A. Being a wedding planner and the
difficulty of breaking into the business varies with where you
live. I live in Idaho, and it was fairly easy to start a
business here. However, in this area and many others, such
businesses are profitable but don't make enough to support a
family. Most of us have spouses who provide the primary support
and many coordinators also work full time or part time on the
side. In large cities on the East coast, in Los Angeles,
Chicago, and Dallas coordinators can make quite a bit of money.
Most coordinators are older
women. You have to be able to identify with the mother of the
bride. If you can win her, you will get the job. You also need
to have the ability to be a surrogate mother to the brides.
I learned a great deal by working
as a volunteer for my church and for other individuals and
businesses. Many coordinators begin by working for event
centers or hotels or as corporate event planners, then they go
out on their own. You need to know the resources in your
community - who can provide the music, the food, the flowers,
etc.
Most events occur on the week-ends
and in the evening, so you need to have a supportive family that
is willing to allow you to be gone quite a bit.
To be a coordinator, you need to
be detail oriented, organized, able to work with all kinds of
people, able to solve problems on the spot, very patient, and
have the physical stamina to handle many hours on your feet,
often without eating. Being a coordinator may seem glamorous,
but actually you are a glorified servant on the wedding day,
doing all of the things that no one else is doing, including
removing trash, busing tables, washing dishes, and any other
thing that needs to be done to make the event successful.
I hope this gives you some ideas
to consider. If you have things that you would like to know
more about, please write again.
Glenna Tooman, ForeverWed.com
Wedding Consultant
How to get into the
business
