Is your love for parties and helpful disposition enough to get you far in this Wedding planning industry? Sure, let’s throw in composure under stress but is this all that is to be a wedding planner? The bridal industry game is ever-changing and being a wedding planner of the new age requires new skills sets to meet the needs of the customers.
The wedding entrepreneurs of today take on a very versatile role, with the proliferation and exposure to social media platforms, the customers can be highly exacting about what they want.
Here are a few essential skills that you need for your wedding start-up to run and sustain:
1. Digital Marketing
Photo Credits: Pinterest
The traditional means of marketing has taken a back seat and having an online presence to market your business is essential to reach out to your customers. Promoting your brand across multiple platforms is a must, especially when these new age lovebirds are usually technology savvy. Before engaging in any service, these customers are usually keen on checking out reviews and comments that will help them decide if you are suitable or reliable. Therefore, your digital marketing should relay the message of reliability and credibility.
2. Networking
Photo Credits: Rasmus. J
Connections are key when it comes to getting customers or vendors you can work with. Networking can be draining especially when you have a “social battery” but these partnerships are essential for building up your database of vendors, venues, caterers, entertainment etc. Perhaps you can start off with places you have personal connections with and try to work towards proposing a business plan with them. It is important to build a long-lasting relationship of value that can provide quality services that fit the wedding budget. Furthermore, you may not know when you need a backup due to last minute changes.
3. Resourcefulness
Photo Credits: Pinterest
Unique Ideas are adored. Be it a cute wedding favour, a fun table setting or a novelty act, there are couples who are always looking out for the next big thing or the latest trend that will set their wedding apart. Being resourceful and keeping yourself up to date to the latest wedding trends can help to provide fresh ideas on the table for your next wedding to plan. People appreciate quality and original contents, so while you indulge in all these wedding inspirations, do remember that the customers come first.
4. Process Management
Photo Credits: Confetti.ie
Your job scope, as a wedding planner stays and running the tasks of checking on the vendors, delivery timelines and negotiating for the best price, is still your full-time job. All these require a great deal of organizational and coordination skills and to master them would ensure a smooth wedding for your client. Your calm nature is also required, for panicking in front of a nervous couple would be the last thing you want!
5. Communication
Being the bridge between the clients and a whole range of vendors to work with, your communication skills are called upon at different occasion. Negotiating for a good price with the vendors, calming down a nervous couple when the wedding cake hasn’t arrived or attend to any last minute situations. It is important for you to keep an open mind and stay professional in these tricky situations but also put your communication skills to good use and tackle them one by one.
6. Decision Making
The proliferation of social media platforms allows couples to view and browse through what they desire their “perfect wedding’ to be. There are unlimited wants to the perfect wedding and sometimes these things just don’t go together. More often than not, the wedding budget doesn’t allow it. Therefore, it is up to the wedding planner to provide a professional perspective of what doesn’t work and why. Sound decision-making skills and a clear thinking is what you need to master.
