The wedding industry is a part of the event and hospitality industries. It is a once-in-a-lifetime event and therefore there is big pressure on a person responsible for the organization and management of it. Your clients would be giving you a key spot in one of their most private and expected beginning of a married life, which is an admiring and rewarding position.
Do you love a pretty wedding, the white dress, and decorating beautiful venues? Are you considering a wedding planner career? Here is a short guide on how to do it.
The first thing would be researching what this job is and what you need for this career in skills. And also, what the working hours and salary are. Explore your future colleagues – free agents and agencies likewise, their projects, their social media, especially blogs. Blogs or vlogs are a mixed media products that can show the portfolio of a business in greater detail than, for example, watching short promo video or pictures on a businesses’ feed. Research salary and responsibilities, since you like the job does not equal doing it. Therefore, be thorough and write it down on a vision board.
There is no specific BA, MA, or similar for ‘wedding planning’. The closest and the most practical education are degrees in mentioned hospitality, event management, but public relations management is also a possible option. Hospitality is connected to restaurant, venue, and catering businesses, whereas event management can give you a range of leadership skills needed to be a highly organized and connected manager. The possibilities and knowledge between the two intertwine, but even more important is experience. Try your luck finding an internship for a wedding planner, bridal salon, or niche-specified catering service. Working on-site can give you mentors, knowledge, and experience like no school.
If you manage to get an internship, you’d see how much esthetics, flower design, interior design, cake design, and photography are skills you have to tap into. So you’d need to consider additional courses or classes in these skills. Beware, those are not all of them! Depending on the ongoing trend, you may need to be informed on something unexpected, such as history or textiles. You never know when you might need a service that provides wedding cars in Sydney, for example, a popular choice in cities. There are niches between wedding planning business in which you could be the best on the market.
The main skill you have to hone all the time and take the utmost care of is communication. From active listening, negotiating, leadership, and empathy, you have to prepare yourself to cover many situations. B2B and B2C here are more different than in many other careers. Discussion with clients about their budget, perfect venue, and a dream dress in the morning can turn to negotiation for optimal prices and dates with the partnering vendors in the afternoon. Take into account that you are a part of an important event of two families. Therefore, you are witnessing some really important and special moments.
When starting your career, carefully plan out your online presence. A website with an up-to-date blog, a colorful social media presence, and guest blogging for other portals can bring you great visibility. Everything you know and did is a part of your portfolio, even your ideas, and business partners. When it comes to partnership, reach out to the niche relevant businesses and build cooperation with them. It will get you additional promotion channels. Go to the seminars, guest courses and such, to learn, stay up-to-date, and network. In this line of business, you are what you know and who you know. You are making a brand out of yourself.
Management, courses, social media, and partners have been mentioned. Apart from the skills you need to possess, there are tools you can use to help you. They are, for example, time management tools, planning and scheduling, labels and organized sheets, and also communication applications. Luckily, as the wedding industry is growing, so it is for the event and hospitality – online schedules, online meetings, online menus and catalogues, lists, and registries of vendors. Here you can see the importance of networking and maybe even hiring a virtual assistant. That is cheaper than a regular assistant and office rent. Be open to new ideas and different vendors on the market.
The last piece of advice would be to never stop evolving and studying. New people, new places, and new opportunities all can make your career skyrocket. Good luck!
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