Most of us dream of having our own business and being our own boss. But we’re faced with issues such as startup costs and inventory, or building up a successful team. However, when starting a wedding planning business from home, it’s a little different: you don’t need those things to get your business up and running.
10 Steps to become a wedding planner from home
1. Research and planning
When starting a new business, it is very important that you research the industry, before you enter it. This way, you can determine what you need in order to get started, such as logistics and startup costs.
Also, a lot of planning goes into starting any new kind of venture. This is a good way to plan out what services you plan to offer, who your ideal client is, etc. and work towards achieving that. It’s also a good starting point to look at business plans and work on your own draft version (you can always change and update it as you go along).
On a side note, be sure to research the latest wedding trends, too. And this is something you need to do on a regular basis.
2. Check out the competition
If you want to ‘make it’ in this very competitive industry, you need to have a look at what other wedding planners are doing. Social media is great for this, as most wedding planners have a Facebook Page, Instagram Account or LinkedIn profile.
Have a look at bigger companies, as well as the smaller ones, to get an idea of how they run their business, what they post on social media, etc. This will help you to get an idea on how to get your name out there.
3. Get formal training or do an online course
You don’t need a qualification to become a wedding planner from home. However, it helps a great deal, especially if you have no idea where to start and how to build a business. Doing a formal course at a wedding planning academy will also teach you a few tips and trick of the industry, and will teach you things like working with difficult clients, managing a busy calendar, building relationships with suppliers, etc.
There are also wonderful online courses which will help you to get started as a wedding planner from home.
However, if you’re just starting out and don’t want to invest in any courses yet, check out YouTube and Pinterest for some helpful pins, videos and tutorials.
4. Start building your portfolio
Building a portfolio before you have planned any weddings is a way to develop and show off your skills. You can start with doing some mock-setups at home, where you decorate a table with place settings and stationery.
Speaking of stationery, if you’re good with art and crafts, or you have a keen eye for design, you can create some wonderful wedding stationery sets to showcase in your portfolio.
5. Find ways to gain wedding planning experience
It is essential to gain some wedding planning experience in order to develop yourself as a great planner. And there are plenty of ways to do it – we have created a list of 11 things you can do to gain wedding planning experience, here.
6. Determine your niche, or target market
The wedding industry is competitive, like we’ve already mentioned, so you need to find a way to get your fair share of clients. You definitely don’t want to be just another wedding planner from (insert your area). Find the kind of client you want to serve.
For instance, will you focus on brides with small budgets, or couples who want to have a destination wedding, or even LGBTQ couples?
7. Plan out your services and add-ons
Once you’ve established what niche you want to focus on, you can do some more research on what prices to charge, what packages to offer, and which additional services (add-ons) your market will be interested in.
There are so many add-ons to offer, which you can charge for separately, and on top of your wedding planning fee. This can be anything from budget handling to RSVP guest list management, and even stationery design.
8. Determine how you will promote yourself
There are many free, as well as paid ways you can promote your new wedding planning services to potential clients. You can make use of social media such as Facebook and Instagram, and in addition (if you have the budget for it) you can do some promoted posts and ads.
Do proper research before resorting to print media, such as flyers and posters, as they can be unsuccessful and a waste of money in most cases.
9. Develop your business branding and voice
Once you’ve chosen your niche and how you want to reach out to them, it’s time to think about your branding look and feel, and develop your brand voice.
There are so many helpful resources when it comes to business branding ideas – just look on Pinterest for inspiration, as a starting point.
10. Stay consistent in booking new clients
Many new businesses fail because of a lack of commitment. It takes a lot of effort to keep all of the balls in the air, at least for the first few years, or until you have an effective team and system in place.
So it’s important to stay consistent in all your business aspects, from marketing and promoting, to skill development and business growth. Keep scoping for new potential clients and network with other suppliers and planners in the industry. Get your name out there and focus on building your brand.
by Tanya Guilfoyle
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tanya has been an active contributor and planner in the wedding industry since 2016. When not writing useful content for brides and wedding professionals, she can be found designing templates for her Etsy shop, TWCprintables.
