The wedding planning business is an exciting and rewarding one. Making a couples wedding the best day of their lives and meeting new people all the time is extremely satisfying.

So how do you get started? There are no standard qualifications out there to become a wedding planner, however bride and grooms are increasingly looking out for some kind of training and certification to prove that you are right for the job.

There are a number of companies out there that offer their own courses and certified qualifications. To find out more on how to be a wedding planner and types of courses available to you please visit the BIWPP website.

In my opinion it is best to get yourself on a course to get the best possible information, and to be more appealing to potential clients. However there are other ways to get the experience you need. Apply for administration roles with a wedding planning company or in fact any events company, getting your foot in the door and learning whilst already in the environment will be beneficial. Offer to arrange events no matter what type of event, for family and friend, any experience would be useful. Apply to help out at local events that may happen on a yearly basis or volunteer for local charities, this is not only great experience but allows you to gain great references.

Becoming a Wedding Planner is an exciting and fulfilling job, however it is also a very demanding and sometimes stressful job. Imagine you already are a wedding planner, the bride and groom are expecting a perfectly planned wonderful day but only a few days before the wedding the entertainment pulls out or the flowers and cake haven’t arrived on time! What would you do?

Wedding Planners need to be very organised and able to multi- task, you may have hundreds of different things to get done in a short period of time, so you need to be able to plan ahead. It is important to keep track of meeting with vendors and the bride and groom and keep records of all agreements and decisions made at the meetings.

Coping well under pressure is an essential part of being a wedding planner having the ability to think on your feet and deal with any last minute changes or emergencies in a calm and effective way.

Are you creative? Being able to deal with of the problems in a creative way would definitely be of an advantage. Also as a wedding planner you will need to create different types of weddings, such as budget weddings, themed weddings and also weddings of different religions. You will need to accommodate to the bride and grooms wants and needs as well as make each wedding unique.

As you will be dealing with a lot of different people your ability to communicate and to listen needs to be excellent! You will be dealing with lots of different people on a daily basis, so getting along with vendors, the bride and groom and their family members is vital not only to you but to your clients, as this will allow you to give them the best possible service.

I hope this information is of use to everyone looking to become a wedding planner, if I think of any other tips for you I will post them or if you have any questions you would like answered, please don’t be afraid to comment!

Averell