industry and your peers as the standard of excellence in Jamaica.
Become A Member

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”– Amy Poehler

Board Members

Ophellia McKnight

Director

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Courtney Sappleton

Director

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Chalene Roye-Myrie

Director

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Merrick Cousley

Director

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Patrice Smith

Secretary

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Ophellia McKnight

Jamaican born and bred with almost two decades of Toronto living, Ophellia McKnight has 20 years of wedding industry knowledge and experience.  She is Jamaica wedding planning royalty, being the first formally registered wedding planner on island.  Her first company, then called The Bridal Affaire, has grown into an international destination wedding planning and design firm and rebranded to Bridal Affair Destinations ten years ago to support and refine her development in the industry.  This firm services clients from all over the world who want to get married in Jamaica and produces world class weddings.

Ophellia also recently launched a second company focussing on destination management, which mainly facilitates other professionals around the world who are looking for assistance and resources on the ground in Jamaica as well as support for their brand when they work on island. The Destination Collective, which is a collaborative effort with her network of preferred vendors provides the back end support to many other international wedding professionals and corporate concerns who choose to work in Jamaica.

The Jamaica Wedding Professionals Association is a heart project for Mrs. McKnight, who has long believed that the industry would be stronger together.  She understands that collaboration and community are the only ways to build a strong wedding industry and was keen on harnessing the wedding professionals in Jamaica and showing them a vision of financial success through training and development of their product and their brand. With a keen eye on the international market, she understands the value of knowing your market, creating your brand and curating experiences that will attract the ideal client and this is what she wants the entire industry to understand and aspire to. 

Courtney Sappleton

Courtney Sappleton is a master of multiple trades. He holds a BSc. in Business Administration with a specialization in Programme and Project Management and is a trained accountant. He is also a musician, dramatist and graphic designer. He brings this strong left-right hemisphere balance to everything he does. He is also a professional wedding photographer who produces exceptional work for his clients and is making his mark quietly in the wedding industry, creating stellar works of art and beautiful compositions for his clients.

This makes him a perfect fit for the role of the Vice President of the JWPA because he has a broad outlook on the industry and nothing misses his eagle eye focus about the industry that we all rely on as our main source of income.

Courtney brings a unique perspective because of his work in other industries and because he is also an educator, he can see different elements and find solutions that are out of the box. His training
background will help us to curate the programs for training and development, which is one of the cornerstones of the association and our biggest mandate for 2017.

Merrick Cousley

Merrick Cousley is one of Jamaica’s most sought after wedding photographers.  He is dedicated to providing the best service and wedding experience for his couples and is internationally acclaimed and regularly published.  His work has graced many wedding blogs and local publications alike.

Merrick is easily recognized as one of the most engaging photographers in the industry to work with and therefore is widely known and respected by his colleagues for his genuine, easy going nature.  His willingness to be helpful and support other professionals in the industry has garnered the respect that makes him the perfect fit to be our membership Director. His commitment to professionalism and client care makes him the epitome of the world class professional that we are trying to encourage every member of the JWPA to strive for.