WEDDING PLANNING COURSE

Why become a Wedding Planner?

The wedding industry is a $150+ billion dollar industry and has been titled “Recession proof”. Whether we are in good economic times or bad, people get married.  There are 2.3 million weddings that take place annually in the United States and the average cost is around $28,000 each wedding.

 

Wedding planning is the fastest growing professional service in the weddings industry, as more and more brides are working or attending college, and do not have the time required to coordinate the many details of planning a wedding.

 

Course Overview

Edgewater Pavilion’s Wedding Planning Certification Course covers everything you need to learn about  starting your own wedding and event planning business. The classroom curriculum covers the A to Z of the industry and our internship will help you become a successful planner by starting your career with experience, referrals and recommendations.

In order to receive Edgewater Pavilion’s Wedding Planning Certification you must assist Edgewater’s event coordinator in planning a minimum of ten weddings, be able to provide six quality references (two brides ,four vendors) and you will need to attend and complete the courses below. 

Classes will be held on Saturdays.  Our first session begins January 14, 2012.

Course Outline

Part One:

Wedding Industry Overview

  • How wedding planning has evolved
  • The purpose of an engagement
  • Current statistics for marriage-bound couples
  • Wedding seasons
  • The wedding budget

Engagement

  • The opportunity of the engagement party
  • Engagement Ring Basics
  • Engagement Announcements
  • The Bride’s Timeline/Checklist
  • The Groom’s Checklist
  • Traditional meanings behind "Something Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue”
  • Engagement Party & Bridal Shower Ideas
  • Engagement/Wedding FAQ’s

Your Role as a Certified Wedding & Event Planner

  • The Event Planning Process – D4 Analysis
  • Questions to ask a new bride-to-be
  • How to develop a client profile
  • How to set vendor expectations
  • How to set the expectations of the bride and her family
  • Event/Project Management
  • RASCI Charting
  • Wedding Etiquette, Mishaps, and Mayhem

Part Two:

Running Your Own Business

  • how to structure your business based on your marketplace
  • How to evaluate your competition when establishing your services
  • How to set preliminary marketing objectives
  • Tools and tips for organizing your home office and business practices
  • Business start-up costs

 

Documentation and Goals

  • The importance of documentation
  • How documentation of your business practices plays an imperative role in the success of your business
  • How to set goals for yourself and your business
  • Wedding & Event Design Tool Kit

Vendor and Venue Selection

  • Why vendor selection is a key element to the success of your business
  • How to identify quality vendors
  • The questions to ask when building your vendor network

Contracts and Negotiations

  • Contract Law
  • The key elements of a contract
  • Contract rules to remember
  • The importance of having business insurance
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce business resources
  • Contract Negotiations

Part Three:

The Traditional Wedding Planner

  • Traditional wedding planning fees vs. Contemporary wedding planning fees
  • How to create wedding packages as a traditional wedding planner
  • Role of wedding planner, wedding coordinator and wedding director
  • How to work with a prospective bridal client
  • Tools and suggestions for initial consultations

Wedding Cultures and Traditions

  • Different wedding cultures and traditions of the world
  • How to incorporate cultural traditions into signature wedding designs

 

Traditional and Non-Traditional Wedding Ceremonies

  • The key elements of traditional, non-traditional, and civil ceremony weddings
  • What questions to ask when planning a specific type of wedding and venue
  • How to delegate bridal party responsibilities and who is responsible for what
  • How to keep abreast of wedding trends and fashion
  • Emergency tips and what is included in a wedding day emergency kit

Destination Weddings and Organizational Software

  • Ways to organize your business and streamline your daily activities
  • How to plan your work and work your plan
  • Organizational software for your business and your clients
  • Destination Weddings

Part Four:

The Wedding Gown

  • How to select the best bridal gown style for your bridal client and how to advise her when searching for the right gown
  • Basic gown styles
  • Basic veil styles
  • The top wedding dress designers
  • Local boutiques

Wedding Music

  • How to incorporate music into wedding day activities and events
  • How to create a wedding day soundtrack or musical score

Signature Wedding and Events

  • How to create a signature event
  • Wedding & Event Design
  • Sample wedding themes for each season and ideas for seasonal weddings

Wedding Day

  • How to put together your wedding day itinerary
  • How to adjust for wedding day challenges

Part Five:

Marketing Your Business

  • How to partner with the right associations
  • The importance of marketing and establishing a mission
  • Key elements of your reputation and image
  • How to network

Marketing on a Local Level

  • The secret to self-promotion
  • Unique ideas to help market your business locally

 

Online Marketing

  • The importance of having an online presence
  • The proper way to construct a web page for online marketing
  • The importance of keywords and placement
  • The importance of submitting to blogs
  • Recommended web positioning companies, software, websites

Public Relations

  • How to approach the media and position yourself as an expert in your field
  • The key elements of a press release
  • How to get your press release out on the wire
  • How to write your biography
  • How to conduct editorial opportunity research
  • How to create an editorial opportunity calendar
  • How to submit articles to blogs
  • How to create your business press/media kit

Bridal Shows

  • The importance of bridal show participation
  • Essential elements of a bridal show checklist
  • How to book a show
  • How to work a booth
  • How to conduct a post bridal show follow-up

Wedding & Event Planning Certification

  • The value of your certification
  • The importance of continuing education
  • Internship with Edgewater Pavilion
  • Industry conferences

Part Six:

Internship-Assisting with Edgewater Pavilion’s Weddings

  • Attend the final walkthrough with bride and caterer
  • Confirm arrival times with vendors
  • Execute set up and tear down of ceremony site and reception site
  • Great and direct vendors upon arrival
  • Great Bride and assist her with needs
  • Assist with pinning boutonniere on bridal party and family
  • Oversee timeline and communicate with DJ and Catering Manager
  • Assist with loading brides personal belongings and gifts after wedding