A wedding is a party, not a performance. Yet it takes real planning to organize the kind of chaos a wedding entails. Wedding Planners are the gladiators who help you in subduing the confusion while spending good money on the elements most important to you and your partner. Continue Reading
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Explore Career A wedding is a party, not a performance. Yet it takes real planning to organize the kind of chaos a wedding entails. Wedding Planners are the gladiators who help you in subduing the confusion while spending good money on the elements most important to you and your partner.
What are the typical responsibilities of a Wedding Planner?
A Wedding Planner would typically need to:
Wedding Planners usually spend their workday between a regular office and visiting clients, venues, and suppliers. You may need to work outdoors to plan and deliver alfresco weddings. Visiting clients in other cities or towns or supervising weddings planned in different locations may require travel and time away from home.
Well-fitting, tasteful attire will go a long way in helping you present a professional image to your clients and inspire their confidence in you to help them fulfill one of their dearest dreams.
Business formal will suit you well, particularly for meetings with prospective clients. For the wedding itself, find a balance between a polished professional appearance and your creative style while keeping in mind that what you wear must be practical and comfortable to attend to your work at the event. Pay particular attention to your footwear as you will likely be on your feet the entire time, perhaps even needing to rush across well-polished floors.
Most Wedding Planners work full time, and many work more than 40 hours per week during the lead-up to a wedding. However, they often work additional hours, including evenings and weekends, to finalize preparations closer to the event. During the event itself, Wedding Planners may work on weekends. Part-time work is also possible.
Usually, Wedding Planners run their own businesses, but they may also find full-time employment in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.
LinkedIn is a tried and tested way of finding contacts within the industry, or you could try making targeted, speculative applications to wedding planning businesses. Specialist recruitment agencies also handle vacancies. Self-employment and freelance work are possible once you have acquired experience and developed an established network of contacts.
Wedding Planners are generally employed by:
Professional associations and organizations are crucial for Wedding Planners interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation. Membership in one or more looks excellent on your resume while bolstering your credentials and qualifications.
Relevant experience and knowledge of the industry are essential to break into this competitive field.
Some degree programs have an optional year in the industry; this can be a perfect way to develop relevant experience and make industry contacts. Make the most of your time at university; be proactive in organizing events for student societies and clubs, charities, and other organizations with which you have links.
If you are not keen on acquiring a bona fide degree before you venture into the profession, get the word out about your services, attract a client base by making business cards, spread the word to your friends, post ads online, make a website, and reach out to old contacts.
Start planning events for free for family and friends. Make sure they understand you are treating them as real clients and will need them for genuine referrals. Take as many pictures as you can to build a fantastic marketing tool - your professional website.
An alternative way to get started is to work as an assistant for an established Wedding Planner. That is not the only way to get your feet wet, though. Experience in the hospitality industry or a sales, marketing, or customer service role is also useful. Seek work under vendors such as florists or cake decorators who frequently handle weddings.
Anything that gives you experience building events from scratch and learning client management will provide you with a leg up. Speculative applications for entry-level positions at event planning firms and public relations firms known for their events is an excellent idea.
Another option is to approach local Wedding Planners and ask them for work experience or shadowing opportunities.
Although not essential, a bachelor's degree in event management, hospitality, tourism management, communications, hotel or catering management, business management, accounting, marketing, or business administration is useful. It will help Wedding Planners develop the right skill set while proving their marketability and credibility to potential clients.
Some professional organizations offer short online courses for specific tutoring in wedding planning. If you intend to be self-employed, look for courses that include setting up and running a business. Certification, Licenses, and Registration Certification demonstrates competence in skills, typically through work experience, training, the passage of an examination, or some combination of the three. Voluntary certification from an objective and reputed organization can also help you gain professional credibility, stand out in a competitive job market, and become an independent consultant.
Numerous organizations offer certifications that typically require attending a class or multiple classes. The certifying exam may cover strategic planning, financial & risk management, facility operations & services, and logistics, which are useful topics for Wedding Planners.
Certification demonstrates competence in skills, typically through work experience, training, the passage of an examination, or some combination of the three. Voluntary certification from an objective and reputed organization can also help you gain professional credibility, stand out in a competitive job market, and become an independent consultant.
Numerous organizations offer certifications that typically require attending a class or multiple classes. The certifying exam may cover strategic planning, financial & risk management, facility operations & services, and logistics, which are useful topics for Wedding Planners.
Wedding Planning makes for an intensely competitive career. Your promotion will depend on the type and size of the organization you work for, how quickly you can develop the key skills and qualities needed to succeed, your ability to develop a strong network of contacts, and your track record.
Promotion may involve moving from an assistant post to a Team Leader, which may entail managing a small team and then on to a Manager’s role. Further progression may lead to roles as a Senior Manager or Director. With experience, Wedding Planners can take on responsibility for large-scale events, which are more complex to manage and involve high-profile clients, and big budgets.
Career progression is likely to involve changing jobs, moving to a larger company, or setting up as a freelance Event Management Consultant. Self-employed Wedding Planners may find career advancement by expanding their business, securing larger accounts, and more clientele.
With average job competition, aspirant Wedding Planners will find that employment opportunities are best for candidates who have experience and a bachelor’s degree in event management, hospitality, or tourism management.
As an unseasoned Wedding Planner, you will typically develop your skills and knowledge by working alongside more experienced colleagues. Opportunities for training depend on your employer and may include short courses, run either in-house or externally. Sessions covered typically include event planning, customer care, event marketing and copywriting, finance, health and safety, IT, project management, and sales.
Continuing professional development (CPD) allows individuals to upskill continually, regardless of their age, job, or level of knowledge. Self-employed Wedding Planners need to ensure they are committed to enhancing personal skills and proficiency throughout their active careers. There are a whole host of CPD courses, seminars, and workshops to help professionals in the field.
Membership in relevant local, regional, or national bodies is also useful for keeping up to date with the latest industry news, networking, and developing contacts.
The Icing on the Cake
Apart from regular services, some clients may also seek a Wedding Planner’s assistance in selecting bridal attire and outfits for the bridal party. You may need to accompany the bride to her appointments at the bridal salon or offer your opinion on photos. It is useful for you to hold consultations with the florist as you might be the one handing out corsages, boutonnieres, and bouquets to the bridal party.
Familiarize yourself with the ceremony and the décor. The bride may call upon you to guide her through some critical decisions, such as deciding on the wedding cake and the icing flavor, selecting the colors of the table linen, and choosing the food and its style of service. At all times, hold on to budgetary guidelines with as much zeal as you have for holding on to your job.
The Fine Print
Don’t forget about the printed matter, which includes “Save the Date” notices, wedding and rehearsal dinner invitations, menus, place cards, programs, welcome letters, and more. If your client is responsible for these, check in to ensure it’s all running on track for time and cost.
A Tactical Mind Reader
Not each client reacts the same way when faced with an array of tempting choices offered by a vendor at an appointment.
Some are decisive and select their options confidently and quickly. Others feel overwhelmed and need time to consider their alternatives before deciding. Time, cost, and other commitments also play an essential role in decision-making. For instance, if you visit a venue for a destination wedding, some matters need to be decided right away as a second trip may not be feasible. Some venues are booked a year in advance, and hesitating too long may mean your client will miss the boat.
You will need to be a mind reader to judge your client’s personality and stay tactical enough to seal the deal in time and at a fair price.
A Dream Catcher’s Responsibilities
You may never be able to fully answer the question about what you do as a Wedding Planner. Not only will one client’s wishes be different from those of another, but even the same client is likely to change theirs along the way. Your job is to rise to the challenge each time and take care of your client’s concerns with sincere responsibility so that they allow themselves to enjoy the countdown to their special day and the day itself.
However, make sure that you, too, have fun on the journey and at the event despite your work pressures. After all, not everyone wields a wand to turn their client’s dreams into reality and get paid handsomely for it.
They are in charge of pulling the behind-the-strings on a couple’s big day. When life puts them in challenging situations, competent Wedding Planners think ‘try me’ instead of ‘why me.’ When the inevitable roadblocks pop up, they push ahead instead of panicking and give that challenge a run for its money while giving their clients the best value for their money.
All Wedding Planners know anything can happen at any time, especially when you’re in “go mode.” Take a breath and focus on solutions. Your careful planning will undoubtedly pay off when missteps happen — you’ll know who to call, how to react, and the pieces that have to come together now to revamp the course. And that’s the mark of a dedicated Wedding Planner.
Wedding Planners charge an additional fee to the bride who uses a non-professional vendor or plans to make her own floral arrangements or invites. It's called the PITA fee.
What do Wedding Planners do?
A Wedding Planner would typically need to:
Accredited
$44,523
