What will I be doing?

The U.S. has more than 8,500 full-time wedding consultants, many working from their home. Would you like to join them? A wedding planner or consultant plans, budgets, arranges and coordinates weddings and related events. A wedding planner helps take the stress out of an emotional event.

What will I need to start?

To be a wedding planner you must first be efficient. You must be able to coordinate many tasks at once, handling both people and situations with confidence and skill. Experience as a meeting or event planner will be helpful.

The greatest tool in a wedding planner’s business is his or her notebook—or computer file. It holds the names of and data on prospects, clients, wedding resources and other information for planning a successful wedding event. So you’ll need to start collecting information on local wedding resources soon.

Who will my customers be?

Your customers are obvious: engaged couples and their relatives. What may not be as obvious is how to reach these potential customers. Local bridal fairs are a good source of leads if you can buy a list of the attendees or, better, have a booth there. Also develop friendships with wedding suppliers who can refer your services: photographers, churches, flower shops, cake decorators, etc.

How much should I charge?

Your hourly rate as a wedding planner will be $25 to $50. You will use this rate to establish a flat fee per event or a percentage of the wedding bud-
get. Flat fees for planning a wedding range from $500 to $2,000 for the wedding event and reception. Or you can set your price as a percentage of the total event budget, typically 10 to 20 percent. Wedding suppliers (caterers, musicians, equipment rental) are paid separately.

How much will I make?

Your new wedding planning service will require as much as 30 percent of your time for marketing and promotion. Once established, about 10 percent of your time will probably be enough to keep your business moving at a profitable pace. Of course, this depends on your marketing skills, competition and referrals.

Overhead expenses for a wedding planner usually range from 15 to 30 percent after suppliers are paid. So a wedding that grosses $1,000 in income will net you $700 to $850 and probably require 15 to 25 hours to plan and manage.

How can I get started?

You may already have experience planning and coordinating wedding events. If not, start volunteering to do so for friends or relatives, asking for a letter of recommendation from them when the event is successfully done.

Contact the Association of Bridal Consultants (203-354-1404).

The SIC code for wedding consultants is 7299-32.

How can I use computers to increase profits?

What a beautiful wedding. It’s the bridal consultant who should get the credit for much of the hard work that goes in to a wedding. All in a day’s work. Computers make the task easier by helping the bridal consultant keep track of all the details, contact and verify caterers and other services, track expenses and hours, and make sure everyone knows which church to be at on the wedding day.