A Career in Wedding Planning
By Tag Goulet
As a wedding planner you can have a rewarding career that lets you use your creativity
to organize the happiest day of people's lives.
In our busy society it's no wonder so many couples turn to a professional wedding
planner to ensure their wedding is as stress free as possible. With more than 2.5 million
weddings taking place in the United States alone last year, there are more opportunities
for wedding planners than ever before.
As long as you have the desire, you can become a wedding planner. No special education
or experience is necessary to break into this career and succeed. If wedding planning
sounds like the career of your dreams, here are ten steps to breaking into this fabulous
job, based on the FabJob Guide to Become a Wedding Planner, published by FabJob.com.
1. Develop your skills
Successful wedding planners have a number of traits in common. They are usually
creative people with excellent interpersonal skills who love to plan events. While most of
these traits come naturally to many wedding planners, an important skill that some need to
develop is organizational ability. To help you stay organized, you can create timeline
schedules and checklists, and use organizational tools such as a day planner or binder to
keep track of all the wedding details and paperwork.
2. Learn about Weddings
There are numerous details involved in planning a wedding - from selecting the wedding
date to choosing the menu for the reception. You can learn how to plan weddings by taking
continuing education classes or through self-study. To teach yourself, help out with as
many weddings as possible, visit bridal shows, read wedding magazines, and conduct
informational interviews with clergy of various faiths, recently married brides and others
connected to the wedding business such as florists and caterers.
3. Create a portfolio
A portfolio is a collection of photographs that show people your skill at planning
weddings. To develop a portfolio, offer your services to friends and family who are
getting married in exchange for pictures for your portfolio. (You can ask them to write
reference letters for you as well.) You can also include photographs of table settings or
room decorations you have created in your home, or pictures from your own wedding to show
your creative side.
4. Find a job in the wedding industry
Even if you plan to start your own business, consider getting a job in the industry
first. Besides employment benefits, these positions can be used as a stepping-stone to
gain valuable experience and contacts. Wedding coordinators are hired by hotels, country
clubs, and churches across the country.
Some of the more exciting options include working as a wedding coordinator at an
attraction such as Disney World or at a resort in a location such as Hawaii, Las Vegas,
Europe or the Caribbean. Many other job opportunities for "bridal consultants" are
available with companies that supply products and services for weddings including bridal
shops, department stores with gift registries, florists, and caterers.
5. Set up your own business
Setting up a wedding planning business is not much different than starting any other
business, with a few exceptions. You should be able to work from home as long as you set
aside an office space free from interruptions from children or pets. This is especially
important if you plan on holding meetings with clients there.
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