Wedding Planner Wednesday: How to become a wedding planner Part 2 – Start a wedding planning course

How to become a wedding planner Part 2 – Start a wedding planning course

Hi again and welcome to Part 2 of my How to become a wedding planner course. Last week in week one we looked at Getting Business advice and I ran through a few places that I had found especially helpful, so today I am covering the subject of wedding planning courses.

Part 2 – Start a wedding planning course

When I started looking into becoming a wedding planner, I believed that knowledge is key, so as well as all the business advice I was collecting I knew I needed to look into learning about being a wedding planner and what that involved.
I’m a strong believer that on the job training and getting stuck in is the best way to do things BUT this isn’t always possible when you are starting out so I decided that I was going to invest in a wedding planner course.

As I researched the subject I found out there were two different ways of doing this.
1) The Home study Course that can take anything from 6 months to 12 months
2) The classroom course that runs from anything up to a day to 5 days (normally a weekend)

After looking at my options and studying the difference between the two I decided that I was going to get more out of the home study course, it was pretty much the same about of money as the weekend courses on offer, give or take £100 but it seemed to offer much more. So after a lot more research I booked myself onto the Institute of proffesional wedding planners course to gain a Diploma in Wedding Planning

Was the course worth it?
The course came in 18 chapters and it seemed to cover all basis, from setting up a business, marketing, setting up a home office, to all the different elements of  being a wedding planner.  After each chapter you were set a case study to work on as a wedding planner covering each topic covered.

So yes the course was worth it, it gave me academic knowledge of the jobs of a wedding planner, and made me think about different scenarios that could come up, but as I said before nothing is as good as on the job training and actually getting stuck in at a wedding!

Would I do one again, if I was setting up now?
Yes I would but I may look at combining it with a weekend course. working from home at your own speed is great but the interaction you get from the classroom is also a great way to learn and maybe a quicker way of doing so!

What other courses are on offer?
2 years a go when I was looking into the whole thing there was choice in wedding planning courses, but not as much as there is now! It seems that wedding planning is catching on, and the more people who want to become one, the more courses there are that have been popping up!
So here are a few of the ones I know about, as well as a bit more detail about one in particular that I would like to focus on.

There are plenty more out there so go and have a look if you are interested.

HOME STUDY

Institute of Proffesional wedding planners Diploma Course (the one I did)

QC Scool of Event and Wedding Planning

ICS Home Lean in Wedding Planning

UK Open learn in Event Management and Wedding Planning

CLASSROOM COURSES

UKAWP – Training courses

The Wedding Planning School

Magic Dust – Masterclass

Niemierko – Academy

The Wedding Planning College

So there are a few to pick from, as I said there are plenty more out there but I couldn’t put them all on, I’d be here all day! I’d like to focus on The Wedding Planning College and use them as an examples of the sort of thing that is covered in these 2 day events. I know Lisa and Joy personally who run the college, so I can personally recommend it. They are both fab ladies and working wedding planners themselves, so they really know there stuff.

THE WEDDING PLANNING COLLEGE
REAL TRAINING – REAL ADVICE – REAL PLANNERS

The Wedding Planning College offers training events, mentoring and ongoing business support to those wanting to either start their own wedding planning company or become a wedding planner as part of an existing company anywhere in the UK. The college offers two courses: How to set up a Wedding Planning Business & Planning & Coordinating a Wedding. These can both be followed up with One to One Mentoring.

The college was founded & is run by, two established wedding planners, Lisa Hilliard & Joy Hersey-Todd, who found themselves inundated with requests from people wanting to become a wedding planner and they decided to implement a framework in which to advise, train and mentor new talent.

The two day Train to Plan weekend training events include fact based learning exercises, group activities & guest speakers, currently operating in the wedding industry. Throughout the two day events Joy & Lisa will personally guide you through each chapter of the course, offering honest advice, sharing real examples and inspiring your own personal wedding planning business development.

Course One: Setting up a Wedding Planning Business
On this course you will cover everything that you need to know to set up your own wedding planning business, from marketing right through to handling your first enquiry.

Day 1
– The Role of a wedding planner
– What makes a good wedding planner
– The wedding planning market
– Your target market
– Your business plan
– Financing your business
– Legal obligations & Terms & Conditions
– Business support – Guest speaker
– Homework – Ideas for your brand

Day 2
– Review homework – ideas for your brand
– The power of branding
– What services to offer
– Marketing your business
– Social networking: How to use facebook / twitter & blogs
– Marketing expertise – Guest speaker
– Preparing for and handling your first enquiry
– Preparing for your first consultation
– Your first consultation

Course Two: Planning & Coordinating a Wedding
This course will take you right from your first proposal through to selecting the right suppliers & even deals with how to handle emergencies on the day!

Day 1
– What should a proposal include
– How to follow-up from your proposal
– Contracts & payments – Guest speaker
– Meeting the needs of all your couples
– How to get organised
– Client confidentiality- legal requirements
– Managing the many changes
– Building a successful network

Day 2
– Different types of ceremony
– Real life case study
– Current trends & how to stay ahead
– Story boards & themes
– How to select the right venue
– Supplier selection
– On the day coordination- what to expect
– Dealing with emergencies

Ongoing Business Support
One-to-One Mentoring is available to anyone who attends one or more Train to Plan training events. For an additional fee, you will have the service of either of the mentors Lisa Hilliard or Joy Hersey-Todd, who will act as your personal mentor for a full year.

For more information go to:
www.theweddingplanningcollege.co.uk

So there you have it! I hope you found today’s ‘How to become a wedding planning’ useful??

Do let me know if you are currently undertaking a course, or if you have done one in the past, did you find it useful, are there any you would recommend, or avoid? your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Come back next week for Part 3:  Research your competition and the market around you

Thanks
Kelly

(Thank you to  www.andertoons.com for the use of the image)