How to Become a Successful Wedding Planner
Starting a career as a wedding planner requires excellent organizational skills, a strong understanding of the event planning industry, and ambition. A wedding planner must remain calm in the face of adversity, as well as be personable and capable of negotiating. An excellent planner has good fashion sense and an eye for color, and is also knowledgeable about the latest trends and possesses a proactive frame of mind to deliver the job.
Planning a wedding is very rewarding, as you are the creative mind behind the most important day of a person's life.
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Instructions
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Decide What Services to Offer. Choose between full service, partial planning, "Day Of" coordination or a combination of the three. Create pricing guidelines depending on your client base.
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Research current wedding trends by subscribing to wedding magazines and publications. Become familiar with ceremony procedures: religious, non-traditional, civil and military.
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Join an association of wedding planners. These associations provide excellent resources and information.
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Obtain certification if required by your state. It is important to have credentials to present to perspective clients.
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Organize your business. Purchase office supplies and organizational tools and keep meticulous files.
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Build a website. Include all important information, such as location, services provided, hours of operation, contact information and the areas you service.
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Print business cards to distribute while networking. Attend local business networking events and promote your services.
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Participate in bridal shows. Visiting and participating in bridal shows provides an opportunity to connect with people in specific fields of interest and share contact information.
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Develop relationships with vendors. Establishing good connections will help ensure that you get the best prices for your clients. Look for ways to cross-promote with businesses that complement yours.
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Volunteer your services. Offering your services for free is an excellent way to gain experience. Get written permission to add photos of the event to your website and portfolio.
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Create an impressive portfolio. Include photos of past events and a short bio on each couple. Wedding trends change constantly, so you should keep your portfolio up to date.
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Advertise your services. Successful business advertising speaks to your target audience. Include full contact information, such as website and email address, phone and fax numbers, and company address.
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Every business should have an attorney, accountant and business insurance. An attorney has better knowledge of what should be covered in your contracts, and business insurance protects against loss due to accidents or litigation.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit business woman image by Kurhan from Fotolia.com
