Weddings

Suzanne Daykin

How to become a wedding planner, where do you start? Firstly you have to be passionate about organising parties and love all the little details, if that is you then you are in the right place.

I started my wedding planning career in 1997, a month after I got married and found I just loved talking weddings and helping others plan their big day. I was working in a big 4 star hotel and had graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management. Since then my event management skills have taken me to working in Europe and the UK, I have organised huge corporate functions to small family events and loved every minute of it. In 2006 I decided to go it alone and set up my own event company it was the best decision for me and now along with planning exhibitions I also get the chance to help brides and grooms plan their big day, and save them money!

My advice would be to get as much experience as you possibly can before you launch yourself as a wedding planner. Help family and friends organise their celebrations, it doesn’t have to be a wedding, all event management experience helps. Keep notes on all of the ideas that come up, I find it best to have seperate files on suppliers, venues and procedures. I have a checklist that I use for all of my weddings to ensure I don’t miss anything.

While you are gaining experience and contacts think about whether you need any professional training. Check out local colleges and online event management courses, there are even wedding planner courses - these are specific to weddings and if you want to build on your confidence they could be worth investing in.

As with all business start ups it is worth writing a business plan to see if this is a viable option for you. You don’t want to pay for training and spend valuable time if this is not going to provide you with an income.

Questions to ask yourself are;
How many weddings can you manage in a year? There are 52 weeks in a year but the summer wedding season is the busiest. Will you be able to organise and manage more than one wedding a week? Remember it is best to start off planning fewer while you build up your business.

Can your local economy support a wedding planner? The national average wedding cost is over £20,000, a wedding planner normally charges around 20% but an average is just that, what is the average cost of a wedding in your area? How much will your local brides and grooms pay for your services? Don’t know - then ask them, most brides and grooms love talking about their wedding day!

How many weddings are there in your area in the year? Gain stats from your local registery office.

Have a think about what your unique selling point (usp) is, mine as you can see is cheap, are you an expert of jewish, christian, hindi, muslim weddings or humanist or gay weddings. Would your usp provide you with enough business?

Your costs will be pretty minimal as you are not having to buy any goods before you pay for them - all the costs will be your clients. Your biggest cost will be your marketing/ advertising, I have found being online really helps my offline business. The great thing about being online is that you can generate extra income on top of your usual wedding planning business with adverts and an online shop!

Other ways to advertise your business are by building relationships with other local vendors, word of mouth is one of the best ways to get bookings. Ask existing clients if they have any friends or family that are getting married soon. You could attend wedding fairs but I don’t find them cost effective for the amount of business that you get, however when you first start out it is worth going to build public awareness. Write articles for local publications, become their expert on weddings, this all increases your profile. Register with local wedding directories. I have found all these help my business grow!

Now then what are you waiting for? You are ready to fly, you know how to become a wedding planner!

Sebastian Fox

A very popular choice of theme for weddings today is “Las Vegas”, as many couples are deciding to exchange vows in a fantasy, by creating with a themed wedding on an exotic island or some other location that they think will be provide the most perfect background to their wedding ceremony. While these can often be the most spectacular weddings, they are also the hardest to plan and most expensive for you. Whether you are planning for a wedding, a bridal shower, or any other family celebration, a “Las Vegas” theme will always add an exciting touch to the occasion.

Planning for the celebration is part of the fun and to many couples choosing “Las Vegas” as a theme is because it’s the perfect place for their wedding and they are living the dream. Vegas themes can be around “Elvis and The Chapel Of Love”, as there are many beautiful chapels in Las Vegas. The choice of venue for your ” Vegas” theme reception area will play a strong influence on the tone and quality of it as most of the time will be spent at the reception and you want to make sure that you and your guests have a fabulous time and fond memories of the occasion.

Aside from the lure of the glittering fun casino with full size, stylish and authentic casino tables, the success of creating a truly memorable themed wedding experience is because Las Vegas is about dreams and can make wedding dreams come true for every couple; that’s what makes it such a popular wedding theme. No matter how you imagine your perfect wedding, everything is possible in Las Vegas.

Himanshu Sharma

1) Roknaa (Marriage Fixed Ceremony)

Profile: In this ceremony there is a formal visit between groom, bride and their parents. The meaning of this ceremony is to stop looking for matches any further.

Date: This ceremony can held several months before the wedding. Time: It is generally held in the evening.

Venue: Usually at bride’s home

Organized By: bride’s family

Gifts: No gifts

Puja: no puja

Banquet: light meal like snacks, sweets

2) Engagement

Profile: In this ceremony Bride and Groom exchange rings called the engagement ring.

Date: This ceremony can held several months before the wedding.

Time: It is generally held in the evening.

Venue: banquet hall, hotel, resort

Organized By: Usually by bride’s family

Gifts: No gifts Puja: no puja Banquet: luncheon / dinner

3) Tilak Ceremony

Profile: There are two Tilak ceremonies: one is of the bride and other is of the groom. In bride’s Tilak ceremony groom doesn’t come and in the groom’s Tilak ceremony bride doesn’t come. However parents and relatives of bride and groom are present in both ceremonies.

Date: This ceremony can held one day after the engagement or with the engagement.

Time: Morning / Evening.

Venue: Banquet hall, Hotel, Resort

Organized By: Bride and groom’s family

Gifts: In bride’s Tilak ceremony gifts are given to the groom’s relatives (this rite is known as Milnni) and Jewellery is received by bride from groom’s parents.

Puja: a pundit performs Puja Banquet: luncheon / Dinner

4) Ladies’ Sangeet

Profile: In this ceremony friends and other female relatives of bride and her parents sing and dance. There is a mehendi ceremony also in which an artist decorates the bride’s palm with mehendi. There can also be a DJ / DJ floor. Only friends and other female relatives of bride and her parents are invited in this ceremony.

Date: This ceremony held one day before the wedding.

Time: Morning / Evening. Venue: Banquet hall, Hotel, Resort

Organized By: bride’s family

Gifts: no gifts

Puja: no puja Banquet: light meal like snacks, sweets

5) Shaadi (Wedding)

Profile: In this ceremony bride and groom get married.

Date: decided by groom and bride ‘s parents with the help of an astrologer.

Time: Usually Evening.

Venue: Banquet hall, Hotel, Resort, Marriage hall, Marriage garden, ground or park.

Organized By: Usually by bride’s family Gifts: guest give gifts to bride and groom.

Puja: a pundit performs Puja. Bride and groom perform phera (moving in circle) in a mandap.

Banquet: multi-cuisine dinner

6) Reception

Profile: The purpose of this ceremony is to introduce bride with all the family members of groom.

Date: This ceremony held one day after the wedding.

Time: Usually Evening.

Venue: Banquet hall, Hotel, Resort

Organized By: Groom’s family

Gifts: Guests give gifts to bride and groom

Puja: no Puja

Banquet: multi-cuisine dinner

Suzanne Daykin

How to become a wedding planner, where do you start? Firstly you have to be passionate about organising parties and love all the little details, if that is you then you are in the right place.

I started my wedding planning career in 1997, a month after I got married and found I just loved talking weddings and helping others plan their big day. I was working in a big 4 star hotel and had graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management. Since then my event management skills have taken me to working in Europe and the UK, I have organised huge corporate functions to small family events and loved every minute of it. In 2006 I decided to go it alone and set up my own event company it was the best decision for me and now along with planning exhibitions I also get the chance to help brides and grooms plan their big day, and save them money!

My advice would be to get as much experience as you possibly can before you launch yourself as a wedding planner. Help family and friends organise their celebrations, it doesn’t have to be a wedding, all event management experience helps. Keep notes on all of the ideas that come up, I find it best to have seperate files on suppliers, venues and procedures. I have a checklist that I use for all of my weddings to ensure I don’t miss anything.

While you are gaining experience and contacts think about whether you need any professional training. Check out local colleges and online event management courses, there are even wedding planner courses - these are specific to weddings and if you want to build on your confidence they could be worth investing in.

As with all business start ups it is worth writing a business plan to see if this is a viable option for you. You don’t want to pay for training and spend valuable time if this is not going to provide you with an income.

Questions to ask yourself are;
How many weddings can you manage in a year? There are 52 weeks in a year but the summer wedding season is the busiest. Will you be able to organise and manage more than one wedding a week? Remember it is best to start off planning fewer while you build up your business.

Can your local economy support a wedding planner? The national average wedding cost is over £20,000, a wedding planner normally charges around 20% but an average is just that, what is the average cost of a wedding in your area? How much will your local brides and grooms pay for your services? Don’t know - then ask them, most brides and grooms love talking about their wedding day!

How many weddings are there in your area in the year? Gain stats from your local registery office.

Have a think about what your unique selling point (usp) is, mine as you can see is cheap, are you an expert of jewish, christian, hindi, muslim weddings or humanist or gay weddings. Would your usp provide you with enough business?

Your costs will be pretty minimal as you are not having to buy any goods before you pay for them - all the costs will be your clients. Your biggest cost will be your marketing/ advertising, I have found being online really helps my offline business. The great thing about being online is that you can generate extra income on top of your usual wedding planning business with adverts and an online shop!

Other ways to advertise your business are by building relationships with other local vendors, word of mouth is one of the best ways to get bookings. Ask existing clients if they have any friends or family that are getting married soon. You could attend wedding fairs but I don’t find them cost effective for the amount of business that you get, however when you first start out it is worth going to build public awareness. Write articles for local publications, become their expert on weddings, this all increases your profile. Register with local wedding directories. I have found all these help my business grow!

Now then what are you waiting for? You are ready to fly, you know how to become a wedding planner!