If you enjoy a good to-do list and the magic that comes with weddings, the wedding planning business might be for you. With brides trying to avoid becoming a Bridezilla, there is no time like to present to become a wedding planner.
Read on to discover four helpful tips to get your wedding planning business off the ground.
Experience
Before you even start thinking about creating a wedding planning business, get familiar with the wedding scene. Shadow a wedding planner and get to know the ins and outs of a wedding. Observe how the wedding planner coordinates and manages multiple moving pieces. An added bonus, if you can identify common roadblocks and how they can be addressed.
These time management and problem-solving skills are key to ensuring that a wedding runs smoothly. The more comfortable you are with working in a fast-paced environment and making quick decisions, the less stressed you’ll be when it comes time for you to take charge.
Additionally, experience is a form of market research. Experience provides insight into:
- What aspects of a wedding are considered essential;
- Where a bridal party likely to splurge and save; and
- Whether its best to have a permanent team or hire freelancers.
This knowledge will prove invaluable when it comes to creating a business plan.
Business Plan
Once you’ve immersed yourself in the wedding planning scene, its time to create your business plan. A business plan is a written document that acts as the blueprint for your business. It outlines details such as the business’ objective(s), services offered, start-up and ongoing expenses as well as the marketing plan.
Even if you have experience, it’s beneficial to conduct a proper and thorough analysis of the industry and market. Market analysis should give you a look into the entire industry and where it’s heading. You might actually find that your experience provided a narrow or skewed view.
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Get startedEstablish Relationships
As a wedding planner, you’ll find yourself constantly collaborating with others in the business. Hence, it’s important that you develop strong relationships with venue providers, caterers, photographers and florists. Be sure that your contacts are not only reliable but diverse. Depending on the vision of your client, you might be after a very specific look. Moreover, maintaining relationships can help to secure competitive rates and even referrals.
Online Portfolio
Last but not least, in order to drum up some clients, you have to get your work out there. This could be via a website, Facebook page, Instagram account and/or Pinterest board.
Regardless of the platform, your portfolio should be cohesive and reflective of your brand. It should be a mixture of your previous works, testimonials, and projects that are in the pipeline. If you have yet to secure your first client, don’t fret, you can organise a photoshoot for a mock wedding or create mood boards.
Putting aesthetics to the side, it’s also important that your online portfolio is informative. Complement images with details such as the client brief, turnaround times as well as the vendors sourced. This is an excellent opportunity to show off your capabilities and that you can deliver on what was requested.
Conclusion
To ensure that you start your wedding planning business off on the right foot, take the time to define and build out your brand. Think about what services you wish to offer and what unique experience you can provide.
Moreover, to avoid feeling like you are spinning multiple plates, think about what support you might need. This includes your immediate team as well as your wider network.
Putting business aside, don’t forget to enjoy the experience! It’s an exciting time creating something from the ground up and you should savour every moment.
