How to Become a Wedding Planner in New Jersey
New Jersey has a thriving wedding economy with approximately 54,824 marriages a year occurring according to the state's Center for Health Statistics, making it a perfect place to start your wedding planning business. A wedding planner can help keep modest weddings in budget due to her relationships with vendors or can make sure that every luxury detail is seen to in a more extravagant wedding. Becoming a wedding planner can give you a sense of achievement and satisfaction that you helped your brides and grooms have the happiest day of their lives while earning a paycheck.
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Things You'll Need
- Website
- Business cards
- Professional email address
- Cell phone
- Electronic or paper planner
Instructions
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Take an inventory of your personal skill set. Figure out if any of your previous career choices can contribute to a new career in wedding planning. If you have been an event planner, administrative assistant, travel agent, interior designer or involved in the hospitality industry, you likely have professional experience in areas that will be of use to you as a wedding planner. If not, consider any experience you may have had in planning your own or someone else's wedding or any large parties or charity events.
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Read bridal magazines, bridal planning books, talk to women who have been brides about what they liked and didn't like about their wedding and their experience with planners, if applicable.Make sure you know how to plan a wedding from the very beginning to the end by doing research.
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Consider how you would like to brand yourself by looking at other wedding planners' websites for ideas. Branding means the kind of image you would like your company to portray and be known for. Then chose a name for your business to reflect the brand you would like to portray.
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File your company name as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) with the state of New Jersey. New Jersey does not require any special permits or licenses to become a wedding planner, but you will need to start your own company. Filing as an LLC will enable you to pay taxes and conduct your business legally as well as protecting your personal assets by limiting your personal liability in your business dealings.
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Purchase your website and email address. Then design your website to reflect the brand you've chosen.
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Purchase business cards that have an image that reflects your brand or your company's logo. Make sure your business card has your company's name, website, email address, address and phone number.
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Network with local wedding vendors so you can start building relationships with them. Start attending local New Jersey bridal shows to network with potential vendors and brides. Utilize these bridal shows to better learn what New Jersey brides prefer in a wedding and what's considered fashionable locally.
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Learn more about local New Jersey wedding venues. For example, beaches generally do not permit weddings but restaurants/hotels on the beach are allowed to have weddings on their beachfront property. Some New Jersey wineries are situated to have weddings at the winery, whereas other wineries don't have any reception space.
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Put together budget planning worksheets, wedding to-do check lists and scheduling worksheets for various planning appointments. Prepare several sample mood boards for various budgets, which would include lighting, color schemes, music suggestions, menu suggestions, floral arrangements, favors and any special add ons to make the day more special such as fireworks, ice sculptures, sushi stations, etc.
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Offer your on-the-day planning services pro bono to start building a good reputation as a wedding planner. Figure out what appropriate charges for your services are while you are doing this.
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Once you have done a few wedding coordinations and you've built enough of a name that brides have started contacting you for your services, start charging for your services and expand your business to full wedding planning services that go beyond on-the-day services. Continue to build relationships with vendors and brides and add bride testimonials to your website as your business continues to grow and expand.
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Tips & Warnings
According to the American Academy of Wedding Professionals, important skills to have include organization, budgeting, good customer service, detail orientation, as well as being versed in decorating, music and flower selection.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit wedding celebration image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
