Home Business Idea: How To Become A Wedding Planner

Face it: you love weddings—why not make it your business to find out how to become a wedding planner?

Wedding planners help take the burden off of the bride and groom by helping to plan all of the details (and there are many) to make a fabulous wedding.

In starting a wedding planning business, you will meet with the bride and groom to help develop a big picture view of the wedding.

Do they want a small, intimate wedding or a large celebration with extended family and friends? Will it be in a family church or synagogue? Or will it be a destination wedding?

Once you've determined what kind of ceremony the couple wants, where it will be held, the number of guests and the budget, you're ready to get started.

You may help select, address and send out invitations, visit and recommend venues for the wedding and reception, find caterers, help select the menu, book musicians for the wedding and reception, go shopping with the bride for the wedding dress and bridal party attire. You may help plan any engagement party and rehearsal dinner as well.

You will unobtrusively orchestrate the day of the wedding, making sure everything starts on time and happens as planned.

As a planner, you'll be on the go a lot, so you'll need reliable transportation. You'll be talking with your clients and vendors a lot as well so you'll need a cell phone. You'll also need a computer with e-mail and high speed Internet for research.

Qualities of a Good Wedding Consultant

A good wedding planner must be extremely organized, but also be flexible and creative. More importantly, a wedding planner has to have an outstanding ability to work with people. Weddings are usually a time of great joy, but are also a time of heightened emotions.

A planner must be calm and have an infinite degree of patience in order to coordinate the various wishes and personalities.

Training For How To Become a Wedding Planner

If you've planned events in the past, that's a good start. But weddings are a huge financial investment. According to Costofwedding.com, the average U.S. wedding cost $28,800, so clients will need to be sure you can do the job well.

There are a number of programs providing training on how to become a wedding planner or an event coordinator. Look for opportunities in your area. Some organizations also offer official certifications.

In the meantime, keep planning smaller events, and contact a wedding planner to “intern” with them, or donate your time to help plan one smaller aspect of a wedding. Consider purchasing wedding planning software to learn more about the steps involved.

Attend bridal shows and wedding planning websites to get a sense for what the current trends are.

Network all of the time. You never know when you'll meet someone who is getting married, plays the flute as a hobby or is opening a catering business.

As your business grows, continue to network so people will begin to seek you out. Consider becoming an event planner as well to expand your business.

If you have a relentless enthusiasm for weddings, along with a dollop of practicality and a sprinkling of romanticism, you can successfully learn how to become a wedding planner.

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