Become a Wedding Planner
Wedding planning is a lucrative and rewarding career. If you want to use your creativity and expertise to help plan the happiest day of your clients' lives, then planning weddings might be your calling! Read this article to learn how to pursue this career.
Contents
Steps
Becoming a Wedding Planner
- Finish high school.Get a high school diploma or complete the General Education Development (GED) requirement. This is the first step on the road to becoming a wedding planner.
- Get more education. Do one of the following. Or better yet, do all of them!
- Obtain an associate or bachelor's degree in a related field. Relevant majors include Marketing, Public Relations, Communications, and Hospitality Management.
- Get resumé-building experience. Getting a job at a catering company or other event-planning company will give you some hands-on experience in the field. You may want to start off as an intern.
- Take wedding consultant courses. These are available in both classroom settings and online.
- Get certified. While certification is not technically required, it will drastically increase your credibility and likelihood of attracting clients.
- Certificates can be attained through various organizations, including the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) and the Association for Certified Professional Wedding Consultants (A.C.P.W.C).
- The coursework will vary depending on which organization you choose, but subjects include etiquette, event logistics, vendor contracting, sales and marketing, and legal matters.
- Find clients. Now that you are certified, you will have to do everything you can to get the word out about your services and attract a client base. Apply the knowledge you gained from any sales and/or marketing classes you completed during your training.
- Make business cards, spread the word to your friends, post ads online, and make a website.
- Reach out to old contacts you may have from your experience working in the industry.
- The more clients you get, the more reputable you will become. Remember that if you impress your clients, they will likely recommend your services to friends and families.
Qualities of a Good Wedding Planner
- Be thorough. Planning somebody else's wedding is like directing a film. You will have to draw on your clients' ideas, tastes, and preferences and turn them into reality. Be sure you have discussed every detail of the wedding with your client, and pay attention to his or her demands. These include:
- Choosing a venue.
- Choosing a wedding cake.
- Buying a dress.
- Making seating arrangements.
- Making a guest list.
- Ordering invitations.
- Selecting a date and time.
- Making a budget.
- Choosing a caterer.
- Hiring a photographer.
- Obtaining a marriage license.
- Choosing a rehearsal date.
- Be organized. Planning a wedding requires multi-tasking. You will have to learn how to manage your time and complete several different tasks at the same time, from flowers to cakes to seating arrangements. If you work well under pressure and are good at staying focused, then you will be an excellent wedding planner.
- Use a paper or electronic planner to help you manage your time and keep track of dates.
- Make sure you are easy to reach. You will have to be in constant contact with your client(s), so be sure to have your phone with you at all times and regularly check your email.
- Think on your toes. No matter how well you plan, unexpected hiccups will undoubtedly arise on the big day. A good wedding planner can stay calm, cool, and collected under pressure, whether you are dealing with a runaway bride or a drunken relative.
- Be creative. While some clients may know exactly what they want from the onset, others may be indecisive or stuck when it comes to choosing details. Give your clients inspiration by sharing creative ideas for decorations, venues, themes, and so on.
Additional Wedding Resources
Doc:Wedding Budget Chart,3 Month Wedding Action Plan
Tips
- Talk to an experienced wedding planner, if possible. If you don't know a wedding planner personally, then set up an informative interview with one. Ask them about their experience, for advice, and how they got where they are now.
