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How to become a wedding planner
Fancy guiding couples through one of the biggest days of their life? Read on to learn more about the fabulous world of wedding planning.
CONTENTS
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Routes to becoming a wedding planner
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Skills you’ll need
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Finding work experience
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How to get a job as a wedding planner
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What it's like to be a wedding planner
There are various ways into the entrepreneurial world of wedding planning. To succeed you’ll need to combine your academic skills with your networking capabilities to build an impressive portfolio. Read on to discover which route might suit you.
Undergraduate degrees
While it’s not essential to have an undergraduate degree, it may help you achieve success more quickly. A degree in hospitality or events management will give you a great grounding in all the different skills you need to become a successful wedding planner and you will make new contacts and gain valuable experience in the process. A hospitality or events management degree takes between three and four years to complete depending on whether you opt to do a professional placement or foundation year.
Degree apprenticeships
It may be possible to secure an events management or hospitality apprenticeship. You’ll still study, but you’ll do so part-time while you work. These courses are employer-led and will usually take the same length of time to complete as an undergraduate degree if they are of an equivalent level. A Level 4 apprenticeship is comparable to the first year of an undergraduate course and a Level 6 apprenticeship is equivalent to the final year of an undergraduate degree.
Entry requirements are set by both the employer and the provider of the course. Your employer pays for the course, not you. You can search for apprenticeship vacancies via Find an apprenticeship.
Postgraduate degrees
If you are looking to grow your wedding planning business and perhaps branch out into other events, you might consider a postgraduate course. This will increase your skills and networks within the industry. A postgraduate degree usually takes a year to complete full-time or two years part-time. An undergraduate degree in a related subject is usually a minimum entry requirement.
There’s more to the role than being organised, you’ll also need:
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Communication skills
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Creativity
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Negotiation
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Budgeting and finance
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Administration
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Marketing
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Research
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Calm under pressure
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Quick to build rapport
The more work experience you can gather to show case in your portfolio, the more successful you’ll be at winning contracts. This could be paid or unpaid and may involve you volunteering with an organisation. Some large events management companies offer internships.
Try looking for work at:
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Events management companies
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Charities looking for volunteers to help organise fundraising events
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Local organisations needing help organising community events
Many wedding planners are self-employed, so you’ll want to ensure you have a website, social media channels and blog to highlight your work and get noticed. Occasionally, wedding planning roles come up at big wedding venues as part of their in-house service or with wedding planning companies. You might also look at similar jobs such as project management, public relations or marketing.
Depending on your role and specialisation, your tasks could include:
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Meeting couples to discuss their requirements and budget
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Coming up with creative ideas and themes
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Advising on wedding etiquette
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Preparing proposals and quotations for work
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Negotiating prices with suppliers like florists, photographers, caterers and venues
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Making sure costs stay within budget and to time
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Attending the venue on wedding day to make sure everything goes to plan
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Researching new products, venues, services and suppliers
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Marketing your wedding planning service online
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Administrative and financial tasks associated with running your own business
You might work at home or from an office and may spend considerable time travelling to venues and meeting clients and suppliers.
If you’re self-employed, you’ll be responsible for your own training, keeping up with health and safety laws and changing trends in the wedding world. At the beginning of your career, you could expect to earn approximately £17,000 but as your reputation and confidence grows, this could increase to approx. £29,000. Your hours per week could vary considerably as although weddings happen all year round, the Spring and Summer months are particularly popular. Evening and weekend working goes with the job.
Is a role as a wedding planner right for you?
If you like the buzz of organising someone’s big day and can stay calm under pressure, this could be the role for you. You'll need to be a sociable person who can deal with different personalities, work within a budget and deliver a special day according to their vision and needs.
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