If you want to become a wedding event planner, it's important to learn about the industry. Formal training isn't usually necessary, but knowledge and connections in the wedding industry are vital. Organizational and communication skills plus an understanding of different cultures are also required in wedding planning. An ability to be resourceful on a budget is especially needed. You should be familiar with weddings and all the details they include if you hope to become a wedding event planner.
Being actively involved in the planning of your own wedding or a friend's or relative's is a good way to start to get real world experience in the industry. You can discover whether you have the attention to detail needed to become a wedding event planner. If you don't break down under pressure, but rather thrive under it, a wedding planning career could be a good fit.
Most wedding event planners work for themselves, so entrepreneurial skills and an ability to run a small business are needed. Some planners start as an assistant to an established wedding planner. Wedding event planners are, in essence, project managers, so the ability to coordinate many different parts of projects into whole events is crucial. Experience planning other types of events is also helpful if you want to become a wedding event planner.
Industry contacts are absolutely essential for a wedding event planner. Planners must get good prices so that they'll make a good profit on each wedding event. The less labor and materials cost for a wedding, the more the planner will make. Relationships with suppliers aren't only important in terms of pricing, but also availability. You should be able to get high quality materials and services for your client's weddings on time as well as on or under budget.
If you want to become a wedding planner, you'll have to carefully consider your competition and what they offer clients. Then you can create your own niche in what you can offer your clients for their wedding budget. You'll need to start strong and do well at wedding event planning in order to get good recommendations. A good word from each bride to her engaged friends can easily keep your wedding event planning business growing.
You will still have to always keep marketing your services if you want to become a wedding event planner who remains in business. Wedding planning starts months or even a year before the big event, so you always want to have weddings booked ahead of time to keep your business running. Making sure to achieve client satisfaction and use testimonials in your advertising can help you become a wedding event planner who is constantly in demand.