Becoming a wedding planner where to start?

I’m 20 years old, and want to become a wedding planner.
Im planning on taking an online course on it but dont know where i should take it from.
once im done taking my course, how do i start?

Becoming, Planner, start, Wedding

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This entry was posted by Corry on May 7, 2010 at 12:05 pm, and is filed under Wedding Planning. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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Comments (3)

#1 written by weddingqueen
about 1 year ago

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http://www.topweddingsites.com/become-a-wedding-planner.html
#2 written by Rachel-waiting for 11/21/09
about 1 year ago

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I kind of “grew up” in the wedding industry, it’s REALLY competitive, especially starting out. You need a strong network or suppliers, vendors, clients and people that can give you recommendations. Starting out from scratch is hard (as in any industry) but there are ways to start to establish yourself and make a little money as you work your way up and built your referral/client-base.

You can start out working in an event planning firm or at a venue that hosts weddings to get some experience. Some venues provide couples with an onsite planner (my venue does and she is so helpful) and those places always need other help like administrative work, etc. So thse can really get your foot-in-the-door with industry insiders.

I have looked into event planning myself, because am looking to start my carer in fundraising (events for charities) and non-profit organizations. I’m actually taking a part-time course at a local community college (I already have a business degree from a university) in fundraising events. I wouldn’t know where to suggest you go for recommendations for online courses, but I would look into your local community college if you have one close to you. Usually event planning programs include courses on marketing (yourself/business) and some basic business administration.

Most importantly, being a wedding planner is more than just picking colours and helping couples decide on a caterer. It’s running a business, so you have to file taxes, manage cash flow/accounting and take care of marketing and daily business operations. A background and/or knowledge in business and running a business is an important thing some people overlook. You need business skills as well as event planning and networking skills. You also need to register your business with the state/province and file taxes, no matter what type of small business you run (event planning or otherwise)

I just found this article written by a wedding planner too:
http://www.save-on-crafts.com/wed20brworon.html
#3 written by SChi25
about 1 year ago

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I completely agree with Rachel.

I think your first step should be getting experience. Courses are great, but every wedding planner I’ve researched online or spoken with says that you should first get experience and become a little established, THEN get the courses and certification once you know that this is the career for you. The last thing you want is to try it out for a few years, spend hundreds on the courses, and find out that it’s not for you.

Try to become an assistant to a wedding planner. You probably won’t get paid, and if you do, it won’t be much. Just soak up as much experience and information as you can. Start calling a bunch and ask if they need an assistant. Be prepared to work lots of nights and weekends (that’s when the parties are!).

After you feel comfortable with the knowledge you have, start to advertise your services for free. Craigslist is a great tool for this because brides on a budget often refer to this website for discounted vendors. Plan at least five events at no cost, but ask that the satisfied customers offer a testimonial and reference for your business. Also, ask that the photographers for the weddings you coordinate (and the couples!) to give you permission to post the images on your marketing materials and website. After you’ve gotten a few good testimonials and photos, create your website and start charging clients. Go on the less expensive side until you build a reputation. During this time, start taking note of vendors and suppliers you like working with and see if you can work out deals with them where you refer each other for business, and perhaps give each other’s clients discounts.

Over time, hopefully you’ll business will grow and you’ll become more in demand, which means you can raise your rates, and of course, make more money.

As Rachel said, keep in mind that it’s still a business, and if you’re not savvy enough to do your own taxes and file licenses, etc., you’ll need to hire professionals to do your accounting, payroll if you ever hire staff, etc.

You should also read books on running a small business, too.

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