How To Become A Wedding Planner
A well planned wedding runs like clockwork, on the big day, guests and family should be unaware of the many mechanisms working behind the scenes and the long months of hard work that go into making it a success, to better enjoy their special celebration. The position a wedding planner holds is one of great trust and responsibility, they are the person who everyone else turns to for everything from hair pins and wardrobe disasters to finding a missing relative for the photo sessions.
There are no formal requirements to prevent anyone with a creative streak and even temperament setting up as a wedding planner, but the ones who will be popular and busy, 10, 20 and even 30 years later, are those who have a solid business grounding, or at least the ability to keep simple accounts, a wide range of people skills and make good connections in all areas from the local community to online social networking. This career takes a lot of dedication and energy, but potential rewards are very good, with over $42 billion a year spent on weddings and related services.
What does a Wedding Planner do?
Almost everything! If that sounds like a rather off the cuff answer, the alternative one, which is, “anything she and the bride agree is part of the contract”, is not more helpful. This career will stretch the most able manager to the limit, as weddings are, by nature, rather emotional occasions, and the best laid plans may still go astray and need a quick clean up.
The services and tasks that come under the large umbrella of the wedding planner include meeting with the bride and possibly other members of the family to determine how much involvement they wish to have, and what choices they want you to make on their behalves. Typically, busy career ladies will have less time to spend poring over details and will content themselves with buying the dress and accessories. At the other end of the spectrum, younger brides may want help with choosing every little item that goes into the event. It is your responsibility to ensure those hours are reflected in your bill, and that no one client takes up too much time at the expense of others. A wedding planner will have more than one nuptial celebration on the books at a time, so checking up regularly on the progress of them all is a major part of the job.
Contracting and arranging for the cake, food, decorations, flowers, photographer, venue, transport, music providers, wine merchants and others are all part of the beat. Wedding planners maintain lists of any services that may be required by brides, updating as soon as new businesses open, and continually researching by word of mouth and good reports from other event organizers.
Wedding planners attend the wedding and move quietly amongst the celebrations, keeping everything on schedule. They should plan on arriving long before the first guests arrive and the family wakes up, overseeing the helpers and solving problems. The big day is the greatest test of a wedding planner, because dealing with jittery brides (and sometimes Grooms) lost guests who cannot find the location, local weather conditions (particularly at outside venues) and inflexible suppliers who hate last minute changes, is one of the toughest and most satisfying jobs around.
How do I become a Certified Wedding Planner?
Starting out as a wedding planner involves getting qualifications by home study or attending a course. It is possible to do without this, but the thorough methodical studies ensure there are no gaps in the knowledge needed to embark on this career, so it is highly recommended. Most planners find the areas where they need help in, such as basic book keeping, or promotion easily pay for the cost of the courses. After certification is satisfied, joining a professional association and the local chamber of commerce is a good way to keep up to fate on developments and make new connections. Almost no capital and little in the way of office supplies is needed to start work as a wedding planner, most homes posses the basic needs of a computer, telephone and a dinning table to make up the starter office.
How Do I Promote my Wedding Planner Services?
The first and most important step is the printing of a business card that reflects the style and targeted market of the wedding planner. Keeping it simple is always best, but make sure the contact telephone numbers and internet addresses are up to date, always carry a spare battery for any mobile phones and use an answering service when not available to take calls.
As more brides search on the internet for wedding related items and services than any other sources combined, a web presence may be a necessity for the beginning wedding planner. This as be as simple as a free blog on a popular social site like Wordpress, becoming more sophisticated as the business grows. Designers charge varying fees for basic design and hosting fees can be as low as $6 a year through budget domain sites.
To ensure a free advertisement in the local Yellow Pages directory, contact them with the basic information to be displayed. This will result in a basic listing of name, telephone number and address under the heading, “Wedding Planners and Consultants.” Larger boxed ads are inexpensive and surprisingly effective in drawing inquiries.
Become an internet sleuth and see what other services are available in the area. To avoid duplicating services in regions with less dense populations, make sure that any special features offered, such as deals worked out with local spas are clearly featured.
Brochures are great advertising tools which can be placed in any place a future bride might shop, relax or visit for services. Bakeries, beauty salons, bridal salons and limousine companies are all good spots to leave some. To establish a relationship with these businesses is an advantage to the wedding planner, as a network of quality providers can quickly be established by each recommending the other’s services.Determination, being detail-oriented, organized, creative and the ability to network and work well with others are some of the characteristics of a good consultant. Do the market research and find out about other consultants working in your area. Training through ACPWC is recommended to obtain the knowledge to properly plan and direct a wedding. Membership adds a level of credibility and support that others lack. Knowledge breeds confidence and confidence breeds success.
All members must take the course and be professionally trained in the same way. Upon successfully completing the course and receiving your Certificate of Completion, you are eligible to join.