Wedding Planner

A wedding planner is a professional who assists with the design, planning and management of a client's wedding. Weddings are significant events in people's lives and as such, couples are often willing to spend considerable sums of money to ensure that their weddings are well-organized. Wedding planners are often used by couples who work long hours and have little spare time available for sourcing and managing wedding venues and wedding suppliers.Professional wedding planners are based worldwide but the industry is largest in the USA, the UK and Western Europe. Various wedding planning courses are available to those who wish to pursue the career. Planners generally charge either a percentage of the total wedding cost or a flat fee.

Planners are also popular with couples planning a destination wedding, where the documentation and paperwork can be complicated. Any country where a wedding is held requires different procedures depending on the nationality of each the bride and the groom. Some countries instead have agreements and the couple can get their No Impediment forms from their local registrar and have it translated by the consulate in the country of the wedding. A local wedding planner can take care of the different procedures.

The services of a wedding planner can include:

Interviewing the couple and the parents to identify their needs.

Budget preparation.

Planning detailed checklist (from about a year in advance to a few days after the wedding).

Attendee list preparation.

Identification of event venues (hotels, wedding manor etc.)

Identifying and hiring of wedding professionals and service providers (caterers, photographers, videographers, beautician, florists, bakers etc.), and preparation and execution of contracts.

Procurement of customized decorations such as a journey map

Coordination of deliveries/services on the wedding day.

Have a back-up plan in the event of a disaster.

Assist and prepare legal documentation and translations - especially for destination weddings.

Many planners also run their own wedding blog to help provide inspiration and creativity.In order to become a successful wedding planner, one must be highly self-motivated since it is their responsibility to build a client list and contact people to make a name in the market as well as beat competition. It is also important to make people comfortable and being able to reassure them that they have put the planning of their life’s biggest day in safe hands.