Wedding Planning

Learn how to successfully plan and manage a wedding!

• Run your own wedding planning business, or plan your own wedding
• Learn about the tasks involved in managing a wedding event - hiring the band, liaising with the photographer, organising catering, finding the best deal for hiring venues and equipment, and much more!
• Learn procedures that will enable you to be VERY well organised
• Learn about all the different options open to a bride and groom when planning what kind of wedding they would like to have.

The wedding planner needs to be able to stay calm when everyone around is not... and this course will show you how!

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction: Covers the nature, scope, opportunities and options available when planning a wedding. Looks at different types of weddings, understanding ceremonies (different religions, celebrants etc), receptions and working with wedding photographers, reception centres, churches etc.
2. Planning: Choosing locations, services, products to use from reception centres, rings, the church or venue, catering and flowers. Also covers themed weddings, destination weddings and off-beat weddings.
3. Managing People: Handling different personalities and the role of different members of the party.
4. Managing Locations: Reception, Church, Photo Shoot Location, Pre Wedding Hen/Stag Parties etc.
5. Managing the Programme: Arrivals, Departures, Ceremonies, Speeches, Entertainment, Eating, Drinking, Dancing etc.
6. Other Issues: Photography, Video, Flowers, Clothing, The Beautician, Invitations, Stationery, Gifts etc.
7. Managing the Client: Interviewing a Client, Facilitating a Plan, Budgeting, Establishing a Contract; Management Techniques, Flow Charts, Check Lists, Schedules.
8. Managing the Wedding Day: Planning for Contingencies.
9. Operating a Wedding Business: Naming your business, dreaming up the plan, designing a web page. Advertising, PR, Costing Structures, Finance, Contracts, Insurance, Starting a Business, Cancellation Policies, Industry Associations, Building Relationships with Service Providers.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Describe the nature and scope of wedding planning and the wedding industry.
• Present a client with options and facilitate key decision making for a wedding.
• Explain how to handle different personalities and the roles of different members of the bridal party.
• Select and manage the use of appropriate locations for and associated with a wedding
• Develop a programme or schedule of activities and events associated with a wedding.
• Manage those events within the time constraints of the established schedule.
• Effectively control events on the day of a wedding.
• Improve your ability to communicate with, and assist the people who have employed you to manage a wedding; to achieve a desired outcome.
• Prepare to manage a wedding day, planning for all foreseeable and significant contingencies.
• Establish and run a viable wedding planning service

TIPS FOR PLANNING A WEDDING

What skills does a wedding planner require?

To be successful at wedding planning, you need to consider the following questions:

·         Do you enjoy working with people?

·         Do you enjoy planning big parties?

·         Are you a good negotiator?

·         Are you good at networking?

·         Are you a good facilitator?

·         Are you good at money management?

·         Are you a good listener?

·         Are you friendly and outgoing?

·         Can you calm frazzled nerves?

·         Do you know about flowers, colours, cutlery? (or can you find out about them).

·         Are you flexible?

·         Are you able to work at weekends and evenings?

·         Are you disciplined enough to work in your own home and organise yourself?

·         Can you do more than one thing at once?

·         Do you know about wedding traditions?

·         Can you keep ahead of wedding trends – keeping up to date with bridal magazines etc?

·         Are you well organised?

·         Do you have good fashion sense?

·         Can you help create that dream wedding?

Enrol in this wedding Event Management course.

                    Lay a foundation for wedding planning jobs in the event management industry.

The Wedding Planners Main Role

The wedding planner’s main role is to ensure that the wedding goes smoothly. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the traditional roles that each member of the party is required to fulfil. This may sound silly or trivial, but if the bride’s mother expects to perform a certain function, but the bridesmaid does it, it can cause friction. We will further discuss conflicts and stress at weddings shortly. But knowing the different roles can be useful. Having said that – it’s worth keeping in mind that many couples and families will not follow the traditional roles so you will need to clarify this before hand. Some roles that may have been undertaken by the wedding party might also be handed over to you as the wedding planner. Also, some of these roles will vary according to different cultures. As with everything, YOU need to clarify exactly what they expect you to do.