Become a Wedding Planner/Consultant

If you love working with people, are creative and have excellent organizational skills, then consider becoming a wedding planner.

A wedding planner's/consultant's job basically involves organizing and planning the wedding in such a way that everything runs smoothly and to everybody's satisfaction. Organizing a wedding can stressful and is a high pressure job. With lot of disposable income in hand, most of the couples who opt to marry consider the services of a wedding planner, rather than going through the stress associated with organizing and planning a wedding. If you like to work with people, enjoy planning big parties, and are good at negotiating and networking, you might consider becoming a wedding planner.

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What it Involves

As a wedding planner you would require to supervise various apsects of wedding like selecting venues, flower decoration, music, photographers and catering. You may also advise on others aspects like invitations, etiquette, party attire and trousseaus for brides. A wedding consultant's job would involve extensive evening and weekend hours and it can be quite stressful at times.

You must have the ability to remain calm during adverse moments. A wedding planner takes on the role of a facilitator, intermediary, money manager and achiever of dreams. If you've ever been a bride or a groom, or involved in planning of a relative's or friend's wedding, you also know the kind of stress that entails. Understanding that type of pressure will aid you in establishing rapport with your clients.

You must have thorough knowledge of the industry and have good links with the vendors and suppliers of the wedding industry. Your job is not only to organize but also help the couple save as much as possible. You must be also flexible in your approach and willing to listen to what they want than how you want it to be.

A wedding planner's job also involves lot of creativity and imagination. You want each wedding you plan to be spectacular, different and worth remembering. Only then your services will be in demand.

You must also be aware of latest fashion trends. A good knowledge of religions and tradition is also imperative since different religions involve different traditions of conducting the wedding. To be best in this field, you must visit as many weddings as possible, read wedding magazines, visit bridal shows, speak to clergies of various religions, talk to recently wedded brides and grooms and be in touch with all those associated with a wedding. The more experience you gain in this field, the better.

How to Start

The best option to start would be to get a job in this industry. No amount of course or education can match the experience and contacts you gain by actually working within the wedding industry. Wedding planners are hired in number of locations like churches, hotels and resorts. Also, those who supply products and services for wedding may also look out for wedding consultants.

Of course you can always start a business if you have some knowledge of the industry and are confident of doing things on your own. There are lots of courses available that can help you familiarize with the procedures and details involved. The best thing is you can even start it from your home with few basic equipments like phone, computer, internet access, printer, fax machine, stationary. Having a website also helps in marketing your business. Do consider having a separate room for your office purpose if you intend to hold meetings with your clients at your place. The SBA offers lot of help for startup entrepreneurs and do considering taking their help.

Tips and Advice:

Create a portfolio with photographs of decorations/settings and feedback letters of clients whom you have worked with. This helps to build credibility among clients and creates a professional image for you.
If you find the competition hot in your area, consider targeting your services to a niche or in other words specialize. For example, you may offer to plan the wedding on exotic locations like Hawaii or the Caribbean.
Have strong ties and relationship with all the wedding suppliers and vendors. The better relationship you have with them, the more you can help the couples save and the more they will be happy with your service. Also, vendors and suppliers can also help to spread the word regarding your services.
Join professional associations for wedding planners to keep you abreast of the latest happenings with the wedding industry.
If available, take a certification program for wedding planners and include it in your portfolio to create a professional impression.

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