fabjob guide to become a wedding planner · wedding planner is the most popular term to describe...

Get paid to plan weddings!

Catherine Goulet, Jan L. Riddell, and Tag Goulet

FabJob Guide to

Become a Wedding Planner

Visit www.FabJob.com

Contents

1. Introduction ..........................................................................................11

1.1 Welcome to Wedding Planning ..................................................11

1.1.1 Wedding Planning as a Profession ...................................12

1.1.2 Benefits of This Career .......................................................13

1.1.3 Job Titles ...............................................................................14

1.2 Inside This Guide .........................................................................16

2. What a Wedding Planner Does .........................................................17

2.1 Services Provided by a Wedding Planner .................................17

2.1.1 Complete Wedding Planning Services ............................18

2.1.2 Partial Wedding Planning Services ..................................19

2.1.3 Rehearsal and Wedding Day Services Only ...................21

FabJob Guide to Become a Wedding Planner

Copyright © 2013 FabJob Inc. • www.fabjob.com • 4

http://www.fabjob.com

2.2 Preliminary Steps to Plan a Wedding ........................................21

2.2.1 Consultation with the Bride and Groom .........................21

2.2.2 Preparing a Budget .............................................................33

2.3 Getting Organized ........................................................................38

2.3.1 Preparing a Time-Line Schedule ......................................38

2.3.2 Preparing Checklists ..........................................................50

2.3.3 Keeping a Wedding Organizer .........................................59

2.4 Planning the Ceremony ...............................................................63

2.4.1 Selecting the Wedding Date ..............................................64

2.4.2 Selecting the Venue ............................................................65

2.4.3 Selecting the Officiant ........................................................70

2.4.4 Ceremony Vows, Exchanges and Readings ....................73

2.4.5 Selecting Ceremony Music ................................................77

2.4.6 Obtaining the Marriage License .......................................79

2.4.7 Ceremony Rehearsal ..........................................................80

2.4.8 The Ceremony Processional, Recessional and Receiving Line........................................85

2.4.9 Other Ceremony Arrangements .......................................89

2.5 Planning the Reception ................................................................89

2.5.1 Venue Selection ...................................................................91

2.5.2 Preparing for the Reception ..............................................93

2.5.3 Reception Activities ..........................................................102

2.6 Working with Vendors ...............................................................106

2.6.1 Recommending Vendors .................................................108

2.6.2 Contract Negotiation ........................................................112

2.6.3 Co-ordination with the Vendor ......................................115

2.6.4 Follow Up ..........................................................................119




3. Developing Your Skills ....................................................................121

3.1 Do You Have an Aptitude for Wedding Planning? ...............121

3.2 Developing Your Skills to Succeed ..........................................124

3.2.1 Interpersonal Skills ...........................................................124

3.2.2 Organizational Skills ........................................................128

3.2.3 Creativity ...........................................................................132

3.3 Teaching Yourself Wedding Planning .....................................134

3.3.1 Places to Go .......................................................................135

3.3.2 People to Speak With .......................................................137

3.3.3 Things to Do ......................................................................140

3.3.4 What to Read and Watch .................................................144

3.4 Educational Programs ...............................................................147

3.4.1 What to Look For ..............................................................148

3.4.2 Certificate Programs .........................................................149

3.4.3 Continuing Education Courses ......................................157

4. Wedding Industry Jobs .....................................................................159

4.1 Types of Employers ....................................................................160

4.1.1 Resorts and Hotels ............................................................160

4.1.2 Other Locations .................................................................164

4.1.3 Retailers ..............................................................................166

4.1.4 Wedding Planners ............................................................170

4.1.5 Churches and Synagogues ..............................................172

4.1.6 Wedding Vendors .............................................................173

4.2 Finding Job Openings ................................................................175

4.2.1 Advertised Positions ........................................................175

4.2.2 Unadvertised Positions ....................................................177

4.2.3 How to Create a Job .........................................................178




4.3 Job Hunting Materials ...............................................................180

4.3.1 Your Resume .....................................................................180

4.3.2 Cover Letter .......................................................................182

4.4 Interviews ....................................................................................184

4.4.1 What Employers Are Looking For .................................185

4.4.2 Questions to Expect ..........................................................187

4.4.3 Discussing Salary ..............................................................188

5. Starting Your Own Business............................................................191

5.1 Getting Started ............................................................................192

5.1.1 Creating a Business Plan .................................................193

5.1.2 Choosing a Business Name .............................................196

5.1.3 Legal Matters .....................................................................197

5.1.4 Taxes ...................................................................................199

5.2 Setting Up Your Business ..........................................................201

5.2.1 Location ..............................................................................201

5.2.2 Telephones .........................................................................203

5.2.3 Equipment and Supplies .................................................206

5.2.4 Insurance ............................................................................210

5.2.5 Employees and Contractors ............................................211

5.2.6 Finances ..............................................................................212

5.3 Marketing Your Business ..........................................................215

5.3.1 Your Portfolio and Promotional Tools ...........................215

5.3.2 Networking .......................................................................223

5.3.3 Advertising ........................................................................227

5.3.4 Free Media Publicity ........................................................228

5.3.5 Bridal Shows ......................................................................231

5.3.6 Creative Marketing Ideas ................................................233




5.4 Working with Clients .................................................................236

5.4.1 Setting Your Fees ...............................................................236

5.4.2 How to Do a Client Consultation ...................................242

5.4.3 Your Contract ....................................................................248

5.5 Professional Associations and Certification ...........................255

6. Conclusion ..........................................................................................260






1. Introduction

1.1 Welcome to Wedding PlanningCongratulations on choosing a rewarding career as a wedding planner! You are joining a booming industry. It is estimated that over 2.1 million weddings took place in the United States in 2010, and the 2011 Ameri-can Wedding Survey found that the average wedding in the United States costs about $26,500. Planning a wedding that size (or almost any size!) takes a tremendous amount of time, effort and creativity.

Wedding planners will wear many different hats, including those of organizer, co-ordinator, supervisor, director and creator. As a wedding planner, you will ultimately be assisting your clients (the bride and the groom) with planning and creating a fabulous stress-free wedding ex-perience to remember for the rest of their lives. You will discover how to get started and succeed in this fabulous job in this guide, the FabJob Guide to Become a Wedding Planner.

This chapter lays the foundation for the rest of the guide. In the pages that follow, you will learn about the role of a wedding planner, discover the different titles used in this profession (bridal consultant, wedding




planner, wedding co-ordinator, etc.), read about the many benefits of the career, and see the steps you will need to take to get started.

1.1.1 Wedding Planning as a ProfessionWedding planners have been around as long as people have been get-ting married, although, in the past, they often provided their services for free (with the exception of planners hired to work with celebrities and other wealthy people). In most cases, the unpaid wedding plan-ners were friends or family of the bride. They were individuals with a natural ability for organizing a successful event, and were asked to help out without any expectation of being compensated for their time and assistance.

Wedding planning as a paid profession is relatively new. It is, however, a growing profession. With many couples living busy lives away from their immediate families, more brides and grooms realize the benefits of hiring someone to co-ordinate their wedding. Many couples now see the value that a wedding planner can bring them both in time and mon-ey saved, and in being able to experience a stress-free wedding day.

Catherine Goulet, a co-author of this guide, tells this story about her first experience with a wedding planner:

A number of years ago, my husband and I were invited to a wedding out of town. The bride and groom both lived in the same city as we did, but had decided to get married in the city the bride had grown up in, a few hundred miles away.

We arrived at the wedding location (a luxurious hotel overlooking the waterfront) the evening before the wedding, shortly before the rehearsal was to begin. We met up with the bride and groom and their numerous guests who had also arrived to participate in the festivities that night. The bride and groom looked radiant and relaxed without a hint of stress about them. This surprised me because I had been to so many weddings and seen how disorganized and stressed the bride and groom could be the evening before their wedding.

I also knew firsthand how much work was involved with planning a wedding, and how many last-minute details still needed to be handled right up until the wedding.




While I was contemplating the relaxed state of mind of the bride and groom, I noticed a woman walk in who graciously took control of the room, handed out itineraries and lined up all the participants to begin the rehearsal. Then it all made sense. This woman was a professional wedding planner who had been hired to organize, co-ordinate, direct and create a fabulous stress-free wedding experience for the bride and groom. The wedding planner worked magic as she handled all the last minute details and ensured that everyone knew the plan for the follow-ing day. I was impressed, and the bride and groom were happy and at ease.

After the wedding, I met up with the wedding planner and asked her about her fabulous job. She exuberantly told me that she had one of the most rewarding careers in the world. Not only did the wedding planner get to produce, co-ordinate and direct a special event (a wedding) but she also got to use her creative skills, her people skills and witness first hand the love between two people. Wow! That is what I call a “fab” job!

1.1.2 Benefits of This CareerAs the story above illustrates, as a wedding planner you will enjoy a career with tremendous benefits. They include:

Rewarding WorkYou will have an opportunity to do work that is fun and interesting. A career in wedding planning also offers plenty of variety. Chances are no two weddings you work on will be exactly the same, and each one will give you an opportunity to learn and grow.

Personal FulfillmentWorking as a wedding planner allows you to use your creativity and other talents. This career also allows you to see the results of your ef-forts, and have the satisfaction of making your vision a reality.

PeopleAs a wedding planner you will meet and interact with a variety of peo-ple. You will support and assist the bride and groom, making their lives easier, and your work can help people to experience even more joy on a joyous occasion.




Growth IndustryThe wedding business is a $40 billion a year industry. Faith Popcorn, an expert in consumer trends, noted back in 2000 that, “Time is the new money: people would rather spend money than time.” This trend is still strong today. Rather than doing it themselves, more couples are hiring wedding planners to plan their special day.

IncomeAs a wedding planner, you can certainly earn a comfortable living. Many wedding planners charge their fees as a percentage (15-20%) of the total cost of the wedding. As the cost of weddings goes up, so does the wedding planner’s potential income. Experienced wedding plan-ners who work with wealthy clients may earn over $100,000 per year.

FreedomIf you start your own wedding planning business, you will enjoy the freedom of being your own boss. You can turn down work you don’t want and take time off when you want to.

1.1.3 Job TitlesWedding Planner is the most popular term to describe people in this pro-fession (thanks to the 2001 movie The Wedding Planner, starring Jennifer Lopez, which brought this fabulous profession to the forefront).

However, there are actually a variety of titles used to describe people hired to plan weddings. You may hear any of these as you embark upon your new career, so it’s good to be aware of them and understand what people may be referring to. Any of the following job titles may be used to refer to someone who plans weddings, although some of the terms may also have other meanings:

Bridal ConsultantMost bridal consultants are wedding planners who assist with all as-pects of the wedding. This title is also used to refer to people who work in retail stores such as bridal shops, and specialize in working with brides.




Wedding Co-ordinatorThe term “wedding co-ordinator” is sometimes used interchangeably with “wedding planner.” However, some wedding co-ordinators are involved only in co-ordinating the wedding ceremony.

Wedding ConsultantThe term “wedding consultant” refers to someone who owns a wed-ding planning business. A wedding consultant may plan the entire wedding, or simply give advice to couples who want to plan their own weddings.

Wedding DirectorThis expression is sometimes used in the southern U.S. for a wedding co-ordinator who is involved only with the wedding ceremony.

Wedding PlannerA wedding planner assists in planning and organizing any or all as-pects of a wedding ceremony and reception. The next chapter of this guide covers the specific duties of a wedding planner.

While these titles may be used by people who have their own wed-ding planning businesses, they may also be used to describe people who work at part-time or full-time jobs in the wedding industry. For example, someone who works for a hotel or resort and spends most of their time booking facilities for weddings may be called a “wedding co-ordinator.”

You may occasionally hear other titles such as “wedding specialist” or “wedding professional” used to describe people who are wedding plan-ners or who work in the wedding industry.

In this guide, except where noted, we use the term wedding planner to refer to any career that involves working with a bride and groom to help them arrange any aspect of their wedding ceremony and reception.




1.2 Inside This GuideThe FabJob Guide to Become a Wedding Planner is arranged to take you in a step-by-step manner through getting started and succeeding as a wedding planner. These steps, and the chapters they appear in, are as follows:

Chapter 2, What a Wedding Planner Does, explains the different services wedding planners provide and covers how to plan a wedding. In this chapter you will learn how to prepare a budget and time-line schedule, find helpful checklists, and learn how to plan a ceremony and wedding reception. You will also find valuable advice on working with vendors — companies that supply the products and services you will need to co-ordinate for the wedding.

Once you know what the job involves, Chapter 3 will give you helpful information on Developing Your Skills so you can succeed in this career. You will find resources for enhancing your interpersonal skills, organi-zational ability, and creativity. This chapter also covers the best resourc-es for learning wedding planning, and explains how to get experience.

Chapter 4 focuses on Wedding Industry Jobs. You will discover who hires wedding planners, bridal consultants and wedding co-ordinators, how to find out about job openings, how to prepare an effective resume and cover letter, and how to do well in an interview. You will even discover how to create your own job!

If you would like to Start Your Own Business, you will find good advice in Chapter 5. Here you will find practical information such as the best resources for setting up your business. You will also learn vital infor-mation such as how to set your fees, how to market your services and attract clients, and how to do a client consultation. Finally, you will discover organizations that can certify you as a professional wedding planner.

When you’re finished with this guide you will know what step to take next and where to go from there. By applying what you learn here, it’s just a matter of time before you’ll be where you want to be… in an ex-citing career as a Wedding Planner!


fabjob guide to become a wedding planner · wedding planner is the most popular term to describe...

Documents