Want to build your career as a wedding planner
The wedding industry is burgeoning and the need for a wedding planner continues to increase. Be it catering or wedding decorations, designing invitations or wedding favors, wedding planners will fight for your wedding vision and keep everything on track. And as a wedding planner, you have to always be equipped with all the essentials to glam up your client’s wedding.
But the key to a successful wedding lies in effective planning and that is possible only if you understand the client’s requirement list accurately. It is extremely important that you ask all the right questions before planning your client’s big day. Of course, if you have had a chance at obtaining formal training for wedding planning, you would have your bases covered on what are the questions you should ask your client before planning for his/her wedding. Formal training will give you a taste of the real deal before stepping out into such a demanding industry. At TWS, we have a strong focus on educating our students on dealing with clients and asking the right questions. However, if you haven’t had the chance to invest in formal training, worry not! Here are a few questions you should ask your client while planning his/her wedding-
1. Budget of the wedding –
Weddings range from small intimate ones to large starlit ones. That is why it is essential that you are aware of your client’s budget and plan accordingly. You can ask your client to give an approximate budget to you and you can break it into a ‘per person’ budget. This way your client will get a clear idea about the costs involved.
2. Number of guests attending the event –
Once you are done breaking down the budget ‘per person’ wise, you can now ask your client to give you an idea of the number of people attending the event. Realize that there are always some last-minute add-ons and hence always keep room for some extra guests and start setting your budget accordingly.
3. Date and the venue –
This question sounds very basic but it is infact the most important. Make sure that your client gives you a clear answer about the venue or at least the options that he has zeroed down to. Alternatively suggest him places and take him for venue recce and let his indecisiveness rest.
Make sure that if your client is too confused about the location. You must put a break on your horses as the entire planning should start only after the venue has been set right. Assist your client and do enough research to fit his budget. Let his doubts disappear before you hit the floor.
4. Top priorities for the wedding –
Now that you have a budget and guest list in your hand, it is the time to ask the client about the ‘must haves’ at his wedding. Make sure that you evaluate the budget at the beginning only and make it clear if it’s possible to add various other elements that the client might require. For example, your client wants a particular style of flower decoration but if you feel it won’t fit the budget, discuss it and have it clarified in the beginning to avoid any disappointments later.
5. Things the client wants to avoid –
Just like priorities, people have their aversions too. Imagine that you have planned for a particular band to play in the wedding but then your client says no for it and it reflects on the budget as the other options are just way too expensive for client’s budget. Now here’s a situation that should have addressed right in the beginning.
Such a ‘Need this/ need this not list’ might sound obvious but can play a huge role in deciding the wedding as per the client’s taste and satisfaction and avoiding any last-minute disappointments.
So, let all the clients call out your name in unison once their wedding shenanigans start and let your client get the utmost satisfaction from your work with the help of such effective planning.
