Make your dream wedding come true with Absolute Perfection

By far the easiest and most popular way to become a wedding planner is to undertake a respectable and in-depth wedding planning course and set up in business on your own. This is because more than 90% of wedding consultancies in the UK are small 1 or 2 man bands who have little need for an extra pair of hands. That is not to say vacancies do not arise within wedding planning companies. Only that competition is fierce for the positions that do crop up and as we have seen, wedding experience is practically a prerequisite if you are to land such a coveted job.

Take heed though, as in any industry, the route of self-employment is not for the faint hearted and a diverse set of skills are required in order to succeed in running your own business. As a wedding planner you must possess first rate administrative, organizational and planning skills, alongside the ability to multi-task effectively. Exceptional research and sourcing skills are also essential.

A selection of additional useful attributes is below, in no particular order. You will see that many of them are skills that are transferable from other careers and most people possess the majority of them, to varying degrees.

• Research is key. The more research you undertake the better your knowledge and understanding of the wedding planning world you are about to enter.
• Business skills - setting up and managing a business on a daily basis; dealing with accounts, the bank and HMRC for instance.
• Naturally, in order to establish your business you need to be competent in marketing and advertising.
• Negotiation skills are another essential attribute for a London wedding planner. You need to be able to get your client the best possible deal from a wedding venue or wedding service/supplier. This often requires a somewhat 'hard nose' and a willingness to push the boundaries even if you don't necessarily feel comfortable about doing so.
• You should be proficient with a range of computer software (Office, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator for example)
• You should possess an outgoing, personable nature with good empathic skills. You must be able to communicate and get on with everyone at the wedding - from the lowly glass collector to the Father of the Bride who might manage a high profile law firm in the City.
• And be able to display a creative and artistic flair with an eye for detail.
• Not forgetting the ability to keep calm under pressure, think on your feet and thrive on stress.
• Oh yes, and a positive, can do attitude...

Of course it doesn't stop there. You also have to be extremely driven and focused. Unless you go into business with a friend or family member you will be working on your own for much of the time. And it goes without saying you have to love the job because there is no 8am-6pm in the wedding planning industry. Be prepared to work long, hard hours, particularly during the first couple of years when starting up. If your background is in the City - those long and lazy lunch breaks or the Friday afternoon in the local bar will be a thing of the past!

And once you have mastered all these skills, you must then be realistic. We see many new wedding planners start up each year yet few manage to make it to the second year of trading simply because they fail to set realistic, achievable or practical targets for themselves. Most want to run before they can walk. It takes time and a huge amount of effort to set up and grow a business, in any industry you care to consider.

For more details about our wedding planning services or wedding planner courses, please feel free to visit our website: https://www.absoluteperfection.co.uk/ .