Business, Education, Your Event Career

What You Should Know About a Wedding Planner License…

If you are interested in becoming a wedding planner, you already know it’s a dream career! There’s a lot of information floating around about what you need to do to become a wedding planner – but what’s the truth?

The wedding planning industry is unregulated, and you don’t need a license to practice planning. The truth is that anyone can declare themselves fit to plan a wedding. There is nothing wrong with going this route and diving straight in, but if you do, you’ll quickly feel unprepared.

This is why many aspiring planners opt for wedding planning certification courses to prepare for a career in the industry. Continue reading for all you should know about a wedding planning certification!

So, what is a wedding planner certification?

A wedding planner certification proves that you have completed professional training. Most times, you’ll receive a professional designation with your certification. For wedding planners, a certification shows clients that they are current with industry standards and equipped to plan (and handle) any wedding.

Getting certified as a wedding planner gives you confidence in your abilities. As you take on event planner jobs, you’ll start to find your niche. From there, you can choose to receive additional training to be specialized. Upon earning your specialization, you’ll be able to expand your wedding planning business and charge more for your services! This is especially true when planning destination weddings.

Meeting Wedding Industry Standards

Every industry has a standard. For wedding planning, the standard is to be certified. This stems from expectations of industry professionals, as well as potential clients.

Without a wedding planner certification, couples may feel wary about you planning their special day. After all, a wedding is likely their most important day to date. If they didn’t care about it, then they wouldn’t be hiring a planner!

Being able to assure clients that you are qualified is HUGE for your business. If your clients don’t feel confident in you they won’t hire you. And worse – if they do hire you despite this, you may be in for a bumpy ride!

The wedding planning industry is also very social. Networking plays a large role in securing work and partnerships. It’s important to make sure that your industry peers also see you as qualified. If they are unsure, they won’t send clients your way!

Join Wedding Planner Associations

Associations are another way for wedding planners to establish credibility. Depending on your location there will be a variety available to you. You can also join international associations! This is great if you are interested in working abroad or specializing in destination wedding planning.

As mentioned earlier, the wedding planning industry requires networking. Associations help provide these opportunities. This is especially true if you attend events. Here you’ll have a chance to meet other professionals and learn from them!

Being certified will make it easier for you to join associations. Another great thing about becoming certified is that your school will send you updates on ways to keep your education current. Associations also host workshops you’ll want in on.

If you want to be on top of your game, staying current on trends and strategies will be huge for your career.

The Cost

With all the great benefits of becoming a certified wedding planner, there has to be a downside. In this case, the downside is that it isn’t free. If it was, we’re sure all wedding planners would be great ones!

Look at your certification as an investment. Do you see yourself pursuing a full-blown career as a wedding planner? If not, then you probably shouldn’t invest your time or money into becoming certified.

For those serious about a career in event planning, look at your situation. Quality wedding planning courses aren’t free. Consider keeping your job and learning from home while you make a career switch.

Another good way to figure out if the investment is right for you is by looking at how long it will take you to earn back the money you spent. Have a look at typical event and wedding planner salaries in your area. This will give you a good idea of what you can expect to earn as a certified planner.

Be patient – many established planners gather experience over the years. You may not earn the same as them right away! But, with perseverance and investing in your education, we’re sure you’ll be at the top in no time.

Apply for a Business License

Many aspiring planners hope to start a wedding planning business. Since a wedding planner license doesn’t exist, you have one less license to worry about. One type of license you definitely need is a business license. It is illegal to own and operate a freelance wedding planning business without a business license.

Business licenses are separate from the wedding planning industry but are necessary nonetheless. If the idea of working for yourself appeals to you, look into the process! Like an event and wedding planning certification, a business license also isn’t free. So, use the same logic and do your best to figure out how long your new career will take to pay itself off. If you are good at what you do—and we know you will be—it won’t be long!

So, the good news is that you could start wedding planning tomorrow! The bad news is that it requires finding clients, and that can be difficult to do if you aren’t a certified planner. There is a lot to learn and much to gain from taking wedding planning courses!

Think you are ready to take the next step and become a wedding planner? Check out our certified wedding planning course to get started on the right track!

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