How to Become a Wedding Planner [In 6 Simple Steps]

Are you looking to become part of the $70 billion wedding industry? Do you need career advice to become a professional wedding planner? Don’t worry, you’re not alone!

Wedding planning is an exciting job that lets you travel while earning a decent salary. Yet, many things could go wrong if you begin without a clear goal.

Luckily, you stumbled upon our guide on how to become a wedding planner.

Today, we’ll teach you how you can gain experience and excel in planning a wedding. We’ll discuss the steps, requirements, costs, and top tips for starting your dream work!

An Overview of Wedding Planning: A Primer

Similar to a party planner, a wedding planner meets with clients to understand their vision for the wedding day. As a wedding coordinator, you gather bids from vendors, inspect venues, and ensure the food is up to par.

Wedding planning involves organizing finances, logistics, negotiating, and scheduling.

Part of the job description is to track the activities during the wedding. You also secure payment for suppliers after the event.

Because of this, it’s necessary to have strong organizational, leadership, and communication skills.

The Artistic Role of Wedding Planners

Planning a wedding can become a nightmare for a couple. This is why many hire a professional to make their big day as seedless as possible.

Clients depend on a wedding planner for maintaining the event aesthetics. A full-service planner has an artistic eye for weddings.

To do this, brainstorming on the concept, floor plan, styling, and design is a usual task.

How Much Do Wedding Planners Make?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, event planners make $23.79 per hour on average. That’s around $49,470 per year.

The job outlook for event planners will grow by 18% by 2031. This is a faster rate compared with other jobs and makes the wedding industry a lucrative business.

Wedding professionals can charge 12 to 20% of a couple’s total budget. Some earn $500 to $5,000 per wedding. The QC Event School says an experienced wedding planner can make up to $100,000 per year!

The best part is wedding planners aren’t limited to one type of event. They can organize coming-of-age parties, anniversaries, and other social parties. This means you can tap into a large market and earn more money!

What You’ll Need to Become a Wedding Planner [& Associated Costs]

Here are the costs associated with becoming a wedding planner.

• Training: To learn how to become a wedding planner, you must gain the necessary skills. Training course prices range from $700 to $5,500. Online wedding planning courses are available!
• Liability Insurance: Injuries and property damages happen a lot during weddings. Liability insurance will help you cover costs. Expect to dish out $350 per year on insurance!
• Certification: You can become an AACWP-certified wedding planner to expand your network. You have to pay $195 in membership fees every year.
• Bridal Shows: Remaining updated with the latest trends is vital for a wedding planner. You may attend bridal shows for $5 up to $150.
• Wedding Management Tools: If you’re a planner without much experience, you can stay on top of a huge guest list with technology. There are plenty of apps to help you stay organized. Some wedding management tools are even free!
• Website and Marketing: People in the hospitality management industry need websites for visibility. Forbes says small businesses invest $2,000 to $9,000 to start a website.

How Much Does It Cost to Become a Wedding Planner?

Becoming a trained wedding planner can cost you as little as $3,250. It may reach up to $15,000 if you’re willing to invest in pricier training and marketing tools.

The best part about becoming a wedding planner is it doesn’t take long to finish the training. You can start planning your first wedding in a few weeks!

Is It Hard to Become a Wedding Planner?

It’s easy to learn how to become a wedding planner. Online courses are available, and you don’t need to invest much money!

Wedding planning is one of the best uncommon side hustles for this reason.

Of course, there are some challenges. Sometimes you may get called for weekend and evening work. You may get tough clients that can cause you a lot of stress on their wedding day.

Once you overcome these challenges and gain more experience, you may find that wedding planning is highly rewarding.

How Long Does It Take to Become a Wedding Planner?

Some training courses only last a few hours. Others may attend wedding planning programs for a few months.

You can become a wedding planner right away, but it’ll take time to get better at it. Since all events are unique, you can only get better with first-hand planning experience.

For instance, a professional planner certified by the AACWP should work for at least one year in the industry!

How to Become a Wedding Planner in 6 Simple Steps

Now that you know the perks and costs, here’s how to become a wedding planner!

Step 1. Learn the Tricks of the Trade

Event planning is a demanding job. One mishap could affect the couple on their wedding day. To prevent this, you can sign up for an online course at a wedding planning institute!

Successful wedding planning means you need to have time-management skills and leadership skills. Look for classes that’ll help you handle people.

Another good wedding planning course could be photography and design. Business management may help as well.

According to American Wedding Study, the wedding industry is always changing. Because of this, it’s best if you’re updated on popular wedding blogs, groups, and websites. This’ll let you discover new wedding venue trends.

Step 2. Get Hands-On Experience

Passing a wedding planning course is only the beginning of your journey as an aspiring wedding planner!

Experience is the best teacher when it comes to event planning. Knowing which issues may arise will help you anticipate problems for future parties.

You can gain experience by working for wedding planning firms. Aside from this, you may plan a family member’s wedding day. Help a loved one handle their vendors so you’ll see what wedding planning is about!

Step 3. Buy Insurance

Here’s a top tip that newbie wedding planners don’t know. You should buy insurance!

Accidents often happen at parties with intoxicated people. Because of this, it’s a must for wedding planners to have liability insurance!

Liability insurance covers expenses for property damage, bodily injury, and wedding cancellations. Not only that, insurance protects you against vendors who don’t show up and travel delays.

Insurance is so important that you need to submit proof that you have it before you can apply for your wedding planner certificate!

Step 4. Become Certified

There are no federal regulations for wedding planning professionals. Yet, some groups can give you credentials as a certified wedding planner.

A certificate can help you prove your skills to firms in the industry. It tells your clients that you’re capable of planning their wedding. You may charge more for your services if you’re certified!

The American Association of Certified Wedding Planners provides networking opportunities for its members.

Step 5. Develop and Expand Your Network

Why should you foster good relationships with your wedding vendors and contacts? It’s simple. They’re more likely to give you fair prices if you have a solid connection!

Connections increase your credibility when you’re in the event management business. Reaching out to florists, videographers, caterers, and musicians will help you expand your options.

The multiple-sourcing strategy gives you flexibility during an emergency. Many things could go wrong during an event. With a large network, you’ll always have a backup plan!

Step 6. Market Yourself

Finally, once you achieve everything, don’t forget to invest in your marketing strategy! You should document your events and post them on your website.

A couple may find your wedding planning business faster if you have an online presence. They can decide if you’re the right fit to plan their big day based on your photos.

Today, all certified professional wedding consultants have a social media account. These accounts attract an immense number of clients!

Reasons to Consider Becoming a Wedding Planner

Why should you consider getting into the wedding event planning industry? Here are a few reasons.

• Opportunity for Travel: According to Research and Markets, the destination wedding industry will grow to $78.89 billion by 2027. This means there’s plenty of opportunity to travel!
• Work Part-Time: If you’re a bridal consultant, you can become selective with your customers. It’s possible to only take jobs from people with good wedding etiquette.
• Freedom to Work at Home: Since 83% of wedding planning is online, you may choose to work from home.
• Variety in Daily Activities: Some days you might get invited to food tastings. On other days you have to conduct site visits. Each day is different and exciting!

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the top questions on how to become a wedding planner.

Similar Gigs to Check Out

Are you looking for a different career path? You might want to read a related article!

• How to Become a Party Planner: Become an event planner for birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones.
• How to Become a Florist: Florists are part of the wedding ceremony through bridal bouquets. Flower arrangements are present at any wedding reception.
• How to Become an Ordained Minister: You may enjoy officiating a wedding instead of planning it!

Wrapping Up

Wedding planning will give you travel opportunities and flexibility while earning money on the side. All you have to do is attend training, gain experience, and do networking. Having insurance and certification helps as well.

Did you find our guide on how to become a wedding planner informative? Don’t forget to share it with your friends, and let us know what you think in the comments box below!