Month: January 2019

Building Up Interpersonal Skills- Why Is It Important For A Wedding Planner?

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If there is one thing that Indians love, it is Weddings! Indian weddings have an aura that makes them so remarkable and continues to captivate people from all over the world.

With changing times, wedding planners have become an inseparable part of Indian weddings today. More and more people are hiring wedding planners to plan one of the biggest days in their lives. This has led to a whopping increase in the demand of the wedding planners. Today, there seems to be an abundance of wedding planners in the market, however, there might not be many who would have formed a lifelong relationship with their clients. So, what is it that makes a wedding planner a popular choice?

When it comes to hiring a wedding planner, many people look for a complete package. A wedding planner may present the best of ideas, but maybe he is too fixated with them and doesn’t pay much attention to what the client really wants. One of the most important qualities of a successful wedding planner is his interpersonal skills.

When somebody hires a wedding planner, they expect him to turn their biggest dream into a reality. A wedding is not just a get together with friends and family, it is a social obligation, a status symbol, a reflection of someone’s family background and traditions. When a wedding is planned there is a lot at stake. It is therefore imperative for a wedding planner to be an outstanding communicator. There is a lot of talking that is to be done. He should not only be able to put forward his ideas in the most pleasant way but also be open to suggestions and innovations that his clients give to him.

wedding planning skills

Having excellent communication skills also gives him an edge above his competitors as one of the main jobs of a wedding planner is to keep things flowing in a positive and calm manner. There may be many high-pressure situations during a wedding, having the ability to stay resilient and calm is something that comes only with good training and exposure to such situations.

When an amateur wedding planner enters the industry, the journey to the top is a long-long one. This is where formal education in the field of wedding planning can do wonders in helping you kickstart your wedding planning business. There are institutes that provide diploma courses in wedding planning. Enrolling yourself into one will help you in getting first-hand experience, even before you begin your career. The internship that you undergo will help you in the understanding of events as well as clients that would be dealing with throughout your career.

Having good interpersonal skills cannot only help in building a rapport with your client, but it will play a key role in building strong ties with vendors and other associates. After all, a wedding planner without an efficient team can never be a successful one. When you have strong ties with people, there is trust and interdependence, which can play a key role in planning a flawless wedding.

Being a wedding planner is indeed a stressful job, but it is also the most rewarding. When it comes to carving a successful path through this glittering industry, you need to hone your interpersonal skills to help smoothen your journey. Your formal education in this field will go a long way in helping you achieve this goal.

With time and experience we all acquire certain abilities, but when it comes to making your mark in the business, the sooner you sharpen your interpersonal skills, the better for you and your career in Wedding Planning!

5 Ways To Stress Free Wedding Planning

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The reason people hire a wedding planner is to make their wedding day a special and unforgettable event for them as well as everyone who attends it. Hiring a wedding planner gives them the best of both the worlds. They are involved in every small decision that is made, yet at the same time they get the luxury to sit back and relax, while you, the Wedding Planner does everything.

For many, the idea of planning a wedding seems very exhilarating, but, in reality it is nothing short of a Herculean task. There has to be a flow and tempo in a wedding and as a wedding planner there is so much you have to do. With so many things to plan and coordinate, it may often take a toll on you, the wedding planner. Here is a list of 5 ways to stress free wedding planning for a wedding planner.

  • Spending Time with your Clients
    The first and foremost step of an easy-going wedding is to know your client. Spend time with the bride or groom-to-be and the families in order to get to know them and get a clear picture of what exactly are they looking for. Give ideas but do not be too dominating when doing so. It is after all, their wedding. Discuss the blueprint of your plans with them and go ahead only when they okay it. You would have to make a million decisions, so talk through every aspect of the wedding with them colour schemes, fancy lights, invites, menu and even the chair cover if they wish to.
  • Manage the Budget
    One of your biggest challenges is going to be managing the budget. Having a budget doesn’t mean being miser all along, even a millionaire’s wedding has to have a budget. It simply means that you need to have a perspective and plan everything around it. Provide a realistic assessment to your client in the very beginning. When you start implementing your ideas into actions, expenses tend to mount up rather quickly, keeping the client’s budget in mind will let you make wise decisions. As an experienced wedding planner you would also be able to get your clients the best deals and discounts. Doing all this will let you be comfortable till the very end of the wedding.

  • Coordinating with the Vendors
    Planning a wedding cannot be a one-man’s job. You need to be able to work comfortably with caterers, florists, stylists, dress designers, photographers etc.  Keep close ties and always build alliances. If you have a team of professionals that you get along with, it would greatly help you in easing the entire process. An expert in their own field, they would be reliable and also suit your style of working. When you share the responsibilities, you share the tensions and work pressures too.

  • Give Valuable Suggestions
    As a wedding planner you would know the ins-and-outs of the business. Which wedding venue can accommodate how many people, which decorator will fit within your budget, which caterer would do justice to your client’s taste, are things you must suggest to your clients and help them make the best decisions. Make sure that the ideas you give are doable. Remember, your ideas are going to be the foundation of the whole wedding.
  • Take it Easy
    Wedding planning can be stressful. It is very important for you to be calm and relaxed. Going for every offer that you get may seem tempting, but it is highly recommended that you be wise and put in a lot of thinking when accept a wedding planning project. Though every wedding planner wishes to be one of the best in the business, plan your career strategies smartly. Planning two perfect weddings in a year is way better than planning five in a haphazard way. Remember, your work is your best advertisement.

The Bottom Line

The above-mentioned ways may appear to be very simple, yet they can do wonders to the way you plan a wedding. If you have undergone some formal training, things will be much easier for you, as before you enter the market you already know the tricks of the trade. The internship that you have been through, prepares you to face all kinds of high-pressure situations. To many it seem a dream job, being a wedding planner is not all about the charisma and the glitterati, it requires foresight, perseverance and a lot of hard work.

Why Is Customization Important In Planning A Wedding?

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One of the most important responsibilities of a wedding planner is to create a personalized wedding for every couple. For this, he first needs to understand what the client wants and then must tailor the different aspects of the wedding to suit the client in particular and the family members in general. So, spending quality time with the clients and pinpointing their interests becomes instrumental. Keeping their interests in mind the wedding planner then creates ‘event-paths’ which makes it possible for him to turn his client’s dreams and ideas into a reality.

Every couple wants their wedding to be an unforgettable event not just for them but also for everyone who attends it. But, many a time, devoting so much time and effort is not possible neither for the couple nor for the family members. This is where a wedding planner enters.

The wedding planner who is a pro at handling every little detail of a wedding, can easily help in planning and customizing various things the way the client wants. They are an expert at making the best use of the available resources and can do wonders to even the most basic items and ideas. And the best part is that they can do all this well within the budget that their client has given them.

At the point when you take the time and effort to truly work your customers’ ideas into their wedding, it shows extraordinary customer service. You’re devoting yourself to planning one of a kind weddings that suit every customer’s vision. You aren’t designing a solitary wedding concept and program and applying it exactly the same for every customer. Creativity is the thing that makes you a flourishing and professional wedding planner.

The Venue

The selection of the venue is probably one of the most significant factors of the wedding. The surrounding helps in setting the tone of the wedding. Whether it is a society park or a farmhouse or an open field, the wedding planner can customize and personalize the space as per the choice of the client. They can create an intimate space for the special guests as well. Overhead lighting, a cluster of pendants, creative drawings, etc. are ideas that can completely transform the wedding ceremony.

The Menu

From greeting the guests with a celebratory cocktail with a creative name to planning the whole menu as per the couple’s story is another trend that’s becoming very popular. Dishes that are the bride’s or the groom’s favorite, the first dish that he made for her or she made for him are on the charts too.

Customized Clothes

Wearing personalized t-shirts at the ‘Mehendi’ or the sangeet or bachelor’s party are some things that the bride and groom along with the friends and family would enjoy. The wedding planner can get tees for the couple and the guests printed as-‘Bride to Be’, ‘Bride’s Best Friend’, ‘Soon to be Mrs’, etc.

Small Details

‘Going into details’ is what a well-trained wedding planner does best. From customized tissue papers with the couple’s initials or their logo to personalized wrapping paper with their photos, it makes gifting the guests all the more intimate and dear. Some wedding planners have also designed coasters with names or photos of the couple. Some have made use of monogrammed throw pillows and cushions too.

When it comes to satisfying our needs and wants, we have far too many choices. When wedding bells ring, the expectations rise even more and the biggest challenge for the couple and the family members becomes customizing the wedding in a way that it becomes an emotional and a never-to-be-forgotten event. At such a time, hiring a wedding planner becomes the best decision that one can make. Though it is a challenge, for the wedding planner too, customization truly makes the wedding the most special day in a person’s life. A wedding planner who has had some formal training can help in making things special and extremely personalized and make the wedding an event to remember.

The Art Of Listening:

Indeed, your hard skills are super important. Without your professional training, you most likely wouldn’t know what an RFP is! In any case, other than knowing how to make budget spreadsheets and courses of events, your soft skills need refining, as well. The art of listening is therefore important! How might you customize a wedding if you don’t listen to the couple that you’re working for? Before you can fulfill your obligations as an expert wedding planner, you have to have a solid handle of your customers’ needs and desires.

Perhaps the most ideal approach to put your customers at ease is to consistently show that you’re listening to them. However, don’t simply seem as though you’re doing it— really do it! Give them abundant chances to voice their thoughts and opinions. Actively engage with them. In case something isn’t working, be straightforward with them. Your customers have big dreams, it’s important not to annihilate them! Be that as it may, making guarantees you can’t keep isn’t exactly the first step in building a solid customer relationship.

Your customers don’t have the foggiest idea of how much everything costs, the complete logistics behind every event, and any legal issues included. That is the reason they have employed you! The more honest you are, the better they can confide in you. Try not to squash their ideas. Work with them to form their ideas into something different, or incorporate them on a smaller scale.

Becoming A Wedding Planner With An Eye For Customization

Understanding each client’s needs for customization is something that comes with years of experience. However, a wedding planner who has no experience in the industry might find it difficult to develop an eye for personalization. However, obtaining formal training before entering the wedding planning industry can help you a great deal with this. Formal training in wedding planning ensures that you are well-accustomed to the wedding planning ecosystem, and more so if you get a chance to be part of a live internship. All in all, investing in formal training will definitely help you out before starting a career in the wedding planning industry.

Common, copy/pasted weddings aren’t what expert wedding planners are trained for. If your customers didn’t want unique weddings, they wouldn’t have hired you! You have an obligation to plan and design weddings that genuinely correspond with the intended vision of the couple. This is why creativity, attention to detail, and active listening skills are important for wedding planners to possess. After all, a wedding is the most important day in a person’s life and they would want it to be unique, special, and customized just for them and it is your job to fulfill your client’s visions and make them and their guests happy.

How Technology Is Changing Indian Weddings?

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Just like everything else, over the years, Indian Weddings too have been greatly influenced by technology. So much so that from the wedding lehenga to the wedding invitations, everything now has a new ‘avatar’. Things have become easier though not always simpler. Young couples prefer weaving customs and rituals along with convenience and style and the outcome is remarkable. Match-Making Rather than discussing the marriage prospects with the society ‘barber’ people are depending entirely on matrimonial websites and also TV channels, for their child’s ‘match-making’. What more, there are tonnes of Facebook groups too for the same. The youngsters too rely on dating apps and websites before they make up their mind about the wedlock. The Wedding Industry ‘Wedding’ is now an industry, and not just any industry but a 40-billion-rupee industry. With an average growth of 30% it is often said to be the recession-proof industry too. And it surely is, with almost 10 million weddings every year, there seems to be no such thing as a slowdown here. India consumes about 900 tons of gold and half of this is purchased during the wedding season. Destination Weddings Technology has made the world a small place. More and more couples have started preferring having weddings at scenic locations abroad and within India. Places like Goa, Jaipur, Udaipur, Italy, Greece are topping the charts when it comes to choosing the destination for the perfect wedding. Wedding Planners In India, weddings always involved the entire family, they still do but their roles have undergone a transformation as well. The ‘chachas and mamas’ no longer run around till the last minute, it is now the wedding planners who take care of it all. Weddings are no longer seen as a painful responsibility but a reason to party. It’s nothing less than a holiday with friends and family and hiring the right wedding planner can indeed be the best way to plan a wedding. Wedding Schools Till a few years ago a wedding school was completely unheard of but thanks to the remarkable transformation of Indian weddings, wedding schools are now giving many youngsters a platform to build strong entrepreneur skills. The courses offered by elite and well-renowned wedding schools give a jumpstart to the career of a budding wedding planner. Going through an internship helps them learn the tricks of the trade early on as they get a chance to learn under experts. Attaining a successful career as a wedding planner has been made easy with Wedding schools. So Much More The wedding industry also comprises of many other businesses and branches. Dress designers, stylists, photographers, printers, florists and decorators, etc., are an integral and important part of the industry. Decorator-The tent-wala is now a decorator and plays a key role in remodelling a society-park into a fabulous wedding location. Replicas of palaces, movie sets are also being set up by the decorators to give the wedding a touch of royalty. Invitation Cards-The wedding invite now comprises of the invitation cards to the cocktail, bachelor’s party, shagan, mehendi and sangeet, wedding and the reception too. And it’s no longer just a card – silk envelops, embroidered cards, elegant invite-mithai boxes are just so mesmerizing. Photographs-Clicking professional and high-high-definition pictures are as important as the wedding itself. They not only make reminiscing special but are also important as they have to be uploaded on various social media platforms. Technology indeed has changed the Indian Weddings. Almost every aspect seems to have undergone modifications. However, the quintessence core of every Indian wedding is still ‘tradition’. And this amalgamation of tradition and technology has been great for everyone. The couple-to-be, the parents, the guests, the wedding planners, the vendors, just about everyone is Super Happy!!

Becoming A Better Wedding Planner – 5 Important Guidelines

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There has been a transformation in the way Indian Weddings are perceived and organized. Though ‘tradition’ still remains the essence of an Indian wedding, there have been many new innovations and additions. The rising popularity of a wedding planner is a welcome change. With more and more families hiring a full-time wedding planner, the demand of having a good wedding planner seems to be on an all-time high. This increase in demand has also been a big reason that there are many wedding planners and wedding planner companies in the market. But there are many who are ordinary and there are many who are thorough professionals. So, what separates the two? The reasons are plenty. There is no place for mediocrity in the world today. Unless you keep learning, reinventing and recreating something new, you may soon become obsolete. Let’s have a look at some of the areas you should be focusing on to become a better wedding planner. Get Qualified Having the right educational background can do wonders to your wedding planning career. Specialized courses in wedding planning are gaining more and more popularity as event management courses are far too general in their approach. Being a wedding planner, there is so much you need to know-planning, marketing, collaborating with vendors, finalizing stylists and designers etc. Your education in wedding planning will come in very handy when you actually enter the market. Even if you are in the wedding business, it is never too late to learn. If you do not have any formal training, enroll yourself in a Wedding Planning Course today. Invest In Formal Training One of the best ways to kick-start your wedding planning business is to have some training in the field. Opt for a course that provides you with an internship else, work as an intern for an established wedding planner for some time. When you enter the market as a trainee there is so much you can learn. A good internship program will let you learn a lot about the business. The deadlines, the last-minute cancellations, the coordination between two vendors, the high-pressure situations and so much more, you will get a first-hand experience of dealing with all this. Network & Build A Strong Team Always remember, a strong business cannot be a one-man show. You need to have a strong team of people with you always. You would need to have a good liaison with different vendors who would be providing different services like catering, decorating, printing, etc. A smooth wedding will not be possible if you do not collaborate and coordinate. Improve Interpersonal Skills For most of us, it comes naturally, but you must keep working on your interpersonal skills. When communicating with your clients it is very important that you understand their requirements.  Being too rigid with your own ideas may not be a healthy sign. It is, after all, your client’s wedding and you need to deliver what he/she wants. But at the same time, using your own creativity to enhance everything is equally important. Also, weddings are events where everyone is emotionally charged-up. As a wedding planner, you need to be calm and composed even under the most high-pressure situations. Never Stop Learning Even after you hold a strong ground in the market, you need to maintain your standard and sustain your position. Unless you give your clients excellent ideas and services, things might easily slip out of hand. Be on a lookout for new and innovative ways to make each wedding a memorable one. Being a wedding planner may seem easy, but it sure involves a great deal of hard work and perseverance. In India, there is a lot of scope in the wedding planning industry and with the right formal education and the right attitude, the sky can be the limit for you.