The Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist For A Wedding Planner

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Being a wedding planner comes with a lot pf responsibilities. As a wedding planner, you hold the dreams of the happy couple in your palms and if you want them to stay that way i.e. happy then you have to do your job the best of your abilities. If you have planned a wedding, been part of one or even watched Made in Heaven or Band Baaja Baarat, then you know that planning a wedding is not easy. Especially if it’s a Big Fat Indian Wedding because that comes with its own bonus package of meddling relatives, indecisive couples, multi-tasking parents. If you want to keep all the numerous parties involved happy from the Mehendi to Vidaai so that they loosen their purse strings, give your payment and recommend you to all their family and friends then you are going to need this checklist. With all the numerous duties that the wedding planner has to take care of it is very easy to forget a few. Then, of course, Bridezilla is breathing down your neck because the flowers aren’t her favourite shade of purple.  This checklist helps you remember all of these duties so you can be as good as or even better than Shruti and Bittu when it comes to planning weddings!

Meet the happy couple:

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This is the most obvious one on the list. The first step in planning a wedding is meeting the couple and discussing their ideas or the vision that they have about how they want their wedding to be. At this meeting ensure that you have discussed colour palettes, decor, lighting and overall aesthetic with the couple. This will help you when you see vendors or look for venues. Weddings can also highlight family dynamics and stir up a lot of emotions. Therefore, it is the job of the wedding planner to mediate during these meetings and ensure that you find compromises or hold discussions that need to happen. The latter is especially important because in the frenzy of planning a wedding the family might forget an important part and it will be your job to bring attention to it.

Select a Venue:

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If the couple does not already have a venue in mind then the next step is to secure a suitable venue that fulfils all the requirements of the couple. You should know what kind of venue the couple desires based on your meeting with them. With the list of requirements handy like water view, capacity, outside catering allowed etc you can go venue hunting. The ideal venue should allow Indian weddings i.e. be suitable for the small fire on the mandap for the saat pheras etc. You should also check what services the venue offers like cake, lighting or if the couple wants a cocktail hour then a scenic outdoor area etc. Another important criterion is if they allow package deals for multiple events. The guests attending the wedding should also be kept in mind. For example, if the couple has old relatives who can’t climb stairs then the wedding cannot be held at a venue without handicap access.

Set up the social media pages:

If the couple wants to commemorate their wedding on social media then they would love having their own special social media pages dedicated to their wedding and a wedding hashtag. Then it’s your job to ensure the social media page is up and running seamlessly.  

Primary Vendors:

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The next step is to hire primary vendors which includes caterer, decorator, florist, photo and videographer, DJ/musician etc. You might already have a list of vendors that you have worked with before so you already know their services and prices pretty well. You will also be able to handle the logistics seamlessly as you have worked with these vendors before. If this is the case then you should begin scheduling meetings between the vendors and the couple so that the couple can know what to expect. If you don’t have vendors who you work with on a regular basis then it’s a good idea to research vendors who fulfil the couple’s criteria. Some couples may also ask you to book for them hair and makeup artists so make sure you have researched them too.

Secondary Vendors:

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These are the next tier of vendors. If the couple wants a wedding cake then it is your job to hunt down a bakery that specialises in wedding cake and figure out all the logistics on the final day. Additionally, if the family doesn’t already have a pandit then finding one will also be your job. If the couple is having a Mehendi ceremony then the job of finding good trusted Mehendi artists will also fall upon you. Finding vendors who make invitations and setting up meetings with the couple is also your job. Sometimes Indian wedding invitations are huge and require assembly and taking care of these time-consuming details also falls upon you so that the couple can enjoy every second of their engaged life.

Hotel and Transportation:

The relatives who don’t stay in the city where the wedding is taking place are going to need a place to stay. The bridal party is going to require rooms to get ready and hence researching and booking hotel rooms near the venue is an important job that needs to get done. This is especially important if the venue isn’t a hotel. Another important job is transportation from the hotel to the venue like shuttle services during and after each event. Make sure that you have the logistics of transportation sorted because it is more important than you think and is easily overlooked. For example, the cars needed for the bridal party to change clothes or get ready for different events. Remember that you are in charge of the guest experience and especially making it a memorable one.

Groom’s Entrance:

This requires its own special place in the list apart from general transportation. In an Indian wedding, there are many ways that a groom can enter the mandap and it can be anything from a horse to an ambassador or a shiny new Mercedes. So ensure that you have discussed this with the couple and presented them with all the options including the vendors for the horse and the musicians for the baraath.

Oversee Sound Checks and Lighting:

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The wedding planner is in charge of ensuring that any sound set up goes off without a hitch and that the speakers don’t break down or the microphones emit awful sounds that causes everyone to cover their ears. Similarly, you are also supposed to discuss the lighting with the venue manager and make sure that the couple gets their fairy tale lighting and nothing goes wrong. 

This brings us to the end of the checklist that will help you plan a wedding like a pro. These are just the broader things that you must keep in mind while planning a wedding. There are other million smaller things that also need to be taken care off but those things are only learned through experience and practice. But still, if you sort out these major things then the smaller ones become much easier to handle. Happy Planning!

How To Choose The Best Wedding Planning Institute

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Wedding planning is a great occupation that can lead to amazing opportunities to the students after they have successfully completed their course. During the course, the students figure out how to design, structure, analyse, and execute a wedding. Furthermore, the students will have the option to ace in the marketing strategies, promoting and accounting for the wedding and event planning related jobs. The best wedding planning schools in India give internship opportunities to assist students with executing every one of their abilities and to gain experience over the duration of their course. The students likewise get the chance to work with some big names from the industry and learn basic planning while at the same time working with their expert staff. From Mehendi to vidaai and the reception, a wedding planner executes a huge job. Till recently the job of a wedding organizer or facilitator was to book venues, flower specialists, artists, caterers etc. Yet, today they are responsible for taking care of a wide assortment of assignments like meeting the bride and groom to comprehend their vision, organising the wedding, finding the correct venue, vendor, DJ, photographer, flower specialist, and that’s just the beginning. They are responsible for managing all the issues that may happen before, during or after the event. Their significant job is to monitor the wedding events and to guarantee incredible services to all the guests and the couple. To begin your vocation in this industry you have to get your basics right. It is quite reasonable that you begin searching for wedding planner schools. Joining a school will be exceptionally useful as it will give you an understanding of the reality of the industry. Simultaneously finding out about the field will give you a higher ground compared to your counterparts who did not enroll in wedding planning courses. These are a few ways by which you can figure out which wedding organizer school will be best for you. For a wedding planner management course, the applicant should have finished their 10+2 in any stream from an accredited board or college. There are various schools or colleges in India offering wedding planning courses according to the demands of the industry. Listed below are a few ways to test out which institute works best for you:

1. Research the courses that the Institute offers:

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You have decided to become a wedding organizer and you are extremely amped up for it but now what? I am sure you are plagued with many doubts and questions. To step into any industry you need knowledge. Learning your foundational knowledge  will give you a head start in your profession. If you do not have any clue about the course or what wedding planning entails, your foundation won’t be strong enough. To get the information you need,  start researching for courses related to your field. In all actuality, there isn’t only one course that instructs you to turn into a wedding organizer. The wedding planning industry is exceptionally assorted and big. You have to have some expertise in your interest area and gradually develop with the assistance of your experience. There are numerous diplomas, certification courses, advanced certificates and concentrated courses offered by some wedding organizer establishments. For instance, you can pick a specific course like how to plan a destination wedding. You can likewise decide on a Diploma in Wedding Management and design or a particular course in flower management.

2. Simplified Admission Process:

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You should definitely put in a lot of thought and thoroughly research every institute before joining a wedding planner school. But, when you have concluded your research you have to be passionate enough to begin your course right away. You will be more encouraged to enroll in a school in the event that you can join the school with no issues on account of its simple admission process. You must go to the site and locate a FAQ section or a form you can fill out with your inquiries. Along these lines, the school can get back to you and give you further insights regarding the courses you are keen on. Additionally, you can directly go to the school and get yourself enlisted.

3. Check if they offer a discount:

Picking a wedding planning course can be costly for certain students. Be that as it may, this ought not to be the reason to opt out of doing the course. There are many Wedding Planning Institutes which offer discounts or reduction in fees. Discover one which will furnish you with the same. You cannot simply take the plunge without thinking about the expenses. Regardless of whether it is referenced on the site you can even call them or go to the school and inquire as to whether they have any such discounts. You simply need to have the mental fortitude to go and have a chat with them. Odds are they may support you.

4. Check if they offer Field Experience:

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Learning wedding planning theoretically is only the beginning. In the end, practical on-field knowledge is an absolute necessity to flourish in this industry. A decent wedding organizer school will furnish you with numerous opportunities where you can get such an experience. They ought to give you at any rate 3 months internship after the theoretical portion is finished. Working at weddings is the basic step to find out about the business. Students need  to be instructed on how to survey the venue before the real wedding. Working at weddings will show you how to function under tension. It will give you an idea about how weddings are an intense business and you have to have a great deal of endurance and good judgment to be an expert in this industry. Likewise, working at a wedding will give you clarity about your areas of expertise. Practical training will also guarantee that you get an opportunity to connect with the working industry professionals.

5. Interesting and Viable Career Opportunities:

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A decent wedding institute will organize workshops for their students. Prior to joining, make sure you research this in the event that they give such workshops and classes where you can meet working industry experts. This will assist you in getting an understanding of the real business. It is significant that the establishment you pick encourages you to find a job after you complete the course. They should assist you with your CV’s and help you with the placement. It’s imperative that you begin working with or under a decent wedding organizer in light of the fact that your insight will be extremely new. So don’t battle to secure your job on your own. Your organization must assist you with sending your CV to reputed organizations where you can start your internship/job. Fundamentally, they should give you a head start since they are the ones who have teamed up with many wedding planning organizations. Before you join you can also check their partners on their site. Numerous individuals get into this industry since it is extremely showy and glamourous. Make an effort not to pay attention to this part towards the beginning of your profession. Simply go with the learning attitude. Get as much introduction as possible. Be relentless and don’t surrender in the event that you are extremely passionate about this field. At long last, your insight will be of incredible worth and take you forward. If you feel like you are ready and have researched thoroughly, go get yourself enlisted in a Wedding Planner Institute. Happy Learning!

What Being A Wedding Planner Is Really Like

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Calling all wedding lovers! Do you fantasize about helping couples plan the most exceptional day of their lives? Do you get a rush each time you see a beautiful couple partake in the “saath pheras” or see a bride in her designer lehenga? At this point turning into a wedding planner very well might be the calling for you. Sampling food from the caterers, helping the bride find the ideal Sabyasachi bridal trousseau, selecting a colour palette, picking the right song for the sangeet ceremony… Even the easiest weddings require a great deal of planning, so it bodes well to enrol the assistance of an expert. Many individuals consider wedding planning as their dream job. All things considered, you’re fundamentally putting on one big party, no? Be that as it may, in the background, it’s significantly something more than just flowers and mithai. On a fundamental level, wedding planners are there to facilitate and assist you with organising your big special day, however, their duties can greatly differ. Between financial planning, RSVPs, venue hunting and ensuring the couple’s & families interest, it’s considered to be one of the most stressful jobs. While it’s one of the most rewarding occupations an individual can have, being a wedding planner takes something beyond authoritative aptitudes and great taste. So as to share what the road to becoming a wedding planner is truly like, we have compiled a list of what skills and qualifications are needed to make it to the world of Great Indian Wedding Industry.

Wedding Planner Duties and Responsibilities

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Effective wedding planning expects you to be a multi-tasker. The job of the wedding expert is that of a facilitator, arbiter, money manager, craftsman, and constructor of dreams. At Any point if you have been a bride or a groom, or helped a family member plan their wedding, you additionally know the sort of stress that arranging a wedding can achieve. A wedding planner regularly additionally winds up likewise being a specialist, sounding board, and even a punching bag, metaphorically obviously, when fatigued nerves become possibly the most important factor. In spite of the fact that the wedding planner job can include a wide assortment of errands, certain ordinary obligations and duties are associated with the everyday existence of a wedding planner, for example, the following:

Wedding Planner Skills

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Obviously, not everyone imagines their wedding as a grand Bollywood affair, or maybe they have yet are excessively occupied with their professions and can’t be bothered with the subtleties of arranging their ideal wedding, so they’ll solicit you to take care of them at all times. While you have the additional luxury of commanding a higher fee for this degree of service, this sort of wedding planning is a mammoth errand to attempt. Fortunately, the more experience you gain, the more smoothed out and easy your procedure will turn into. To prevail in this vocation, you should have explicit soft aptitudes—character attributes you have either obtained through life experience or with which you were born. This incorporates abilities, for example, the following

Be a Good Leader:
Being a wedding planner you are expected to wear numerous caps. At one time, you need to manage merchants, couples, large families, and funds. Obviously, there can likewise be a great deal of drama with all the relatives weighing in on every decision. Being a good leader and having the option to remain quiet, delegate, tune in, and lead in a period of stress is your most significant ability.
Have Empathy:
Anybody can get familiar with the frameworks and standard working strategies of wedding planning, yet what makes a planner extremely extraordinary at their specific employment are qualities like critical thinking, empathy, professionalism, and high scrupulousness. Somebody who likes to feel purposeful and endeavours to cause others to feel significant and cared for are two elements for success in this extraordinary industry.
Have Exceptional Organisational Skills:
Wedding planning expects you to be uber-sorted out and mindful to details. All things considered, such a large number of segments go into the occasion from timetables to menus to playlists. These aptitudes or attributes can be built on as you grow into your job. They are muscles that can get stronger as they are flexed. On the off chance that you don’t have these attributes normally consider a temporary job or entry-level employment to assist you with developing them.
Get Experience:
While you don’t, in fact, need any certifications or degrees to become a wedding planner, getting experience from a veteran is basic. As a wedding planner, you’re likewise safeguarding one of the most significant occasions in a great many people’s lives so it’s basic you comprehend what you’re doing. Corporate planning or philanthropic planning doesn’t check. You should search out quality instruction from a respectable source and couple this with hands-on understanding by working under a wedding planner and experienced planner.
Never Stop Learning:
The best wedding planners have a ‘learn constantly’ mentality. They read, they watch online courses and social media lives, they work together and tune in to podcasts. They take wedding planning courses, go to workshops and meetings. A considerable lot of these assets are accessible on the web, so you can begin your training in your spare time. The significance of continually learning and staying aware of what is tried and true and how to use your own creativity should be the big takeaway.
Creativity:
Being creative is an important tenet of being a wedding planner. Inspiration can strike at any time and anywhere for example while watching movies or shows, when at a temple or a festival. By being creative you can get inspired and come up with interesting and beautiful design elements in regards to decor, floral arrangements etc. It is imperative to have a moodboard to organise all these ideas, to get your creativity flowing and help with a brainstorming session. Each new client is going to want something different and unique for their wedding so your creative juices need to be flowing in order to come up with new ideas every time.

Work Environment

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Wedding and other event planners divide their time between working in an office and working at occasion areas, for example, hotels, churches or temples, and other entertainment settings. They may go to visit prospective locales for occasions and to go to occasions they’ve composed. Their workday is demanding and quick-paced, and planners ordinarily oversee and direct a few distinct parts of an event simultaneously. They may likewise take a shot at more than one event at a time.

How long does it take to plan a wedding?
Arranging a wedding from start to finish can take somewhere in the range of 250 to 400 hours relying upon the unpredictability and length of the occasion. For instance, a few weddings that are held at settings where huge numbers of the vendors are in house will be less tedious than a Big Fat Indian Wedding with 6 different events happening over a week where there are impressively more coordinations and a more noteworthy number of vendors to oversee.

What is the Biggest Misconception about being a wedding planner?
Individuals assume that the life of a wedding planner is all exotic locations and sampling yummy traditional foods, yet it unquestionably isn’t all fancy. There is an immense measure of strategic and procedural work that is included, as well as interminable administration work, spreadsheets and antisocial hours.

Since each wedding will be altogether one of a kind, the response to the inquiry, “What does a wedding planner do?” will never be totally complete. Be that as it may, this message should be your takeaway: your essential obligation as a wedding planner is to fulfil the worries that a couple had when they chose to search for a wedding planner. These worries will consistently change, and that is OK. As long as you’re there to meet them, you’ve satisfied your obligation. In spite of the pressure and stress that goes with the job, wedding planning can be a worthwhile and compensating experience whenever done determinedly and capably. You’re assuming a key job in making somebody’s fantasies come to reality. What number of individuals can say that regarding their professions?

5 Reasons why the Wedding Industry will explode after COVID-19

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Indian weddings are indeed a memorable affair and on an average, a person spends around one-fifth of his life savings on their wedding day. The wedding industry did take a setback with a lot of weddings getting cancelled due to coronavirus. But the industry will kickstart their work on a larger scale as soon as the guidelines are issued. One of the most lucrative industries in India, they are all set to erupt post-COVID-19. Here are some of the reasons why.

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1. 50% of couples are planning a 2021 wedding

This is the best time to boost your career by upskilling and learning the ins and outs of the wedding industry in India. Learn under the guidance of industry experts with our interactive and detailed curriculum. So when the wedding season starts, you’ll be ready to begin an illustrious career.
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2. 90% of couples have confirmed that pandemic will not affect their pre-planned wedding budgets

According to a survey done by the Wedding Wire, families or couples said that they wouldn’t let the pandemic affect their wedding celebrations. Majority of the population choose to get married in India, so when the weddings resume it will be with the same excitement and vigour.

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3. Online Weddings are rising in popularity

The pandemic couldn’t stop couples from getting married. Instead of cancelling their nuptials, many couples have opted for getting married virtually via zoom or skype wedding with their loved ones able to witness their union of love from around the world.
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4. Weddings for a limited number of people have already begun

During this lockdown, many couples chose to downsize their wedding and invite guests according to the government guidelines. Love continues at the time of this pandemic with social distancing and donning masks. With new safety precautions post-pandemic, weddings will be bigger than ever. How they will manage social distancing? The guests will be given time slots to attend weddings. 



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5. Now more than ever, people want to marry their significant others

With uncertainty looming over the future, people want to hold onto their love and cherish it. They want to be with their significant others in the future. There is an increase in trends of people getting engaged or Roka’s happening virtually. Love has only blossomed during this time and will continue to do so.

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As lives continue, the marriages will prosper and continue with full pomp and splendour next year. Now is the best time to pursue your dreams and join the multi-billion dollar wedding industry as a wedding event planner. Interested in how to be a wedding planner? Connect with us to know more.

5 Reasons to invest in a Professional Online-Offline Wedding Planning Course

Want to build your career as a wedding planner 

As all of us navigate the impact of COVID-19 on our lives, we at The Wedding School don’t wish for learning to stop due to the pandemic. Now is the best time to take hold of your future and pave the way for your career. With 80% of weddings being shifted to the latter half of 2020, this is the best time to invest in our Live Online wedding planning course and build your dream career.

1. Boost your employability

This is the best time to boost your career by upskilling and learning the ins and outs of the wedding industry in India. Learn under the guidance of industry experts with our interactive and detailed curriculum. So when the wedding season starts, you’ll be ready to begin an illustrious career.
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2. Begin your career at the peak of the wedding season

With most of the weddings shifting to the second half of the year, it aligns perfectly with the wedding muhurats of the year. By the time you’re done with our live online and offline courses, you’ll be ready to kickstart your career in wedding planning.
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3. Intern with reputed companies

Internships enable students to gain real insights into their choice of career and provide exciting opportunities to learn all about event management and wedding planning. With our assured internship opportunities, you can apply all your learning, practically with reputed wedding planning companies.
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4. Be a part of on-ground wedding planning experience post Covid-19

Experience the special duties of making someone’s most important day unforgettable with real-life experience post-COVID-19. Our online-offline classes are adapted to the new ways of covering weddings in the post coronavirus world. Be it an online wedding or a regular one, you will know how to navigate it with our course.
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5. Indian Wedding Industry is growing at 25-30% annually

The Indian wedding industry is valued at 50 Billion dollars, ranking second after the American wedding industry. You can easily headstart your career as soon as the wedding season begins and become a successful Indian wedding planner because not even this pandemic can stop the weddings.

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Adopt this modern mode of learning with our detailed courses to ensure that you become 100% ready for a career as a professional wedding planner. Don’t miss out on this chance to upskill during this pandemic. Ace wedding event management with The Wedding School today!