How Can I Become A Wedding Planner?

I get a lot of people asking me this same question, so I thought maybe it would be a good idea to post it on the blog.

First realize that being a wedding planner is very different than planning your own wedding.  It takes about 250 hours to plan a single wedding; you will be planning multiple weddings at the same time.  It takes a very special person, you have to be very organized, very outgoing, very willing to do all kinds of tasks.  We have done everything from sewing bridesmaids’ dresses together at the last minute to cleaning snake skins out of bathrooms.  I can not emphasis enough that it is not the glamorous job you see on TV.  In fact, CNN Money just named it the second most stressful job.  They also said the average salary was less than $35,000. Weddings days will start very early in the morning, usually about 9:00 for a 5:00 wedding and you will be on your feet until well after midnight.

Also remember, you have to give up most of your nights, weekends and holidays.  These are when brides are out of school or off work and want to do their planning.  Daytime you are meeting with vendors.

If that hasn’t scared you off, then first thing you will need to do is take one of certification courses in wedding planning that are offered.  There are many out there, be sure you pick a good one.  ABC is very well known.  Next you will need to intern either with a planner, a hotel or a florist to really see what goes on behind the scenes.  Once you have accomplished that you will need to look at setting up the company.  This involves hiring a lawyer and deciding if you want to be an LLC or Corporation.  You will need to research and trademark a name.  Purchase liability insurance of over 1 million dollars of coverage.  Look at errors and omission insurance and buy a business license for each city in SC/NC where you plan on doing business.  This means if you do a wedding in Mauldin, you have to have a Mauldin license, Clemson a Clemson license, Greer a Greer business license and so on.  You also need a license for wherever you are located. As you can tell it is not cheap to start up.  You will need to have your contracts drawn up by a lawyer also.

You will need to hire help for each wedding.  We have at least 5 people at a wedding, some with the bride, some at the church and some at the reception setting up.  We also have a crew that comes in just to unload and at the end tear down and pack up.  That means you will either have to have salaries or hire workers as contract workers.  Be sure to check the tax laws, they are very detailed about this.  You are going to need either a good accountant or someone that is very good at keeping the books.

I’m not trying to be discouraging, but so many people start this business thinking that it will be easy, sort of like a hobby and it isn’t.  It is a business and you are dealing with other professionals and the public so you have to be committed to it and prepared for it.

Later this year we will be possibily teaching some classes on just this subject.  You can keep checking the blog for more information.

Willrich Bridal Will Be At Belk Simpson in Simpsonville, SC Thursday Night

Be sure to visit us tomorrow night at the Belk store on Fairview Road in Simpsonville.  We will be meeting brides and grooms at the Engagement Party from 6:00 - 8:30.  We will have pictures of past events and discounts for couples who hire us to help plan their wedding.

Tip of the Day: Have Someone Photograph Your Reception Setup

As a bride, you, your planner and your florist will spend hours working on the perfect look for your reception.  The linens, the flowers, the candles, the china all adds up to the wow your guests experience entering the room.  You are so excited to see it all come to together.

But guess what, you my dear bride will not see it.  At least not in all its perfect glory.  By the time you and your groom are announced into the room, guests will have already moved chairs around, put purses on the tables, drink glasses will litter the landscape, dirty napkins will be crushed and laying around.  Which brings me to the tip of the day, make sure someone, your photographer, your planner, your friend, someone gets you pictures of the room set as your guests see it when they enter. 

I can hear you say, “Oh, no problem my photographer will get that”.  Well, I can tell you that unless your ceremony and your reception are in the same building, 99% of the time this isn’t going to happen.  The photographer is getting pictures of you getting ready, of the ceremony and family pictures afterwards.  He does not have the time to stop that and run over to the reception site for a few set up pictures.  For Willrich Brides we have a photographer on staff that takes these shots that we later send to our brides.  If you don’t have that luxury, then make sure someone is assigned the task.

What Does A Wedding Cost?

I run across illustrations of what weddings cost quite often.  But I thought this one, done by Credit Sesame was worth sharing.  The numbers are not quite what we see in this area (florals are way low and it doesn't even mention the most important thing, the planner) but it does give you a pretty good place to start.

An Out of the Box Aisle Runner

Source: Grace Ormonde

Ok, I’ll say it.  I do not like aisle runners.  I might even go as far as to say I can’t stand them.  It’s not that I don’t think they are beautiful.  Some of the expensive ones are gorgeous.  The problem is making them stay in place.  The thin ones you can buy in most stores will not stay in place.  Even when we tape them down, (yes, we have white duct tape for just such a job) they tend to tear as you walk down and wad up.  As far as rolling them down just before the bride walks down, no way, that is ALWAYS a disaster.  I also do not like to have to seat guests from the sides.  It just does not look as nice in the overall picture.

I can hear you saying, “but my aisle is so ugly and I can’t use flowers and the carpet is terrible”.   (I know, really what are some churches thinking when they pick their carpet).  So what can you do?  Well think a little out of the box, what about lighting?  What if you used lighting to cover the floor (or ugly carpet) in a floral pattern or any pattern of your choice?  Now it’s beautiful, guests can walk on it and it is not going to wad up under your feet. 

What a great idea.

Great Gift For Your Bridesmaids.

Today, I am loving the Minimergency Kit For Bridesmaids by Ms. & Mrs.  These cute little kits contain just about everything your bridesmaid might need on the wedding day.  They contain 20 items including hairspray, clear nail polish and remover, emery board, earring backs, sewing kit, double sided tape, stain remover, deodorant, pain reliever, tampon, dental floss, bandages, tissues and even an extra wedding band.  What a perfect little surprise gift for your bridesmaids.  At $16.00 these are affordable or you can always make up your own.  I love it!

Beautifully Contained Flame at Your Wedding Reception

Having candles at your reception venue is not as easy as you might think.  Most venues have restrictions on open flames.  They must be contained, as in a glass votive candle or some venues require them to actually be floating in water.  So what are you to do if you love the look of tall taper candles?  Put them in a plexiglass box.  Both beautiful and protective.  You can find this example above at here.  I love it!

Romantic Ceremony Chairs

Today, I am loving these side tied chair sashes with matching roses in the center of each one.  It is such a beautiful look for the ceremony.  Definitely not cheap to do, but oh boy what a wow statement.  I'm in love!

A Cute Way To Say Thank You

I was looking through Get Married Fall 2011 magazine and ran across this really cute idea.  Make a cone out of any decorative paper that matches your reception colors add a decorative tag that reads "Thanks a Bunch" and fill with flowers, candy, or pretty much anything you like.  We've done similar cones tied with ribbon to chairs at the ceremony.  These were filled with petals to throw as the bride and groom walked down the aisle after the ceremony.  It's a pretty cool idea.

We have also offered guests water bottles decorated with the bride and groom's logo.  These are great for handing out before an outdoor ceremony.  Guests love it!