Tips for Starting Your Own Wedding Planner Business

Have you ever helped plan a friend or relative’s wedding and thought to yourself, "I wish I could do this for a living!" Or you may already be in the event coordinating business and just want to expand your repertoire to include weddings. If so, you may be happy to know that anyone who has passion for weddings, savvy business skills and organization abilities to boot, can open their own wedding planning business.

Now that you know that wedding coordinators are in demand, you might ask yourself, "Do I have what it takes to be a successful wedding planner?" Here are a few questions you should ask yourself: Do you like working with people? Are you organized? Detail-oriented? Creative? Patient? If you answered yes, you are on your way to becoming a successful coordinator. A successful wedding coordinator is all of these and more. Being able to network with other wedding vendors is important as well as being a great entrepreneur. If marketing, bookkeeping and overall financial management is not your cup of tea, you might want to consider taking courses or hiring someone to assist you.

Starting any business takes time and money. Before you quit your day job it’s important to consider how much money you will need to get started. Some wedding planners save a few thousand before they get started and others save a year’s worth of expenses. You may need to volunteer or work with a mentor at the beginning so make sure that you saved enough money to survive for days when you won’t get paid in cash but in experience. Training also can cost anywhere from $500-1,000 depending on where you obtain it from. In addition, research online, borrow books on the subject and network with others to figure out how much you need to save.

Now that you know you have what it takes to be a successful planner, the next steps include getting education and/or experience in this area. There are a variety of online courses that provide information on how to start your own business and that give you first hand advice from those who work as wedding coordinators. You might also contact wedding vendors such as florists, caterers or wedding coordinators and ask if you could work for them as an assistant. Attend any wedding events and bridal fairs and make sure to have your business card ready. You might also think about printing your own brochures and flyers offering your services. Use this as an opportunity to network with those in the field as well as help you get ideas on wedding planning.

Tell friends and family that you are interested in becoming a wedding consultant and volunteer to help them with everything and anything event related. If you are currently working full-time, offer to help plan your office holiday events and corporate outings. Remember any experience you get planning an event counts. Then, make sure to take pictures of the event that you helped coordinate and add them to a portfolio. This will help potential clients get a good feel for your work. Gaining experience in the field is a great way to network, learn about wedding coordination and is a definite step in the right direction to becoming a successful wedding coordinator.

Criss White is a professional author on baby, wedding, and parenting topics. For more related articles and for wedding favors.