Breaking Into Wedding Planning: Strategies For Success

Planning a wedding can be stressful, with so many details to consider, from colour schemes to guest lists, food, and venues. It's important to take breaks and step away from the planning to rejuvenate and return to your duties with a fresh mind and spirit. This article will explore ways to break into the wedding planning industry, offering advice and insights from experts in the field.

Learn about the industry

To learn about the wedding planning industry, you can follow wedding planners on social media, listen to wedding podcasts, or attend seminars. You can also gain first-hand experience by interning, volunteering, or working with a planner who produces the types of events that interest you.

Networking is also a great way to get your foot in the door and learn about the job. You can join a professional association for wedding planners to meet like-minded individuals and move forward in your career. Within these groups, you can exchange resources and possibly learn about job opportunities.

You can also take online courses to learn the wedding planning ropes. Ideally, you should choose a course that teaches you about setting up and running your own wedding planning business.

Finally, you can gain practical experience in the workplace or in a social environment. This could include taking on any task assigned to you as an intern or building relationships with other interns, colleagues, and industry professionals.

Research, research, research

If you want to break into wedding planning, you'll need to do your research. First, you should familiarise yourself with the job requirements and explore wedding planners' websites and social media platforms to get a feel for what they do. You should also seek out opportunities to advance your knowledge about the field, whether that's following wedding planners on social media, listening to wedding podcasts, or attending seminars, workshops, conferences, and webinars.

You should also research the latest trends in the wedding industry, as these are constantly changing. This could include reading wedding blogs and magazines, as well as following wedding hashtags and influencers on social media. You could also consider taking an online course taught by successful wedding planners, which will give you an insight into the industry and help you build your knowledge and skills.

It's also a good idea to research and make a note of any wedding planning companies or venues that you could potentially intern with. This will give you a real taste of what it's like to be a wedding planner and help you build valuable industry connections.

Finally, don't forget to research the business side of wedding planning. This includes things like marketing, budgeting, and networking, which are all essential skills for running a successful wedding planning business.

Learn about the job requirements

To become a wedding planner, you'll need to be bright, passionate and well-organised. You'll also need to be good at multitasking and have excellent time management skills, as you'll often be involved in multiple weddings at once, at different stages of planning and execution. A crucial part of the job is to plan and adhere to a budget, so you'll need to be able to manage your clients' financial limitations while fulfilling their requests.

You'll need to be able to create a comprehensive timeline for the wedding day, ensuring that everything goes according to plan and that all the couple's preferences and requirements are taken into consideration. This may include consulting with prospective clients, transforming their needs into a clear wedding plan, and assisting them in selecting floral arrangements, designs, food and attire that best fit their colour scheme.

A high school diploma or GED is required, and an associate's degree and/or coursework in wedding or event planning is preferred. You'll also need five years of experience in hospitality, customer service, event planning, public relations or a related industry, as well as a completed internship or apprenticeship in wedding planning, or one year of wedding planning experience. Certification through the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners is a plus.

Get experience

If you're looking to get into wedding planning, the first step is to do some research to understand what type of wedding planning jobs are out there. Some wedding planners specialise in elopements, while others focus on destination weddings or handle every type of event. To get started, familiarise yourself with the job requirements by exploring wedding planners' websites and social media platforms. You can also seek out other opportunities to advance your knowledge, such as following wedding planners on social media, listening to wedding podcasts, or attending seminars.

You don't need a special degree or certification to become a wedding planner, but if you have little to no experience, it can be extremely beneficial to learn the ropes and all of the ins and outs of the industry. For example, you could consider joining an established wedding planning firm, which can provide a stable environment packed with learning opportunities.

Another way to get experience is to start building your own network of contacts. This could involve reaching out to vendors and introducing yourself, as well as making sure you have the most convenient contact information so you can get in touch with them easily if necessary.

Finally, it's important to remember that wedding planning demands strong business acumen. As a wedding planner, you'll be responsible for everything from marketing and budgeting to client relations and vendor management. So, if you have any experience in these areas, be sure to highlight them when applying for jobs or pitching your services to potential clients.

Learn from the experts

If you want to break into wedding planning, it's important to learn from the experts. A good place to start is by familiarising yourself with the job requirements and exploring wedding planners' websites and social media platforms to get a feel for what they do. You can also seek out opportunities to advance your knowledge about the field, such as following wedding planners on social media, listening to wedding podcasts, or attending seminars and workshops.

It's also important to have a willingness to learn and an excitement about absorbing new information. This will help you kick off your career and continue advancing it. Successful wedding planner Heather Hoesch recommends reading, watching webinars and social media lives, collaborating, listening to wedding podcasts, taking courses, and attending workshops and conferences.

You can also take an online course taught by successful wedding planners, which will give you the experience you need to get started. After that, you can intern with a wedding planning company or wedding venue to get a taste of what it's like to be a wedding planner. By interning, you'll quickly be able to tell if it's the right career for you.

Finally, don't be afraid to reach out to industry insiders and ask for their tips and tricks. Many successful wedding planners are happy to share their knowledge and help others break into the industry.

Frequently asked questions