Here’s How to Start a Wedding Planning Business

If you are passionate about romance, you can do it do work on wedding business opportunities. It is an added advantage if you experience different types of marriage, as this can help you being a wedding planner.

Weddings play a very important role in a person’s life and people are willing to spend a lot of money on this most important day of their life. You can easily imagine it starting a wedding planning business at homewithout paying office rent.

Wedding Planning Requirements

If you like to organize parties and events, it is a good option for you. You should also be good at dealing with people through diplomacy, so that you can maintain a calm and stress-free atmosphere during a crisis. Good management skills and a keen eye for detail can go a long way in making you a successful wedding planner.

Regarding the cost of starting a wedding planning business, you also don’t need a lot of equipment, a computer and a printer for printing contracts.

Check out the wedding planner jobs before you jump into it. Develop advanced skills such as budgeting, planning, organizing, negotiating, problem solving and communication.

If you have a keen sense of color and style, it will be useful in coordinating the decor, flowers, napkins etc. Learn more about different customs and traditions, especially about weddings.

How Can You Become a Wedding Planner? Learning the Ropes

  • Get some experience in this field of business before becoming a wedding consultant. Try organizing birthday parties, family events and get togethers to get started.
  • You can work alone or partner with certain venues to plan weddings in these locations.
  • Work with an experienced event planner to understand the business before investing yourself. Get experience as a special events assistant.
  • Check out the top wedding planner books for tips and secrets from top wedding planners.

#1. Attending Programs / Authorization

Although it is not mandatory to obtain a certificate, there are many community colleges that offer these skills as well as a wedding planner certificate. There are also several online wedding planning courses you can take to get certified. You can add these to your resume, showing that you are certified wedding planner to please potential customers,

A tip: Get support/networking/certification from AACWP membership while considering a career in wedding planning.

#2. Hands on Experience

  • Work for free with reputable wedding planning companies to gain experience before starting a wedding planning business.
  • How to become a wedding planner? Work as a wedding planner in hotels to gain expertise and you can build your portfolio little by little.
  • You can even specialize in a niche, such as destination weddings, celebrity weddings, budget weddings and more.

starting a wedding planning business at home

(Source: vertex42.com)

#3. Website Design

  • If you want to become a wedding planner, create a website and describe your services, present testimonials from friends’ weddings you have planned; your certificates and samples of your work.

Tip: Add photos of fake weddings, to show the wedding cake, decorations etc.

  • Use wedding planner templates to fit in beautiful photos and attract potential customers.
  • Get inspiration from popular wedding planning websites.

#4. Marketing Strategy

  • Determine the fees for your services when considering a wedding event planning business. Look at the competition and the prices they charge.
  • Market your wedding planner business through social media pages.
  • You can also register a booth at trade shows, business events in your city.
  • Use standard advertising methods, newspapers, and business cards. Send emails to newlyweds for success as a wedding planner.
  • Make connections with other event managers.
  • Offer free services to churches to get your name out there.
  • Get to know suppliers, florists and photographers. Consider pricing and reliability features. Develop relationships with vendors of various price ranges to accommodate different budgets.

Tip: List the churches in your city/town and contact the wedding coordinators. Send out brochures and meet them in person.

#5. Business License

  • Name your business.
  • Register (Fees vary by state).
  • Contact your attorney for client agreements.
  • Understand the requirements of bookkeeping and filing of taxes etc.

Finish it

In summary, here is a wedding planner business plan in a nutshell:

  • Learn more about the business.
  • Get related experiences, attend weddings, build networks and try to connect with potential clients.
  • Get certified with a crash course in wedding planning.
  • Obtain the necessary licenses and develop a sound marketing strategy.

Wedding planning business it’s not your get-rich-quick ticket. Business is a little unpredictable so you need to think off the cuff and be flexible. This is not a 9 to 5 job, but it is certainly fun and fulfilling as you never know what challenges await you. The timing must be precise, the music, the arrivals, the cutting of the cake, everything needs to be precisely timed.

If a wedding planner it’s really hard work, but it’s worth it!! You might be surprised to know that there were 2.4 million weddings in the US in 2016, so there is a lot of demand.

As for the the scope of the wedding planning business, marriage counselors can earn an average of $14 an hour, according to payscale.com. The market is booming, so why not get in on it?

Cover photo by Pexels

How to Start a Wedding Planning Business

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