How to become a weddingplanner?
“Hmmmm, wedding planner training? I didn’t know it existed …… ”
Do you know the movie “The wedding planner” by Jennifer Lopez? Do you also dream – as in the film – of organising, coordinating or advising beautiful weddings? Yes, imagine it, to hear a bridal couple say the yes word together. Are you, just like me, so fond of working with love 😉 and do you like parties, dresses, cheerfulness and dream of “The perfect wedding”?
Then this is the job for you. Having a beautiful wedding and arranging everything for the bridal couple is much more complicated than it seems. Actually, like many, I thought: “It is not difficult to organise a wedding, because I know everything about getting married, don’t I?” The opposite is true.
The profession “wedding planner” really exists and it is super fun to become a wedding planner! That dream of becoming a wedding planner came true for me.
In 2014 I followed an official training to become a professional wedding planner in England and obtained my diploma. I know better than anyone what a good professional wedding planner should be like and I would like to share this with you.
Why is the profession of wedding planner so much fun?
Wedding planning is super fun, but why do I like it so much? One of the great things about this profession is that I got to know dear and nice suppliers and their products. The most beautiful thing about organising a wedding is that I can be with all the special moments of the bridal couple, and they share the special and personal moments with me, this always gives me an emotional feeling. This makes me feel very involved and I felt that I belonged to their family. Of course in a professional manner 😉. It also gives me a nice feeling when the bridal couple says to me: “you have given us the most beautiful day of our life”. It’s great to hear that.
Over time I have gotten to know a lot of people and have expanded my network. I love the diversity of bridal couples’ characters and their wishes. And of course I think “out of the box” for the brides and have to go out of my comfort zone and see what would be suitable for the bridal couple. There are so many beautiful things that I can tell and that I am excited about, but you really have to experience it for yourself. Then you only know whether this is the right choice for you. I say: go for this fantastic profession, because it still remains the dream job for me.
What does a wedding planner do?
First of all, I thought that a wedding planner took on a few tasks especially on the day itself. I found out that a wedding planner has many different tasks. A wedding planner arranges everything related to getting married. You can think of the ceremony, suppliers, locations, etc. ……. A wedding planner ensures that all details are considered.
To clarify which tasks a wedding planner has, we highlight a few tasks:
1.Organise entire wedding – Everything related to the wedding of the bridal couple, organise every detail of the wedding, such as preparing a script, preparing the financial plan, making a estimate / budgeting, making appointments and adequate (and at the same time elegantly).
2.Partial wedding planning – This involves some aspects of the wedding while leaving other things to the clients. For example, advise the bridal couple about marriage laws.
3. Managing the day – Organising and coordinating a ceremony.
What are the features of a wedding planner?
Everyone can become a wedding planner, because this is a liberal profession.
Just like in any other profession, you also need a few qualities to get started as a professional wedding planner.
Properties of wedding planners are usually:
– Have a relaxed attitude and be stress resistant – Your bridal couple expects everything to be perfect. You can reduce their stress by guiding them well and / or helping them. For example, ensuring that suppliers deliver their products or services properly and on time, and put in the right place. This should all be done calmly and in a professional manner, so a professional and relaxed attitude is very useful as a wedding planner.
– Communication skills – You have to advise your customers, so listen carefully to them. It’s their day, not yours, and it’s your job to make sure it’s the perfect day for them.
– Creative – Regardless of the theme or style of your clients, you need to be creative and keep up to date with the latest trends to put together an unforgettable wedding. Important “Think out of the box” 😉
– Entrepreneurial Skills – You are usually responsible for marketing the services and growing your business.
– Handling money well – In addition to managing your own finances, you are also responsible for spending someone else’s money. Sticking to the budget that the bridal couple has passed on to you is essential. You must act within the agreed arrangements, unless the bridal couple gives permission to increase the budget as necessary.
– Organisational skills – If you work with many different people, and elements, for a wedding, that is not an easy task. This should be well organised and well placed for the bridal couple.
– Time Management – There’s no tougher deadline than a wedding day, so it’s super important that you can do things efficiently and effectively according to standards.
You can learn other properties such as, service-oriented, multitasking, coordinating and planning.
Because getting ready to work professionally is still quite an art. Believe me …, but super fun!
How do you combine your current job and family?
As a wedding planner, this is an ideal way of working. You can work part-time or full-time. You can decide when you want to work. That is why this profession is so handy to combine with your current job and family. When you have a family, always make sure to balance quality and quantity. Family and friends are and remain very important.
What is the average salary of a wedding planner?
The salary of a wedding planner is different. It depends on whether you are going to work as an independent entrepreneur or as an employee of a company. If you work as a self-employed person, you can rate yourself per hour as an independent entrepreneur does. Hourly also depends on your experience and weddings you have organised. Make sure you already have a frame of reference so that people can see that you have already done a few weddings. You can use the salary – like any self-employed person – from € 45.00 and up. If you work for an employer, this will be the average salary as with an event planner. It depends of course on what your employer gives you as wages. This can differ per assignment or employer. Every wedding planner is unique in his / her own way, know what you are worth 😉.
Do you want to know more about the salary of a wedding planner? Then read the blog Wedding planner Salary.
How do I get a job as a wedding planner?
Everyone thinks oh that’s hard! But it really isn’t.
There are three options to work as a wedding planner.
1. For example, working for an employer can be done at a wedding location where weddings are held, so you can gain relevant experience. Putting your theory into practice and if you work as an assistant wedding planner, you can progress to the next level.
2. Working at a hospitality executive or leisure company is also something. Here you gain experience with hospitality and working in a team is essential for this profession. You gain a lot of experience in this regard with regard to communication and time management, recreational planning and organisation, customer-oriented working and acting, project-based work, management and organisation. You can do this for two years, for example, so that you can then really start working in the field as a self-employed person.
3. Work as an independent wedding planner. First take a good look around what kind of wedding planners are already in your area. What is their expertise; it is important to distinguish yourself as an entrepreneur. Also make sure you always work with another wedding planner who has been in the business for some time, and ask them to work together with you.
Do you need training or not?
Not required, always handy. In the Netherlands there are quite a few wedding planners who have not followed any training. We advise you to follow a training to become a professional wedding planner. With a real education you radiate more professionalism, and you learn the tricks of the trade. It helped me enormously and created the certainty to be able to realise this nice work and make my dream come true. You can follow the training at Nea wedding planner school in Rhenen or Breukelen, but you can also follow a home study via Nea wedding planner. If you want to know more, take a look at this website.
Finally
We hope that with this blog we have created clarity for you to make the right decision to start as a “professional wedding planner” and to choose “the profession of wedding planner”. We think it is very important that you make a good switch in your career to realise your dream job. Of course, if you choose not to do it, this is okay. It’s super important to find a way that comes from the heart that feels best to you and makes you feel good, because becoming a wedding planner is not just something that happens overnight 😉.
If you have any questions, please let us know on number 0317-358407 from Tuesday to Friday 9:00 am to 6:00 pm or email us info@weddingplannerschool.nl