The Professional Wedding Planner’s Survival Guide
The life of a professional wedding planner is an adventure. You’ll inevitably meet all kinds of different people and deal with plenty of day-of disasters!
Don’t worry! We understand the nature of the grind and have put together a survival guide that’ll prove useful to all wedding planners. Stick with us as we run through 8 ways of mastering stress-free weddings while maintaining your sanity.
Over prepare
A good rule of thumb for professional wedding planners? It’s simple – over prepare. You don’t want to miss a single detail when planning weddings. To help you survive in this role we recommend finding an organizational system that works for you. Binders, lists, and apps are just some examples of what can work for you.
Once you choose your method, use it as much as possible to track important details. The wedding and your own stress levels depend on it!
Get certified
You can’t expect to be a successful wedding planner without the right training. The good news is that you don’t need to spend all your time in a classroom! Online wedding planning courses will provide you with professional certifications, while you work at your own pace. You’ll learn about the full range of services you can offer, and how to focus on acing specific details and requests. With your certification, you’ll also set yourself apart from your competition.
Expect the unexpected
Any seasoned wedding planner will tell you that disasters can and will happen in this role. You may have prepared as much as possible for the big day, but sometimes you’re thrown a curveball, such as a vendor turning up late or missing rings (the worst)! These may sound like terrible emergencies, but with a plan in place, you’ll know exactly how to save the day. Speak to fellow wedding planners for their advice, and have plans written down for when disaster strikes.
Related articles:
- Top Wedding Disasters and How to Plan for Them
- 6 Struggles of a Certified Wedding Planner
- How to Deal With a Cancelled Wedding
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Believe us, you’re going to be astonished by the number of couples who don’t know what they want. After all, they’re seeking out your professional wedding planning services! You’ll need to guide them through choosing colors, menu items, and other details.
To survive the planning process, you’ll need to ask constructive and hopefully revealing questions during the first client consultation. Focus on their budget, the wedding party, and what they don’t want on their big day.
Always stick to the budget
Professional wedding planners are trusted to make the best recommendations based on their clients’ finances and vision. Trustworthy wedding planners get more referrals and business than planners who go against, or don’t listen to, their clients. So this trust is key! Budget is extremely important when planning a wedding! You don’t want to disappoint your clients by suggesting ideas that aren’t achievable. A major survival tip for planners is to stick to the budget no matter what, even if it ends up being more work for you. Staying within the budget while also making dreams come true will enhance your reputation and your clients’ big day!
Be patient
It’s a good thing you’re a people person since you’re going to meet all kinds in this role! Professional wedding planners work closely with their clients to make sure their wedding day is unforgettable. Because of this, you’ll need to be a very patient, compassionate person.
Wedding planning can often cause friction within families and frustration for the couples themselves. It’s all part of the process! As a professional wedding planner, you’ll need to be a great listener and problem solver.
Let go of perfectionism
Event planners are, by nature, attentive to detail. It’s what you do! However, there’s a real difference between wanting things to be the best they can be and micromanaging. If you want to survive in the world of event planning, you need to let go of perfectionism. Make suggestions to your clients, but know that at the end of the day it’s not your event. You’ll be much happier this way, and your clients will appreciate that you’re not a control freak.
Avoid burnout
At the end of the day, your mental and physical health takes priority. Professional wedding planning is an extremely busy and challenging career. It’s just how it is! Because of this, it’s so important to take the time to recharge. Make sure you’re sleeping enough, eating well, and making time for your own interests and hobbies. You know what they say – you can’t pour from an empty cup!
What tips would you offer to professional wedding planners to help maintain their sanity?
