If you are passionate about the romance and beauty that come with weddings, then chances are that you will jump at the idea of becoming a wedding planner. Wedding planning is an exciting field and a good business opportunity for those who have been looking to start a business of their own; because aside from the financial gains, you get a chance to express your creativity and get a feeling of satisfaction seeing the beauty of your handiwork.
Every year, over 2.4 million weddings are held in the United States alone (according to the Association of Bridal Consulting), and the wedding planning industry is currently worth about $165 billion. To become a wedding planner, you must have passion for the business and also like everything about wedding.
If you are really interested in tapping from the huge opportunities in the wedding planning industry and you would love to become a wedding planner, then below are proven tips on how to start a successful wedding planning business.
Starting a Wedding Planning Business – Sample Business Plan Template
1. Learn everything you can about weddings
There are a lot of things and opportunities involved in planning a wedding. You can even teach yourself about wedding planning by visiting wedding ceremonies, reading wedding books and magazines and browsing on internet. This will help you get more information about weddings.
You can also kickstart your career as a wedding planner by talking to newly married couples and other wedding planning association. As you learn about the business, it is advisable youcarry out feasibility study and write a business plan.
2. Know what the business entails
As a wedding planner, you will be helping other people plan what they consider as one of the happiest events in their lives. And this means a lot of responsibility will be on your shoulders. You don’t want to make people sad on their wedding day by offering poor services. So, you have to try hard to please everyone at the same time.
If you enjoy what you are doing, you will find the wedding planning business fun-filled and very rewarding. You need strong organizational skills, keen attention to detail, a level head, and patience to deal with emotional ups and downs that may start even before the Big Day.
Always bear in mind that some things are bound to go wrong no matter how well you plan. The maid of honor’s shoes might break, or the florist might send the wrong flowers. It’s your duty to set things right and make sure everything goes smoothly.
To know more about what the business will require of you, you should try to gain as much wedding-related experience as possible. Attend as many weddings as you can, and use that opportunity to build a network and connect with potential clients.
Also, use that opportunity to know a number of individuals you will be working with while planning a wedding, such as caterers, photographers, florists, and so on. After linking up with many of them, you need to find out the differences in price, specialty, reliability, and quality of service delivery.
If a friend or relative of yours is getting married, work with the planner to gain some experience. Pay close attention to everything that the planner does behind the scenes.
Another way to gain solid experience in wedding planning is to offer to assist more established planners with their events. You won’t get paid for this, but you will gain the experience you need to get started.
You will need to keep up with the latest wedding trends. Read bridal blogs and magazines. Know what kinds of weddings are popular in your location. Some societies hold traditional weddings in high esteem. Others spend more on church weddings. You will need to understand how to plan the various types of weddings that are held in your locality and beyond.
3. Get certified as a wedding planner
It is important that you find out if there are colleges or universities around you offering wedding or event planning programs. Many other institutions offer full certification programs that may span weeks or a few days.
While certification is not a requirement for starting the wedding planning business, it will help you get a crash course in planning and make you more credible. Certification programs may be somewhat expensive, but the benefits that come with enrolling with one far outweigh the cost.
4. Plan your business
Decide on the structure of your business and what services you will offer. Will you plan entire weddings or only handle specific parts such as venue set up and decoration?
You will also need to find a good name for your business—one that is clever and easy to remember. You can surf the web for wedding planning business name ideas. Also, you will need to work on the rest of your business’s image, which entails your logo and fonts you will use in your marketing.
You will also need to determine from the start if you want to venture into the wedding planning business full-time or part-time. Whichever option you choose, you must bear in mind that it may take months to years for your business to get off the ground, and even longer before you start making decent profits.
Can you cope with the income dip that might accompany your choice of the full-time option? You should consider this and other factors, especially those related to your personal finance.
5. Make your business legitimate by incorporating and getting a license
It is advisable that you consult with an attorney about the possibilities and advantages. The attorney can provide valuable advice when it comes to determining which business structure (sole proprietorship, limited liability company or corporation) will work for you, and also registering your business in the state you want it to be registered. He or she can also review documents you plan to use in your business, such as your client contract.
6. Develop yourself in the area of fashion
Fashion, beauty care, event planning and wedding planning go hand in hand. To become a successful wedding planner, your feet must stand strong on good fashion. You must try to acquire good education on the field because there are many professional associations that offer educational programs and official authorization in the wedding planning field.
You may be lucky to have many friends and family members who will allow you to plan their wedding and learn from the process. You can also hone your skills by assisting more experienced wedding planners in their daily tasks.
7. Let your image or handiwork reflect your style
Planning a wedding is all about style, because the bride in particular is actually trusting your eye and your ideas to make her wedding beautiful and memorable. Therefore, your company’s image, starting from your business name to your logo and to the colors and fonts you will use in your marketing tools, must showcase great style and draw attention.
Perhaps you can make use of an acquainted great graphic designer who can help bring your image to life. You will also need great-looking business cards and an attractively designed website.
8. Develop a marketing strategy
To really kick off in business, you must create a marketing strategy that can be executed at low cost and yield high returns (profit). This can be achieved by advertising your business online and otherwise.
After putting everything in place, you can start advertising your business. Tell your friends and relatives about your business and implore them to help you spread word about it, especially at weddings.
You can also advertise you business by doing free jobs once in a while for your clients especially when you are starting up newly; and those individuals you did jobs for freely will advertise your business through word of mouth and referral.
Since most businesses now attract customers online, you’d be better off with a website. This will give potential information all the information they need to know about your business. Don’t forget the good old business cards, too.
In conclusion, it is important you have at the back of your mind that your success rests more on building relationships. So try investing your time and energy into developing bonds with other wedding planning professionals around you and clients as well.
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