Are wedding planners in high demand? How can I get my first client? Just like goals, make it a priority to research the market before getting started. And this post is a great place to start! But if you want to head into the industry and you have little-to-no experience, learning the ropes and all of the ins and outs can be extremely beneficial.
Students have two months to complete the course and are then eligible to apply for a membership as a Trained Wedding Planner. Another option is the Lovegevity Wedding Planning Institute , which offers a course for people interested in becoming a Certified Wedding and Event Planner. The average time to complete the course is weeks, and graduates receive a certificate, letter of recommendation, and the professional Certified Wedding and Event Planning designation.
Remember those Step 1 goals and the Step 2 research? A lot of that information can go towards writing your business plan. There are tons of resources and templates online to help, and we go into greater detail in a separate post, The Essential Steps to Starting an Event Management Business. Here are some highlights of what your business plan should include:. Learn more about self-employment. Many wedding planners are self-employed, so it's not unusual to set up your own practice early in your career.
However, wedding planning companies do exist and often advertise vacancies on their websites - alternatively you can send a speculative application. Your first job could be as an assistant wedding planner. Search the internet to find relevant companies in your area.
You should try to get some experience to help you land a job. Offer your services to a local wedding planner or wedding venue, just to get your foot in the door. Show them what you can do and before long, a permanent position will be yours for the taking. Once you build your reputation and get even more experience, you can earn more. Jobs and work experience Search graduate jobs Job profiles Work experience and internships Employer profiles What job would suit me?
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I enjoy making people smile and I take pride in my work so going into the wedding planning business might be the change I need. Thank you for the blog and the truth behind becoming a wedding planner. I will keep the tips in a book and look over them from time to time. Read about a day in the life of wedding planners to see what it is really like […].
I am already in a wedding planner course online and have been learning so much! My big decision is whether I want to start my own business right away or work with a company for a couple years first. Any advice? I like the idea of my own business and the freedom it would give me. But starting from almost nothing and trying to build the business up is a challenge and a bit scary. Sayla, congratulations on doing your online course and helping your brother with his wedding.
It sounds like you are on the right path. If you have not had experience with owning a business or working at all in the corporate world, it may be a good idea to work for another planning business first. Everything you said is so very true. It takes an extreme amount of energy, dedication, persistence and passion to thrive in the wedding business.
Thanks again! Thank you for sharing this! I have a few questions about the beginning stages of pursuing this as a career…. Since graduating two years ago with a degree in Communications, I have struggled to find a job. During these two years, I have taken jobs both working at a hair salon and at a catering business. Through these experiences, I have worked a lot with brides by either setting hair and makeup appointments for bridal parties or by working on the catering side of weddings, bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, etc.
Mostly through catering, I have become familiar with most wedding vendors in my area. These jobs have also given me much experience in marketing. Anyway, I have considered wedding planning as a career for awhile now and am now coming up with a game plan. Since the plan would be to eventually become their competition?
Secondly, where I live now is about 3. My hometown area is short on wedding planners who work that area, despite it being a popular location for weddings. We travel home a LOT. While 3. My second question is, is it unrealistic to assume I could act as a wedding planner for both areas?
I suppose that would depend on just how much business one is getting… But how big is the typical wedding planners territory? Thanks for your comment Mary. You could ask to intern with another planner. Likely, you will have better luck working part-time for a catering company or venue at their events to gain experience.
For territory, it is completely up to you for how far you want to travel to plan events. Going to catering and cake tastings, choosing linens and helping clients […].
A good planner will be honest about this. I have been with the floral industry off and on for about 35 years, my kids all encourage me to start a business, but after reading the reasons not to become an event planner, I have narrowed what I want to do down to….. I am very good at that part giving God the glory for this , and enjoy it so very much. Thank you for your information, and honesty.
It really helped guide me on my journey. Hello Debbie, excellent writing mate. You have illustrated the back side of wedding planning work. I have a friend who is doing good as a wedding planner in Auckland. To be honest, he is not happy with his current profession. One of my friends told me that his partner is not happy with him because of this profession. Half of the month, he needs to visit different cities in New Zealand for work and his partner is getting lonely. I am planning to send this article to my friend.
Maybe he will get organized after reading this article. Cheers, Ben. Thanks for sharing Ben. Hopefully your friend can find some balance in his life. Yup, i hope so. I already forward your blog to my friend. He told me , he is facing same things what you described Cheers. I see your blog. We provide classes on Event management and wedding planning. Right now, I am a stay at home mom but my kids will be starting school next year. With all that free time, I need something to keep me occupied.
Wedding planning sounds like something I could really enjoy doing. I love helping people and I am a very social person. I want to help brides make their dream come true. I love facing challenges and getting to be creative when I have to be.
I was just wondering if you think this career would be right for me. Thanks for your comment Elenie. It could be a good fit for you. Read more of the articles here, take a local or online class, and perhaps work part-time for a planning, design, catering, or floral company to get a good feel for the industry. Good luck! Interesting read as always. Weddings are so lovely that they appeal to many as a viable employment option. No basis to that they just wanted to be a wedding planner!
It seems you have to dream job that most people want to do x. Very True! But I still enjoy my profession. I enjoy all the challenges that comes up with every new wedding. I am passionate about it. Nice post, it helped me out to know the problems behind this stuff. I still want to become a planner. Thank you for your comment. This website has over free articles to help you out. Thank you a ton for this post! I just came across it while looking for some info. I guess we have to look at both sides of one aspect so this is really helpful!
I loved your post. You may also want to check out other reasons not to become a wedding planner before you change […]. This is amazing! I am an aspiring wedding planner and people ask me all the time why I want to be a wedding planner? I love multitasking and having so many things on my mind at once, problem solving constantly, managing all of the vendors at once, and keeping everything on time.
Definitely keeping this website to refer to in the future! Thanks Debbie, its a very nice article. I have been very keen on starting my own wedding planning venture for a long time now. But I would really want to test the water by assisting or interning with a somebody already in the business.
Any pointers would be highly appreciated. Thank you for your comment Vindhya. I suggest taking this 1-hour online class first. It has given me a good idea of … […]. The bride and I have been in contact since she got engaged and let me tell you, she is the easiest bride I will probably ever work with. It is funny to think that I am only 21 years old and I am already helping women that are well above my age with their wedding.
Reading this article made me so much more excited about the industry that I am planning on being in for a very long time. I just completed my degree in technical mechanical and want to do the wedding planning course. What do I need to do next? Thanks for the comment Kartik. I have a great passion on Event Designing. This really gave a lot of information to me. I wanted to go for your course. Will your course help me in applying things in India??
Because I am an Indian. Hi Vamsi. Thanks for your comment. The online beginner course is an intro course to planning and it would apply to most any country. It does not cover design. BUT if you love it, it's all worth it. It's a really great read, and I can tell you everything in there is true to reality so it's a […].
Thanks for writing this! I prefer to focus more on the music and entertainment running a DJ company and I can identify with many of these points no matter what vendor category you are in for special events. I absolutely love this post! I am a wedding planner. This is no joke!! After my weddings I need time to heal. It is a marathon and more, but I love what I do.
You have to have the heart to handle it all. Thank you Debbie. This article has helped me a lot. Thank you so much for sharing your valuable knowledge with us. I am a high school student and my dream job is to become a wedding planner. You really helped me out about deciding if this job is right for me. I think I am still going to go through with it, but your article will help me stay in check and work harder. So thank you very much.
Thank you for writing something that is real about the wedding world. There comes to a point where I feel I am being used. I actually taught there for several years and it's me you see on your video lessons heyyy! Trust me, I've seen it and helped to build it. Someone who owns their own wedding planning business and mentors you throughout the process. It's pretty incredible! So, now that you know you can take an incredible online course that's TAUGHT by successful wedding planners including me!
As you're taking an online course or after you've finished—go and intern with a wedding planning company or wedding venue. It's important that you get a taste of what it's like to really be a wedding planner because it's NOT like the movies. By interning no matter your age , you'll get a feel for the job.
There might be a wedding planner local to you—and if so, great! Wedding planning companies range in shapes, sizes, and opportunities. The first place to gain some on the ground experience would be with a wedding planning company.
During the decade I owned by business, I hired many interns. Here are some tips on approaching a wedding planning business that'll increase your odds for getting hired as an intern:. Because wedding planning companies come in all shapes and sizes, many of them being small, there might not be an opportunity to intern with a company. And if you desire to start your own wedding planning business… many planners in your area will be guarded. The next best opportunity if you can't get an internship with a wedding planner?
Our natural inclination is to intern for a wedding planner, but wedding venues are great opportunities to intern and work full time if you want to be a wedding planner. That can be you! When approaching a venue as an intern or hire, I strongly suggest you complete your coursework at The QC School and pitch working for them during the upcoming wedding season. The same steps I gave you to apply at a wedding planning company also apply here—so follow them closely.
After you've gotten experience through an online course and internship, you'll need to decide if you want to own a wedding planning business or work for someone else. Our exercise thus far should have proven to you that being a wedding planner is what you were MEANT to do if you have any doubts, keep interning until you make a decision.
So, now we've gotten decide if we should open a business? I'm going to be honest… in MOST cases, you'll make more money and have more opportunities if you start your own wedding planning business. Most wedding planners in your area are small businesses and even soloentrepreneurs. While they have a steady stream of clients, it's likely not enough to have a full-time employee… so you're left with fewer opportunities to work for someone. I've seen this hundreds of times, and while my business had a team and employees, most wedding planning companies don't.
This of course depends on your area. If you live in a large city, there is a stronger chance you can work for an event company in your area. But if you live in a smaller town or city, those chances get slimmer and slimmer. But here's the good news: you've gotten a ton of experience up until this point and you're totally capable of starting your own business.
Remember my story? If you're interested in starting a wedding planning business, be sure to check out this article.
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