Who Is Jac Bowie? Wedding Industry Expert, Author, Coach and Planner

Jac Bowie is a Melbourne-based wedding industry expert: owner and CEO of The Wedding Academy, author of the ten-book Wedding Handbook series, a business coach for wedding professionals, a working wedding planner and co-host of the Wedding Empires podcast. That's me, and if you've landed here wondering who I am and why my name keeps popping up around wedding education, here's the honest version.

People often call me "the planner who trains the planners". It's a neat line, but the path here was anything but neat. So here's who Jac Bowie is, what I actually do, and where to start depending on why you're here.

Who is Jac Bowie? The short version

• Owner and CEO of The Wedding Academy: I bought the Academy in 2022. It has trained wedding professionals since 2004, with more than 11,000 students, and it's 100% online.
• Author of the ten-book Wedding Handbook series for planners, stylists, florists, venues, wedding businesses and couples.
• Wedding business coach working 1:1 with planners, stylists, florists, celebrants, photographers and venues.
• Wedding planner offering full planning, partial planning, on-the-day coordination, and destination and micro weddings, in Melbourne, across Australia and overseas.
• Podcast co-host of Wedding Empires, about the business of weddings.
• Speaker and MC for wedding industry events.

Before weddings: events, stages and a microphone

I started as a child actor, then trained as a radio announcer. Both taught me to perform under pressure and to talk to people like they're the only person in the room, which is basically the job description for a wedding planner.

Then came around 20 years producing events. I produced The Burlesque Ball tour, worked as entertainment coordinator for Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, was producer of Short+Sweet Theatre, and worked on 500+ events along the way. If you want the war stories, I wrote about event production lessons from Mardi Gras and The Burlesque Ball.

In 2013 I founded Business in Heels, a network for women in business. Running it taught me more about leadership, community and money than any course could. (Here are the Business in Heels lessons I still use.)

Moving into weddings

Weddings were the natural next step: all the production, all the people, and far more emotion. I grew a wedding planning company to a team of 18 planners, which is where I learned how hard it is to find, train and keep great planners, and how few resources existed to help them.

That frustration is the thread through everything I've done since.

Every wedding business I've worked with has the same problem underneath the pretty pictures: people are brilliant at the craft and nobody taught them the business. That's the gap I've spent my career trying to close.

Why I bought The Wedding Academy

In 2022 I bought The Wedding Academy. I didn't found it; it had already been training wedding professionals since 2004. What I brought was the view of someone who'd hired planners, run a team and still planned weddings, and a determination to make the training as practical as the job. I've written the full story in why I bought The Wedding Academy.

The nine Wedding Handbooks

The books came from the same place. I kept seeing planners, stylists and florists without a proper manual for their work, so I wrote them. The series now has ten books:

• The Wedding Planner's Handbook
• The Wedding Stylist's Handbook, Vol 1 and Vol 2 (two books)
• The Wedding Florist's Handbook
• The Wedding Business & Marketing Handbook 2026, Vol 1 and Vol 2 (two books)
• The Micro, Intimate & Destination Wedding Handbook
• The Couple's Wedding Planning Handbook
• The Wedding Venue Handbook

They're practical, worksheet-heavy and written from real experience. Paperbacks are printed through Blurb and ebooks are available through The Wedding Academy. The why is in why I wrote the Wedding Handbook series.

See all nine Wedding Handbooks

What I do now, and how you can work with me

If you run a wedding business

I coach wedding professionals 1:1 on pricing, packages, marketing, enquiry conversion, hiring, systems, burnout and growth. Options range from a single Hour of Power strategy session to ongoing support in The Coaching Circle. Start at my coaching page.

If you want to work in weddings

The Wedding Academy offers online certificates in wedding planning, styling, floral design, business and marketing, and intimate, micro and destination weddings. See the Wedding Academy courses.

If you're getting married

I still plan weddings, and my couples plan with me in Aisle Planner, with access to my little black book of trusted suppliers. Find out more on my wedding planning page.

If you're a host, producer or event organiser

I'm available as a podcast guest, for media commentary, and as a speaker or MC. See the podcast, speaking and how I work with media.

What a typical week looks like

People sometimes ask how all of this fits together. Honestly, it fits because it's all one job seen from different angles. In a normal week I might:

• Work on The Wedding Academy: courses, student experience and where the training needs to go next.
• Run coaching sessions with wedding business owners on pricing, enquiries, hiring or burnout.
• Plan weddings with couples in Aisle Planner, confirm suppliers and build run sheets.
• Write, whether that's a new chapter, a worksheet or a Journal post like this one.
• Prepare a talk, a podcast conversation or a media interview.

Planning weddings keeps my coaching honest. Coaching shows me what the books need to cover. The books and the Academy make sure the lessons reach far more people than I could ever work with one to one. Each part feeds the others.

What I believe about the wedding industry

• Talent isn't enough. Wedding professionals need business skills as much as craft skills.
• Pricing is a design decision. If your packages don't pay you, the business isn't working, however beautiful the weddings are.
• Education should be practical. Worksheets, templates and real scenarios beat theory every time.
• Kindness and standards can coexist. You can be warm with clients and firm with boundaries.
• Weddings are a real profession. It deserves serious training, fair pay and respect.

You'll hear those beliefs on Wedding Empires, in my books and in every coaching session.

Where to start

If you're new here, my suggestion: read the free first chapter of a Wedding Handbook, browse the best wedding business books list, and if something resonates, get in touch. I'd love to hear what you're building.

Explore the Wedding Handbook series

FAQs

Who is Jac Bowie?

Jac Bowie is a Melbourne-based wedding industry expert, owner and CEO of The Wedding Academy, author of the ten-book Wedding Handbook series, a wedding business coach, wedding planner and co-host of the Wedding Empires podcast.

Did Jac Bowie found The Wedding Academy?

No. Jac bought The Wedding Academy in 2022. The Academy has been training wedding professionals since 2004.

What books has Jac Bowie written?

The ten-book Wedding Handbook series, covering wedding planning, styling (two volumes), floristry, business and marketing (two volumes), micro, intimate and destination weddings, couples' planning, and wedding venues.

Does Jac Bowie still plan weddings?

Yes. Jac offers full planning, partial planning, on-the-day coordination, and destination and micro weddings in Melbourne, across Australia and overseas.

Can I book Jac Bowie for coaching or speaking?

Yes. Jac offers 1:1 coaching for wedding professionals and is available as a speaker, MC, podcast guest and media commentator.