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- Organise weddings for a living, working with your clients to create a stress-free event
- You'll need to be an excellent organiser, negotiator and planner, and to stay calm when under pressure
- Many wedding planners work freelance and hours can be very long during peak wedding season
Being a wedding planner is an exciting, busy role, ideal for someone who has great people and organisation skills, and who is calm under pressure.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Meet with couples to discuss their requirements and budget
- Come up with creative ideas and themes
- Advise on wedding customs and etiquette
- Prepare proposals and quotations for the work
- Agree prices with suppliers like florists, photographers, caterers and venues
- Make sure costs stay within budget
- Be at the venue on the day of the wedding to make sure everything goes to plan
- Research new products, services and suppliers
If you're self-employed, you'll also spend time doing your accounts and promoting your business. You'll often plan more than one wedding at a time.
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
As a self-employed wedding planner you may charge a fixed fee, hourly rate, or a percentage of the total wedding cost. Your earnings will depend on the number of customers you can attract and how much you charge.
You're likely to work long hours, particularly during peak wedding season (May to September). Meetings with couples often take place in the evening and at weekends.
On the day of the wedding you may work a 12-hour day, or longer. You'll be based in an office or work from home, but you'll also spend time travelling to see clients, suppliers and venues.
You'll need
There are no set requirements, but you'll need excellent organisational skills, good communication and customer care skills, problem-solving skills and the ability to deal with the unexpected, excellent attention to detail, the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines, sales and negotiation skills, and the ability to manage a budget.
It'll help if you've gained experience and skills organising your own wedding or weddings of family and friends, or through jobs like event management, hospitality and catering, project management, marketing, and public relations.
You could start as an administrator or assistant in a wedding planning or event management company and work your way up, or work at a wedding venue as an in-house wedding coordinator.
A short course in wedding planning, an events based apprenticeship, or a college course in a related area like a Level 2 Certificate in Event Planning, Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality, or Level 3 Certificate in the Principles of Event Management, could help you gain the skills you need.
You could also try and get some work experience with a wedding planner, or by organising events like fun days, charity balls or fashion shows for local charities.
Many wedding planners develop a blog, social media presence, or a website to showcase their work, personality and style.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could set up your own wedding planning consultancy or events management company.