Business, Education, Your Event Career
Overcoming Adversity: Becoming a Wedding Planner During COVID-19
We can’t skirt around the obvious: COVID-19 has had a bit of a negative impact on the wedding planning industry. Couples all over the world are having to post-pone their big day, thanks to social distancing. This definitely sucks, no matter how you look at it!
But if you were thinking of becoming a wedding planner before the world turned upside-down, we’re here to tell you: DON’T give up on that dream!
Fact is, there are still plenty of reasons for you to pursue this path – pandemic or no pandemic. No, we’re not saying it’ll be entirely easy. In light of what’s going on, it may be a bit more challenging than usual at first. But don’t let this dissuade you!
We’ve got 4 reasons why you can still become a wedding planner. Yes, even during COVID-19! Let’s take a look…
1. COVID-19 won’t last forever!
Unfortunately, the jury’s still out for the time being about when exactly life will return to normal. But in many places around the globe, we’re beginning to see small signs of the light at the end of the tunnel. Many businesses are slowly beginning to open back up, and so long as the curve continues to flatten, we can keep our fingers crossed that social distancing will come to an end within a year’s time.
(Don’t quote us on this, though! It’s still far too soon to know anything for sure. We’re just forever trying to be optimists!)
The important thing to remember is that whether this is all over sooner, or it’s over later, it WILL end eventually. When that time comes, all those couples who had to reschedule their wedding day are going to be eager to get the ball rolling again. Many of them will likely be in serious need of some professional assistance.
This is where you’ll come in!
In the meantime, while we’re all still feeling the effects of the pandemic, there are still clients who wish to proceed with their nuptials anyways. In your journey of becoming a wedding planner, you can research virtual planning and remote services. For instance, live-streaming weddings is a service that can particularly come in handy. It’s an excellent alternative you can presently offer who wish to tie the knot from the safety of their own home!
Our point is, you still have options now… and you’ll definitely have even more options once the pandemic is over!
2. You can use your at time home to earn your professional certification!
Since you’re already spending a lot of time at home right now anyways, why not make the most of it? You can use this as an opportunity to take the first step towards your career!
In-person schools may not currently be a safe option, but online wedding planning schools certainly are! So long as you do your research and find a legitimate, accredited institution, you can be assured that you’ll receive the same high-quality education as what you’d receive from a brick-and-mortar school.
Plus, because it’s all done electronically, you can do this schooling right from the comfort of your own home. Not to mention, many online schools provide a lot more flexibility and understanding when it comes to balancing your day-to-day life with your education. QC Event School, for instance, gives you a full 2 years to complete your program(s), with absolutely no deadlines or rigid schedules to abide by.
Thanks to online schooling, becoming a wedding planner is more achievable now than ever before!
3. You have tons of time to do research!
As with anything, the more prepared you are going into something, the better off you’ll be. While online research can’t take the place of proper education and training, it’s still incredibly beneficial. The sky’s the limit in terms of the content you can start soaking up, but here are a few suggestions for your consideration…
Business goals and strategies
Once you have your certification, you may decide that you eventually want to start your very own wedding planning business. You can maximize your time at home right now to start researching into all the things involved in this process, and gather tips for how you intend to make this a reality!
For example, you can start thinking up possible business names. Check to see if anyone else already has it. If not, look into the requirements for legally registering a business and securing a name.
Do you already know how to build a website? What about the importance of analytics, SEO, branding, and other types of marketing strategies? With everything being done online now, these are also things you’ll eventually need to know – at least to some degree!
If this is your first time dipping your toes in the entrepreneurial world, trust us: there’ll be more than enough information to keep you busy!
Scope out the competition
Look into other wedding planners in your area. See how they operate, what their social media game is like, and identifiers that make them unique. Once you’re able to enter the professional industry, these people can become your friends – but they will also be your competition.
Seeing how other wedding planners do business is another great way to self-reflect, and formulate a game plan for how YOU want to approach your own career. Can you corner the market on a particular niche? Do you see aspects of your competition that you’d like to emulate in your own business, as well as things you’d like to avoid?
Basically, ask yourself: how do you intend to stand out and make a name for yourself?
Different areas of wedding planning
Yes, you’re likely reading this because you have dreams of becoming a wedding planner. That much is clear. But do you know what kind of wedding planner you want to be?
There are multiple avenues you can explore. For instance, beyond traditional, local wedding planning services, you can also look into becoming a destination or luxury wedding planner. Instead of hiring an event decorator for the weddings you organize, you may wish to gain this training yourself, so that you can add event décor services to your business.
You may find that you prefer one of these areas the most, and would prefer to focus solely on that. Alternately, you may wish to add to your training, so that you can offer clients different kinds of wedding planning services to choose from.
Either decision is totally fine! There’s no right or wrong way to pursue your goals, just like there’s no type of wedding planner that’s better than another. But it’s still worth researching, so you know what all of your possibilities are!
4. Get inspired…
And what’s more, write all your inspirations and ideas down! This way, you can refer back to them down the road. Browse the internet, and see what other wedding planners all over the world have done. Check out Pinterest or Instagram for fun and creative décor ideas, themed weddings, etc. Watch YouTube videos to see the planning process from start to finish.
Maybe you’ll get inspired through the movies you watch, or the music you listen to. Perhaps an idea will pop into your head during a nice walk in the sunshine. Whatever it is, and wherever it comes from, keep a journal where you can write it down!
Sure, you may not use all these ideas in your wedding planning career. But it’ll keep your mind fresh, give you some excitement, and help you to visualize all the possibilities your future holds! Not to mention, anything productive that can also keep you occupied right now is never a bad thing.
Just remember:
Even though the world is in a bit of a dark place right now, it doesn’t mean the sun won’t shine again. It may take time for things to return to normal, but they inevitably will. There will always be a market for wedding planners.
In the meantime, you can make the most of your current circumstances by getting started on the path towards your career. That way, once this is all over, you’ll be prepared to enter the industry and take it by storm!
