Starting a Wedding Consultant Home Business

Here comes the bride, looking radiant, happy, and unfrazzled. If she has achieved this state of bliss in the frenetic countdown leading up to "I do," it's usually because she had an accomplished wedding coordinator to pull all the elements together for her. If you're a take-charge kind of person who loves happy endings, a home-based wedding consultant business may be the right career choice for you. Here's what you need to know.

History

Once upon a time there were no such things as wedding consultants. If a girl was getting married, the details were pretty much left to her mother and other female relatives. Weddings took place on a much smaller scale than they do now. This meant that even if one's entire village was invited to witness the nuptials, the event took on the look of a folksy potluck in which everyone brought their own food and noisemakers.
In royal households--and subsequently the middle class--weddings became a way to show off and display one's wealth. The fierce competition to throw the biggest parties called for more outsiders to be brought into the planning arrangements. If a reception was done well and in grand style, the services of the experts involved were spread by word of mouth. In the modern era, the media made it possible to hire professional wedding coordinators who could oversee the entire thing for an agreed upon price.

Function

The purpose of a wedding consultant/coordinator is to relieve the bride and groom of all the stressful and pesky details that go into making sure their perfect day doesn't turn into a perfect nightmare. By establishing a network of reliable vendors that can deliver on the couple's ideas, having the negotiating skills and diplomacy to work within the structure of the couple's budget, and maintaining the quick-witted ability to perform the inevitable damage control with no one ever being the wiser, a wedding consultant is the best behind-the-scenes magician a bride could ever hope for.
In addition to possessing outstanding communication skills, a wedding consultant is expected to be an expert in matters of etiquette and to be knowledgeable about all the latest fashion, culinary and design trends associated with weddings and receptions. If she does her job flawlessly, the event will not only look like it all came together on its own but that it will also look as if it cost a lot more than it actually did. Even in the 21st century, people who have weddings still like to show off.

Types

Whether you plan to start your wedding consultant business in a home office, expand it to something bigger and hire an administrative staff, or just want to keep it a small and manageable solo act depends on how many services you want to be able to offer to your prospective clients. A sample of services would include:
Advice on the overall theme and decor;
Coordinating site locations;
Shopping for wedding apparel;
Liaison with bakeries, florists, catering companies, jewelers, photographers;
Arranging transportation and accommodations;
Handling invitations;
Auditioning musicians;
Resolving etiquette and protocol issues;
Setting salon appointments (hair, makeup, nails).

Time Frame

Planning a wedding can take anywhere from several weeks to several months. If you are going to be working by yourself in chasing down all of the suppliers, this is going to affect the number of events you will be able to handle in any given year.
You need to take into consideration, too, that the majority of weddings are going to transpire on weekends and that certain times of the year (i.e., Valentine's Day, the month of June, and December) are more popular than others for tying the knot. This is going to limit the amount of time you're going to be able to take a little time off for yourself.
During the planning of a wedding and reception, you'll also be expected to be on call 24/7. Starting a successful wedding consultant business generally takes three to five years to get established.

Considerations

In order to gain an appreciation for all of the hats a wedding consultant has to wear, you may want to take an internship or apprenticeship with an existing agency before you hang out your own shingle. You can also pick up tips and advice from individuals who work in the wedding-related fields with whom you would be working.
Present a professional image at all times. This means hiring someone to design a quality website for you that will be easy for prospective brides and grooms to navigate. It also means dressing professionally for your consulting appointments and--if clients are coming to your home--ensuring that screaming children, pouncing pets, and toys are not in sight or underfoot.
Register your new business name with the Secretary of State's Office. You'll need to acquire a business license, a federal tax ID number, liability insurance, and make sure that your homeowner's insurance will cover you if a visiting client is injured in your home.
The Small Business Administration website can walk you through the steps of what you need to officially set up shop. Access to legal counsel is essential for drafting your contract documents and--if math isn't your strong suit--you'll want access to an accountant as well to manage the books.

Resources

• Coordinators Corner
• Biz Planners Guide
• Small Business Administration