Wedding And Event Planning Certification: A Passport To Your Dream Job
If wedding and event planning is your dream job, dont let anything get in your way of making that dream become a reality. Now its easier than ever with Lovegevitys wedding planning courses, event management courses, and floral design courses.
Youll have everything you need to start a fulfilling and happy career.
With flexible choices that suit your needs, you can choose to either study at a college near you or through our online courses. With Lovegevity, the possibilities are endless, so why not explore your options?
Which Course Is Best For Wedding Planner
Event management course is a key for becoming wedding planner. Diploma, postgraduate diploma courses for event management can be pursued by undergraduates and graduates on a part-time basis for a period of one year. Institute that offer event management courses is NAEMD Academy of Event Management and Development.
Breaking Into The Industry
You dont necessarily have to wait until youve graduated or obtained a wedding planning certificate to start making strides in the bridal industry. At the very least, make a plan and start networking.
Getting Hired
Unfortunately, obtaining a certificate or degree doesnt guarantee youll land your dream job or any job, for that matter. As is the case in most industries, youll likely have to work your way up at a wedding planning company. Dont be afraid to complete an internship or take an assistant position the work will be grueling but itll allow you to learn a lot more than if you were just delegating. Youll also be able to learn the ropes alongside a seasoned professional.
Lisa Gorjestani, founder and event planner at Details Event Planning, told the muse that while starting out, wedding planning newcomers should network and get to know as many venues and vendors as possible.
Interning is a valuable experience. This is one of those businesses in which it just takes experience, she said. Even if you are very creative, you need to understand the business side and logistics involved.
If you dont want to start at the bottom of the totem pole, aim for an on-site coordinator position. Youll be able to work with a variety of wedding vendors while learning the ins and outs of weddings and other events.
Starting Your Own Business
Make sure to also take advantage of free and affordable tools, like the Wedding Planners Toolbox from Planners Lounge.
The Statistics
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Heather Hoesch And Lindsay Ferguson
Hoesch and Ferguson own LVL Weddings & Events, known for producing one-of-a-kind weddings in California, Hawaii, and Colorado. They are also co-owners of Planner Life Academy, which offers workshops and virtual training programs to prepare leaders to open their own wedding planning businesses.
Ferguson worked part-time for a wedding planner in Chicago as a young professional. I always had a love for hospitality and customer service-focused careers, she says. I grew up with an entrepreneurial mom who really encouraged me to find something that I loved and was passionate about.
I grew up with an entrepreneurial mom who really encouraged me to find something that I loved and was passionate about.
In high school, Hoesch worked for a family friend who owned the local bridal salon. She hired me to clean, hang, and steam dresses, she recalls. In college Hoesch worked for a catering company that primarily did weddings. It was a crash course in weddings, she continues. I learned a ton about food, service, timelines, flow, logistics, guest experience, and catering to couples’ needs for their special day. Five years later she was ready to start her own company.
What Exactly Can A Planner Help With
Most planners have a mix of packages and tailor made services to choose from. It really is up to the client what the planner can do for them, every wedding is different.
- Recommending suitable venues
- Producing your budget & ensuring you stick to it
- Arranging payments to all suppliers
- Creating a wedding theme and design
- Sending invitations
- Managing the wedding day itself
Dont forget to use your planner as an inspirational source, family mediator and financial advisor. Keep your planner informed of any changes in order for them to organise your wedding proficiently.
Bernadette Chapman
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Wedding Planner Skills #: Communication
This is a people business and youll spend the majority of your time communicating with just about everyonethe bride, the groom, wedding vendors, wedding guests
Professional wedding planners spend an unbelievable amount of time with their bridessometimes communicating every single day! The bond you form with your client should be based on honesty, trust and mutual respect. With that kind of foundation, you can help her create a day that she, her groom and her guests will remember fondly.
Its practically impossible to plan a wedding without the help of your wedding professionals. In your communications, never forget that these guys are the dream team that makes this very special occasion happen.
More importantly, though, remember that your vendors are people. Treating wedding vendors with respect and professionalism will go a very long way in your career. Because, whether you know it or not, many wedding vendors do not look forward to working with wedding planners, but thats another story!
As you plan weddings, youll come across situations that will test you and push you to the limits of your diplomatic skills. Fight the urge to react unkindly. Your personality is what people will remember. Make it a positive memory.
Know who you are. If youre unable or unwilling to be personable in your communicationswhether via email, telephone or in-personyou may want to rethink this wedding planner thing altogether.
Find The Tools You Need To Be A Successful Wedding Planner
For this section, lets take a look at a hypothetical scenario. Imagine that two people order the same dresser from an online furniture company. It arrives at their houses in three boxes, and there are about a dozen bags of screws, nuts, and bolts. Person A has a toolbox with a hammer, screwdriver, drill, and much more. Person B has nothing but their hands and some super glue. Which person is going to be more efficient in putting together the dresser?
When it comes to growing a business, it isnt much different. Thats where Social Tables comes in. Our software can help grow your business in a variety of ways, and its used by professional wedding planners and DIY brides alike all across the world. Get started by checking out our free 3D wedding design software.
We researched several companies that offer similar services, and ultimately found Social Tables to be the best fit for us, wrote Kate Turner of Kate & Company. At any given time we could be working on over 100 different layouts. Social Tables offerings and customer service are second to none and thats why they are the best fit for Kate & Company and our family of businesses.
Additional useful wedding planning tools and software include Wedding Spot, Joy, WeddingWire, Carats & Cake, and Zola.
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What Are The Best College Majors For Wedding Planners
Event planning is one of the most popular majors for wedding planners because it teaches the specifics of organizing all types of events, which you may then apply to coordinating weddings. There are also several other college majors ideal for wedding planners. Each major emphasizes different skills to develop your ability to plan weddings. Here are some other majors to consider when planning your education:
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Business: Knowing the basics of sales, negotiation, pricing and client contracts by completing a business degree improves your ability to manage client accounts for a wedding business.
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Hospitality management: Studying hospitality management teaches you about interacting with vendors, serving customers and coordinating complex operations. This experience directly applies to planning large-scale events like weddings.
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Communications: Taking classes in public speaking, interpersonal communication, public relations and social media through a communications major develops your ability to find clients and manage wedding projects.
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Fine art: Use a fine art major to learn about design, color theory and other artistic aspects of planning weddings.
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Education Training & Certification
While a college degree is not required for this job, many employers prefer candidates to have one or have applicable work experience, which can be from a similar or related field. Education and training preferences are as follows:
- Education: Many wedding planners train to become event planners who then specialize in wedding planning. To prepare for this career, some people earn a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management or a related field.
- Training: Not all wedding planners participate in formal training. Many planners learn their skills on-the-job.
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Can You Be A Wedding Planning Major In College
Wedding planning isn’t a common major for four-year universities, but you can major and minor in related fields. If you know you want to be a wedding planner, try talking to your academic advisor about any available courses at your college that could contribute to your ideal career. Use your college experience to develop broad skills that you can eventually apply to a wedding planning role.
What Is The Typical Cost Of A Wedding Planner
On average, a wedding planner costs $1,800 for a range of service packages. Higher-end estimates are over $4,000 while low ranges with minimal assistance can run several hundred dollars. Some wedding planners offer different levels of coordination to match both your budget and desired level of service.
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Wedding Planner Duties & Responsibilities
Successful wedding planning requires you to be a jack of all trades. According to Pittsburgh-based A Piece of Cake Wedding Design, the job entails: “…the role of the wedding consultant is that of a facilitator, mediator, money manager, artisan, and constructor of dreams.”
If you’ve ever been a bride or groom, or even a bridesmaid, you also know the kind of stress that planning a wedding can bring about. A wedding planner often also ends up also being a therapist, sounding board, and even punching bag, figuratively of course, when frazzled nerves come into play.
Although the job can involve a wide variety of tasks, certain typical duties and responsibilities are involved in the day-to-day life of a wedding planner, such as the following:
Floral Design Certification Courses
No wedding or event is complete without flowers. We have floral design classes that teach you the basics of prepping flowers. You will design flowers for wedding bouquets, centerpieces, and even Extreme Floral Design, where youll learn how to design and construct floral walls.With a floral design certification, our courses will teach you how to design stunning table-top floral arrangements. All coursework is step-by-step, so you can be confident that youll be guided through each lesson as you develop your floral design skills. Your beautiful floral arrangements, with even the simplest of flowers, will make you the envy of your friends and put you at the forefront of wedding and event design.Once you have mastered the basics in our Floral Design 1 course, youll be able to progress to our Floral Design 2 where you can take your skills to the next level. Here youll learn how to design, plan, and transform a room with flowers from the table-tops to the ceiling and everything in-between.
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Want To Be A Writer Get Your Training As A Wedding Planner
- Read in app
HERE COMES THE SCRIBE There was the bride who instructed a makeup artist to make her bridesmaids look like little piggies so they wouldnt steal the spotlight. There was the couple who dreamed of transforming a summer camp in Maine into a luxury venue for their nuptials. There was the wedding where a grandparent suffered a heart attack, prompting a second procession firefighters followed by the police followed by paramedics. And of course, there were the newlyweds who traded vicious barbs and the divorced parents who refused to find common ground and the many moments of kismet and serendipity one would expect when two people say I do.
During the 13 years Xochitl Gonzalez spent as a wedding planner, this was all part of the job and it prepared her to become a novelist. Now a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop and the author of Olga Dies Dreaming, a frothy romp with serious undertones , Gonzalez said in a phone interview, We did not plan simple weddings. They were intense and elaborate, and I think what happened is, you get very good at having a Spidey sense. Youre able to manage many, many threads at a time.
Another quality thats useful in both professions: a sense of humor. You have to be able to laugh, to be able to find certain things ridiculous, Gonzalez said. That ability to find humor in moments of gravity or sadness or absurdity is something I really wanted to preserve in the storytelling.
Wedding Planner Skills & Competencies
To succeed in this career, you must have specific soft skillsâ character traits you have either acquired through life experience or with which you were born. This includes skills such as the following:
- Calm demeanor and interpersonal skills: The ability to remain calm in the face of adversity is essential, as are excellent interpersonal skills.
- Negotiating: You must be a superb negotiator. As the bride’s and groom’s representative, it will be your responsibility to get them the best service, for example, venue, food, photography, and music, for the lowest price. Your reputation will depend on it.
- Networking: Your ability to network will help you get the best deals possible.
- Time management and organization skills: Excellent organizational and time management skills are also a must.
- Running your own wedding planning business requires you to be adept at handling finances and promoting your business.
- Knowledge of color, design, and current trends: Expertise in color, music, and flowers are needed as well. Plan to spend a lot of time reading the current bridal magazines, of which there are many, to keep up with the latest trends.
- Knowledge of various religious customs: Knowledge of religions is imperative since a wedding ceremony is often a religious one. Related to this is a knowledge of customs and traditions, which are also part of many wedding ceremonies.
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You Have A Very Demanding Job
If your job feels more than full-time, it might be a good idea to hire a wedding planner so youre not spending every lunch break and evening wedding planning. Planning a wedding becomes a part-time job and takes a lot of hours, says Nickel. Vendors work business hours and typically are not available on the weekend since they are executing weddings, so if you work full-time, save your sanity, save a ton of stress and hire a wedding planner.
