It’s easy. The various member types are listed here along with prices and benefits for each level. There are 3 basic levels. There is a join now button on that page.

A member must have been in the wedding industry over 3 years. You must provide, at the time of application:

1. A business license*
2. Current business insurance (declarations page)
3. Sign the WIPA Code Of Ethics Pledge

The applicant will then pay the membership fee along with an application fee of $25 and submit the requested documents mentioned above. This initial application must be paid online with a credit card. Only renewals can be paid with company check.

The application will be reviewed and granted or denied. There are no refunds.

*Suggested documents if government business license is unavailable:

At least one of your documents should show the company name you have applied under. If you are wishing to list your company as a DBA name, you must have DBA paperwork or equivalent. We accept government issued documents including:

• EIN letter from the IRS WIPA needs the actual EIN letter, not just the EIN number, that has been issued from the government (not application for an EIN number)
• Your business’s formation documents (official), filed and stamped by secretary of state 
• DBA document from your state, sales tax license
• Bank statement (you may redact financial information)
• Insurance declarations page (have your insurance company add your DBA name to the policy) – this will not substitute for a business license, but can as your DBA for company name
• Liquor license,
• Hotel license
• Various inspection certificates (as long as they are issued by a government agency)

We are happy to review any document you would like to provide. If you cannot provide the necessary documents we can match the company name on one of your official documents submitted – you can change/update your company name later by providing the appropriate and official matching documentation at that time.  W9 forms are NOT accepted.

Corporate memberships are owned by a business. This level of membership ($550) includes two employee memberships. Each additional member over two is $250 each. Each member on your membership may belong to the same or different chapters. There is one expiration date and everyone must renew at the same time. You can trade out employees (transfer) on this membership as it is owned by the company (with some limitations).

Qualifications for joining:

• Have a minimum three years professional experience in the wedding industry whether applying for Individual or Corporate.  This requirement may be satisfied by the cumulative time spent as an owner, CEO, manager or employee of companies that provide wedding-related products or services.
• Be able to provide proof of legal business status or work for a company that can provide such proof.
• Be able to provide a currently valid certificate of General Liability Insurance or Professional Liability (E&O), with coverage limits of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate, or work for a company that can provide such a certificate.
• Members in the same corporate account must be listed under one company name.
• Corporate Membership can only be downgraded during the renewal period.

Individual memberships are owned by an individual and can travel with that person from business to business. Or, more generally, these are for small businesses. This level ($350) of membership includes one membership. This membership is not transferable and travels with the membership owner, should they change companies. You can upgrade this membership to Corporate, but then it cannot leave that business.

Qualifications for joining:

• Have a minimum three years professional experience in the wedding industry whether applying for Individual or Corporate Membership.  This requirement may be satisfied by the cumulative time spent as an owner, CEO, manager or employee of companies that provide wedding-related products or services.
• Be able to provide proof of legal business status or work for a company that can provide such proof.
• Be able to provide a currently valid certificate of General Liability Insurance or Professional Liability (E&O), with coverage limits of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $1,000,000 in the aggregate, or work for a company that can provide such a certificate.

Emerging Memberships are owned by an individual. They are designed for potential members in the industry for under 3 years. This level ($275) of membership includes one membership. You can upgrade this membership to Corporate or Individual once you reach your 3 year mark.

EMERGING MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS:

Emerging Membership is for an individual who has been employed in a wedding or event-related business for less than three (3) years or is currently employed as a part-time or completing an internship position at a wedding-related business. If you’ve been in the industry longer than 3 years and are just starting your own business, you should join as an Individual Member.

• Emerging Memberships must be upgraded to the appropriate WIPA membership category once an individual has been employed in a wedding related business for three (3) years.
• Emerging Members may not use the WIPA logo; may not vote on WIPA business and are not listed in the WIPA directory or attendee guides
• Emerging Memberships are not transferrable.

Yes. An Emerging Member can upgrade to Individual or Corporate Membership. Individual can upgrade to Corporate. You can upgrade in the middle of your membership greater than 90 days from expiration date with just the difference in cost. If less than 90 days from expiration, you can renew and upgrade at the same time. If more than 90 days out from renewal, you will have to pay the addition and then the renewal (there is no prorated membership cost). Just email info@wipa.org and we’ll ask you the appropriate questions. Memberships can only be downgraded during the 30 day renewal period. Don’t let your membership expire, you’ll have to reapply and submit paperwork from scratch.

In order to become an active member you must agree to the WIPA Code Of Ethics Agreement. It is a pledge by all of our members.

Memberships go into a renewal period of 60 days before expiration date. You will receive 3 reminder emails during the first of those 30 days and another 3 reminders in the final 30 days of renewal. There will be a PDF invoice attached to the email for your records. To make your payment, click the link at the bottom of the email. Once the transaction is complete, you’re all set and your membership is renewed.

If you cannot locate the email, you can log into your account at www.wipa.org to make your payment there. After logging in, click on MY PROFILE, (then MY ORGANIZATION, if corporate) There, you will see your outstanding balance and a link to make a payment.

There is also an AUTO-RENEWAL feature within the Member Center. Login and select the icon, turn on auto-renew and enter your credit card information. It is that simple. Please note that auto-renewal must be turned on before you are in your 60 day renewal window in order to work properly. 

After expiration you will have to reapply for membership. There is no GRACED period once you pass your expiration date. You must complete a new application, which includes submittng your business license, proof of insurance, and $50 application fee.

There is also an AUTO-RENEWAL feature within the Member Center. Login and select the icon, turn on auto-renew and enter your credit card information. It is that simple. Please note that auto-renewal must be turned on before you are in your 60 day renewal window in order to work properly.

If you need assistance navigating the Member Center, please watch this short video tutorial https://wipa.org/welcome/.

There is currently no GRACED period once your membership has expired. Once you have passed your expiration date, you cannot log into the Member Center and you are no longer a WIPA member. You will have to reapply for membership once your membership expires and your membership will start over with a new join date.

Once your membership has expired you are no longer a WIPA member and you will have to reapply for membership. Your join date will reset as though you have a new membership. During the reapplication process, you will need to provide updated paperwork, should you choose to join again.

You’ll need to login to WIPA and then from the Member Center, click on My Profile and edit. If you need more information about logging into the Member Center, please view the help video here.

No problem. From the WIPA.org homepage, click on MEMBER LOGIN. Under the password field is a link “Reset Password” – click that and follow the instructions. There is also a link for Retrieving your Username. (Or you can email info@wipa.org for assistance.)

WIPA newsletters, chapter event information, membership correspondence and many other emails come from info@wipa.org or noreply@wipa.org. Please make sure you add these emails to your trusted email and approved contacts. (Also check your junk/spam mail area so that you will receive emails from WIPA and your registered chapter.

You can reduce the page count of your PDF through applications like Adobe Acrobat or other PDF editors in order to cut down on file size. Another option is to take a screenshot of the necessary page or even a phone photo of the information and attach that, those files are usually smaller in size. The membership approval team only needs one page of information for business license and one page for proof of insurance. Those documents don’t have to be hi-res, just readable in order to attach to the member’s record. No need to attach a 60-100 page insurance policy, which might get kicked back anyway as “too much information” and slow down the application process. There are some online free tools (like PDFDONE) you can use to shrink those PDF documents as well. Preferred file types are PDF, JPG and PNG files.