If you’re preparing to be a wedding planner, pick up some tips from today’s Q&A.
Question
I’m an aspiring wedding and event planner and I can do event decor. I feel I can do amazing things; I just need clients so I can prove it. I want to launch my business but I’m not sure how to do it. My focus is on traditional brides with a twist but I don’t want to stick to just one thing because that gets boring really quickly. How do I get started?
Answer
It sounds like you the have passion and desire to be a wedding planner but it doesn’t sound like you have done this before. You might be rushing to launch a business before you’re able to attract the clients you believe you want. If you start before you have the solid background you need, it will take you much longer to be successful.
Here are 4 tips that can help you get on the path to starting a successful wedding planning business:
1) Get experience
Whether it’s by working for other wedding and event planners and designers or planning weddings and events for free, or both, you’ll need to get experience before you launch your business. Brides won’t take your word that you “can do amazing things,” they’ll want to see photographic proof and read or hear testimonials from others.
2) Study on your own or take classes
Study wedding and event planning and design, floral design, catering, bridal fashion, event draping, everything related to weddings and events so you can offer solid advice to brides and speak intelligently with other wedding vendors. Also, study marketing and sales and learn the basics of running a business.
3) Define your niche
Define what “traditional bride with a twist” looks like to you. Who is she? How old is she? What does she do for a living? What is her fiancé like? What is her wedding budget? What is the vision she has for her wedding? What wedding planning problems does she have?
4) Determine what you will offer to brides
I’m concerned about your comment that sticking to one thing would be boring. Every bride is different and a couple should be encouraged to have a wedding that expresses their personalities. Your work should never be boring because no wedding is the same. The weddings you’ll plan should not look like each other nor should they be copies of anything in magazines or on Pinterest.
Brides will hire you because you’ll offer them exceptional services and the ability to have a wedding that is unique and fabulous.
And if you have a pressing question about starting or running your wedding planning business, you can send me an email at [email protected]. I’ll answer them on this blog or in my ezine, “Wedding Planner Tips,” which you can subscribe to here.
