You have seen the movies; you have read the books. Becoming a wedding planner seems exciting and glamorous. Before you jump into a career change, however, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is there a market for another wedding planner in your area? It will be a waste of your time and money to become a wedding planner if your local market is saturated or your community is too small, so spend some time researching the market. Check the Yellow Pages, look for web sites, and read the ads in local wedding publications. Contact your county clerk’s office to find out how many weddings occur in your community in a year. If you are uncomfortable doing the research, visit a Small Business Development Center or a Small Business Administration office for free or low-cost counseling. 
• Is your family supportive? Most weddings occur on week-ends with rehearsals a day or two before. A planner will spend 1 ½ to 2 hours at a rehearsal and an additional 8 to 12 hours on the wedding day, plus travel time. If you are helping the bride with all of her planning, expect to spend an additional 10 to 20 hours meeting with her and with vendors. If you have children, will your husband agree to work all week, and then babysit every week-end, or do you have reliable babysitters to call upon? Will your spouse appreciate spending many week-ends alone?
• Are you detail-oriented and well organized? Weddings are filled with details; as the planner/coordinator, you will be in charge of making sure that everything happens correctly.
• Do you work well under pressure and can you make decisions on the spur of the moment? If the cake collapses or the caterer doesn’t show up, you will need to quickly make decisions to salvage the situation.
• Can you tactfully work with all types of people when emotions are high or family dynamics create problems? You will be a mediator between the bride and the mothers and between others involved in the wedding, including merchants.
• Can you afford to become a wedding planner? In most areas of the country, weddings are seasonal with most occurring between May and October. Therefore, you may not always have a monthly income, though you will have monthly expenses. You may not be able to supplement your income by holding a part-time job on the side and still meet the needs of your clients.

You will need operational financing for at least one year, preferably two. Even planners who work from their homes incur expenses such as advertising (your largest on- going expense), insurance (plan on carrying at least $1 million in liability coverage),  telephone and internet service, website hosting, automobile expenses, and much more.  You will also need equipment, including a computer, scanner, copier, cellular phone, and  fax machine.
 
Hiring a wedding planner is a luxury. When budgets are tight or the economy takes a  nose-dive, the planner is the first person to be eliminated. Therefore, you cannot charge so much that you discourage clients. In most areas of the country planners charge a flat fee no matter how many hours they spend on the job. You should be in the business because you love making people successful, not because you want to get rich.

If you answered “Yes” to all of the above, then you are ready to seriously pursue your new career. You might begin by taking a correspondence course, several of which can be found on the internet including the following:

• Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants (ACPWC), http://www.acpwc.com/
• Weddings Beautiful Worldwide, http://www.weddingsbeautiful.com/
• Professional Career Development Institute, an on-line trade school offering many types of courses, (http://www.elearners.com/college/pcdi/)
• Super Weddings, http://www.superweddings.com/weddingconsulting.html

Also check with community colleges in your area. Some offer one or two day courses in the basics of wedding and event planning. You may also want to take additional courses in topics not typically covered in a wedding planning course, such as bookkeeping, small business management, marketing, dispute resolution, or working with difficult people.

If you work in the events industry in any capacity, you might choose to gain on-the-job experience rather than taking a course. However, don’t ask a local wedding planner to allow you to job shadow or to work for her if you plan to become future competition. You will be asked to sign a non-compete agreement and perhaps a non-disclosure form as well. This will prevent you from working for yourself or another business for several years or within a certain distance of the planner.

Instead, look for opportunities to volunteer as a church coordinator or to help with non-profit events. Also seek temporary employment with hotels, reception centers, golf clubs and country clubs. These are the facilities where events are held and you can gain valuable experience working on a variety of events in addition to weddings. You can also offer to assist caterers, florists, photographers, and other merchants. Many offer temporary employment during their busy season. This will allow you to “see” a wedding from the point of view of the professionals who work at them. You may decide to become the special events liaison for one of these businesses instead of opening your own business.

Whether you join a national association is your choice. Unless you live in a very large community, you may not receive much benefit from membership. It is often more helpful to join local special events associations in your area and/or your local chamber of commerce.

To find out what benefits are available for members of a national association, visit the web sites of the following:

• Association of Bridal Consultants, http://www.bridalassn.com/
• Association for Wedding Professionals International, www.afwpi.com

Above all, network, network, network. As a wedding planner, you will require the services of caterers, florists, photographers, reception centers, hotels, restaurants and a wide variety of other merchants. You will also receive referrals from these businesses if they find your work pleasing.

Becoming a wedding planner can be a rewarding and personally fulfilling career if you have the right personality and temperament for it. If you don’t, burnout will rapidly occur. You will have the opportunity to help brides and grooms have the wedding of their dreams while taking the stress out of their planning. Over the months, you will become good friends and together you will create lasting memories of their special day.

Copyright © 2006; Glenna Tooman, all rights reserved