Having a perfect special day is many people’s dream, but some people’s dream is to make days like these happen for others. If you’re one of these people but you’re unsure how to get started, there’s a lot you can do to get the ball rolling.
Working in the wedding business can be a fun and rewarding experience, so we’ll tell you how to start your own wedding planning business in this article.
Hone your expertise
So, what do you need to start a wedding planning business? What does a wedding planner do? Well, depending on the size and scale of your business, you’ll need a wide range of skills to become a successful wedding planner.
You’ll need to understand all the elements that go into a wedding – the catering, the florists, organisation, budgeting, health and safety, and other areas. You won’t be expected to become an expert in every field, but having an awareness and understanding of the moving parts that go into a typical wedding day is vital.
Finding wedding planner courses that cover these key areas can help you get your level of expertise up to a reasonable level and demonstrate to clients that you really know your stuff.
More widely, having a good understanding of solid event management’s core principles is also essential. Taking events management courses can also benefit you in the long run, as you can branch out into organising other types of events or more ambitious wedding setups.
Get business savvy
Running a wedding planning requires many unique skills, but it also requires the core skills needed to run a business of any kind. If you don’t know where to start when asking yourself how to set up a wedding planning business in the UK, getting to grips with some of the basics of business management and how to set up a business plan is a good idea.
Ideally, you’ll want to look for a business management course that will give you a solid foundation of knowledge. If you’re at the start of your education journey, consider taking on a business-related degree or a master’s course if you’re already pursuing higher education.
Some of the skills you’ll learn that will help you on your business journey are listed below:
Decision-making
Organisation
Business theory and principles
Communication
Strong financial skills
An understanding of business law
Establish your brand
Now that you’ve got the critical bits of knowledge down, it’s time to start fleshing out exactly what your wedding planning startup and brand is going to look like. When you’re thinking about how to market a wedding planning business, you need to start from the ground up.
Working out your wedding business name and general wedding business ideas can help you to get started. If you want to work out how to market your business, taking on marketing courses can give you a head start in understanding how to engage and connect with audiences. This will give you the knowledge needed to market your own business, from designing business cards to finding out where to learn about the latest wedding trends.
If you want to know how to start a wedding business with little to no money, you may find that self-promotion online can be an excellent way to make a name for yourself that won’t break the bank. It’s a perfect way to get great exposure, and you can target your core audience and build a strong connection that other brands might struggle to make. Publish testimonials and referrals from clients who you gave the perfect wedding. It’s an excellent way to supplement word-of-mouth marketing and draw in new business.
Taking dedicated social media marketing courses can give you the know-how on ways to stand out on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Meanwhile, if you’re starting a blog to promote your business, learning SEO techniques through SEO courses and Google Analytics courses can help your writing reach a wider audience quickly.
Work out what makes your wedding business special
People have had weddings for a very long time, so it can be tricky to break into the wedding industry. With this in mind, it’s a great idea to think hard about what makes your wedding business stand out from the crowd and how you offer clients the full-service when planning their big day.
Before you set anything into action as an event planner or a wedding professional, it’s good to ask yourself the following questions:
As you’ll be working within the hospitality space, getting educated in this area through hospitality courses can allow you to be more ambitious with your offerings to clients. Having an in-depth understanding of all of the moving parts of a wedding day can really help you to cater to a wider clientele and always be able to provide them with the kind of celebration they want.
Always be open to learning
The key thing to remember is that you’ll always be learning something new in your career as a wedding planning business owner and when working in the event planning industry. Your skillset will need to grow and adapt as you gain more experience and make a name for yourself.
You’ll learn a lot through experience, and this knowledge will help you to grow and change as your business develops. Learning valuable lessons along the way is a vital part of any business and will shape how you work over the years.
Beyond learning purely through experience, it’s also vital to keep up to date with the latest knowledge and understanding of the industry from an academic standpoint to stay one step ahead of your competitors. If you take on more staff and work with a larger team, knowing how to espouse excellent leadership skills, which can be learned through dedicated leadership and management courses, will be one way to keep everyone in your business happy.
You can always learn more, from taking on communication courses to even brushing up on your financial knowledge. There’s no ceiling to the skills you can attain as a business owner.
Are you keen to start your journey as a wedding planning professional? Find out how we can help you achieve your dreams and get started in this exciting career field.
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