Ever wonder what it would be like to have the glamorous life of a wedding planner and helping cute couples tie the knot? Well, I spent my summer interning for an event planner and I have the inside scoop.
First things first, it is not as glamorous as it looks in the movies.
You may have watched movies like the “Wedding Planner”, “27 Dresses”, or even “Revenge of the Bridesmaids”, which makes wedding planning seem a lot more glamorous and exciting than it actually is. Yes, I love those movies but I promise you, you will not fall in love with the groom of another bride. For a more accurate representation of wedding planning, you may want to watch Bride Wars (I’m just kidding, it’s not that crazy either).
Wedding planning is first and foremost a business. In today’s age, you need to market your company and be on top of your social media game in order to get customers and keep up your reputation. Second, it is stressful. There is a lot of work involved and most of it is contacting different vendors and assisting with contracts and Banquet Event Orders. While you do get to see many different venues, you will learn to hate driving far distances as part of your work. Also, I hate to break it to you but you will most likely not be at the cake tasting with your clients. You will direct them where to go, set up the appointment, and then they will report to you later on which cake they chose.
I did enjoy dressing up to go to venues’ open houses a couple times and there were times where clients flew my boss down to Puerto Rico or Florida for a destination wedding, but you have to remember you are working. If this is your job your work hours will be mostly nights and weekends.
You need connections.
Just like any business, your success relies on your connections. In the wedding planning world, everyone begins to know everyone in the industry. You have to be familiar with all of the different banquet halls, wineries, caterers, bakers, florists, DJs, and tent rental companies in the area. Over time, you will get to know the work method of all these different places and attend a lot of open houses and bridal shows. Bridal show season will make you very busy, especially on weekends. These events are fun because you get to see different venues, gowns, and best of all, try lots of free food. However, these events are unpaid and you don’t work by the hour. It is essential to your success that you go and market yourself but it may seem like a waste of valuable time and gas money to go to these places when you aren’t getting paid to be there.
Not just anyone can do it.
I would like to end the misconception that just any old stay-at-home-mom can do this job. Yes, we’ve all dreamed of planning our weddings since we were 7, and we’ve all planned a birthday party before, but that doesn’t mean you have the skills to do it professionally. First of all, you need to be a planner. If you’re not an organized person, you will never be able to put together a whole wedding, never mind juggling 4 or 5 weddings at once. Your job is to make sure your clients are on the right timeline in wedding planning and keep track of all the details for them. In addition, your company will not be just wedding planning but corporate events, too. Over the summer I helped put together a fundraising event and had to create a marketing package to send to potential sponsors. You need to have a strong, take-charge personality in this business because you’re going to have to be the go-to person who organizes the bridal party, wedding rehearsal, setup, and clean-up on the wedding day. Lastly, you need to be able to give advice to your couples, which brings me to my next point.
You wear many hats.
Being involved in weddings forces you to wear many different hats. The biggest thing I learned from my boss is that she often has to play couples counselor. Many times, wedding planning brings up arguments between couples and as the wedding planner, you have to help them compromise. You have to be the mediator with mothers trying to take charge, divorced parents not agreeing to sit near each other, and bridesmaids being difficult. Your job is to stand up for the bride and groom since it is their day. Wedding planners also have to be both creative in pulling together the bride’s vision and a business person to deal with vendors and contracts. At the end of the night, your job still isn’t done as you have to make sure the clients tip and the venue is properly cleaned up before you leave.
Know the industry.
This may seem like common knowledge, but there is a lot more to the wedding industry than you may know. First of all, know the seasons. While it is clear that the most popular season for weddings is the spring and summer, October has actually become the new trend in weddings. Bridal show season is in the fall and winter because that is when most people are planning. You need to constantly be keeping up with the trends and doing your research. Design, decoration, fashion, food, and tradition trends are always changes. For example, greenery is the decoration and floral trend, weddings are leaning towards finger foods instead of buffets, and unique desserts like donuts and popcorn bars instead of cake, are the trends for 2017. It is important to also be aware of the different religious and cultural ceremonies because that makes each wedding very different.
Dealing with brides.
Dealing with bridezillas is a very real thing. Every bride is different: some are very controlling while others are very go-with-the-flow, some have an exact vision of their wedding while others have no clue what they want. You will learn to adapt to different situations and become exactly the person they need you to be. Sometimes you become best friends with the bride and groom and other times they barely speak to you. Since wedding planning is stressful, you need to be available to them 24/7. When they have a nightmare that something will go wrong, you have to be available for that 3 am call to calm them down.
There is a lot of fun involved!
The day of the wedding is stressful for both the wedding planner and the wedding party. I promise you, your feet will hurt from running around all day and you will have to be at the venue from the crack of dawn until well after the ceremony finishes. The day of involves a lot of little things like moving chairs, setting up centerpieces, putting the flowers in the refrigerator, making sure the DJ says their names correctly, putting the boutonnieres on the groomsmen, tying balloons to the mailbox, and much more. But once that is all done, you will have fun! You may not be on the dance floor with everyone else but the wedding party will hang out with you, the guests will chat with you, you will get delicious leftover food, and there’s a strong chance you will tear up when the bride and groom have their first dance.
To be a wedding planner you must believe in love. Doing this every day never gets old; it feels so good to be able to contribute to a couple’s special day!