How would you describe yourself? Are you a planner or a doer? If you answered yes to both questions, then you might want to consider becoming a wedding coordinator.
Wedding coordinators are responsible for managing every aspect of the event from start to finish. They coordinate vendors, manage budgets, and ensure that everything goes smoothly.
A wedding is a big deal, and it should be treated as such. The bride and groom deserve nothing less than the absolute best experience possible. That means hiring a professional wedding coordinator who has extensive knowledge of the industry.
Higher Education
While higher education isn’t always required to become a wedding coordinator, having one can really put you ahead of the game.
Obtaining a degree in event planning, or business management could really help you develop your skills to become a wedding coordinator. These courses are designed to help shape you into an organized business person, or event planner.
Some courses even help you find internships in your chosen field. This will not only give you great experience, but it will also help you make contacts when you are looking for future employment.
Get Experience
If you have no formal training, but still want to work as a wedding coordinator, there are many ways to get some real-world experience. You could look for internships in wedding planning.
If you can’t find any that are specific to weddings, you could look for any that are to do with event planning, as the same skills will be utilized.
If you have no luck in gaining internships, you could offer to help at any of your friends or family’s weddings. This is a great way you can put your skills to good use, and learn about the planning and coordination of weddings.
Join A Wedding Planner Association
Joining an association will enable you to meet people and make contacts. You can work with different companies to gain valuable hands-on experience.
The more experience you have, the better prepared you’ll be to take on any job. You don’t need to go straight from school to work. Start by volunteering with local non-profit organizations. This gives you the opportunity to learn
The best way to learn how to become a wedding coordinator is by doing it. You need to get out there and work with brides and grooms on their special day.
It’s important to remember that this is a real-life experience, so the more weddings you attend, even as a volunteer, the better prepared you’ll be to handle them.
If you’re thinking about getting into this line of work, don’t just jump right in. It’s important to gain some real-world experience first.
Get Certified
Getting certifications is a way of showing future clients that you are committed and qualified for this kind of work. They will show you that you are organized and have experienced the appropriate training to handle such events.
Certifications can be obtained online, through colleges, and through different associations.
What Skills Do You Need As A Wedding Planner?
Before you spend a ton of money and time on this career path, it is important to acknowledge the kind of skills that are required in this profession.
Organizational Skills
Wedding coordinators are often in charge of planning a whole wedding from start to finish.
Not only that, in many cases, experienced coordinators will have several weddings on the go. Therefore, you must have pristine organizational skills to keep on top of everything.
Communication Skills
Wedding coordinators must meet regularly with clients, and once they are assigned to a wedding, they must have a lot of communication with the bride and groom.
Having good communication skills is key in this profession, as appearing warm and friendly is most likely to work in your favor when it comes to getting clients.
Active Listening Skills
Good listening skills are very important when it comes to being a wedding coordinator. Your clients are bound to have opinions on what they would like to have on their special day (you may have opinions from their family members also!).
Therefore, in order to please your clients and ensure you are planning a wedding that is exactly what they want, you must have tremendous listening skills.
Patience
Not all clients are going to be sweet, warm, and friendly. You may encounter some that are quite demanding. It is important to have patience when dealing with these clients.
Planning a wedding is stressful, and your clients are bound to experience stress when it comes to planning their perfect day.
Ensuring you are friendly and patient with them is key.
Time Management Skills
Wedding coordinators need to have good time management skills. This is in line with organizational skills. Coordinators are likely to have to outsource and hire chefs, DJs, and the lot! It is crucial that this is done in plenty of time.
Therefore, time management skills are very important in this profession.
Problem-Solving Skills
Planning a wedding is very rarely smooth sailing. Problems are bound to arise, and quick solutions are going to be needed. Wedding coordinators must have the ability to think on their feet, and also stay calm when a problem occurs.
This is something that is bound to develop once you have had experience in planning a few weddings or even shadowing.
Budgeting
Knowing how to budget is crucial in this profession, as most clients will need to have the whole wedding planned within one budget.
Like the above point, this is something that will also be learned as you gain more experience, but being mindful of it before you start, is important.
Final Thoughts
Being a wedding coordinator is not easy. You have to deal with some demanding clients and stressful situations, and be open to the possibility of things going wrong.
However, once that wedding has been planned and the day runs smoothly, all that stress is worth it when you see the loving looks between the bride and groom as they say ‘I do’.
The best way to get into this line of work is to get experience. Put yourself out there, make connections, and throw yourself into it.
