10 Beautiful Mandap Decoration Ideas for Your Wedding

Mandap Decoration

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

For a traditional Indian wedding, mandap is where the marriage ceremony takes place. After going around the sacred fire, exchanging garlands, and even marriage vows (in a modern context) the union or wedding is sanctified. It all happens in the mandap in the presence of your friends and family who share the joy, cast flowers on the couple, banter around and take pictures. This means that the mandap should receive equal importance as the reception, planning mehndi and sangeet, and pre-wedding shoots among several other ceremonies and venues. Do keep in mind that the mandap decoration should match with the overall décor and theme of the wedding. Given below are the 10 wedding mandap decoration ideas for your dream wedding and ‘pheras’. 

1. White Color Mandaps

Incorporate a white colour theme in your mandap decoration ideas. White mandaps whether using flowers or fine fabrics portray elegance and class. Add a dash of bright colour for day weddings and an evening wedding use a combination of luminance with different colours thrown in. For example, a beach wedding in the daytime may have a mandap made of white flowers with a trail of red roses going through it, or a mandap draped in white could have a crown of red flowers. For a night wedding, a mandap adorned with white flowers combined with classic chandeliers and green foliage will look ethereal. 

2. New Age Mandap Designs

New age wedding mandap decoration ideas include the coming together of the traditional Indian with modern ideas to create a beautiful piece of art. Erect a mandap surrounded by water. It can be an indoor one and even an outdoor lakeside one. Create a mandap made of violet drapes decorated with flowers in all shades of violet, blue and purple. The options are endless. 

3. Mandap with Foliage & Greenery

Wedding Stage Decoration

Constructing a mandap made of foliage and greenery with a generous portion of flowers thrown is quite popular in mandap decor ideas. This is usually suited for an outdoor wedding theme that incorporates the natural greenery of the surroundings with additional foliage and flowers. A combination of multi-coloured drapes and flowers combined with green leaves and shoots will make for a serene and pleasing surrounding. 

4. Rustic Mandaps

Mandap decoration ideas for weddings can include getting a rustic yet polished character to the mandap. Imagine a traditional mandap with red drapes hanging with ‘kaleeras’ and pooja bells. Or an open-air mandap with four arches made of red drapes and roses with floral chandeliers hanging just above the Vedi ( Holi Fire) designed in a rustic style. This combines a certain rustic charm with sophistication thrown in reminiscent of old country nobility. 

5. Mandaps without Canopies

Wedding Decoration

Mandaps without canopies or open-air mandaps are a rage right now for outdoor weddings. These can be used both for daytime weddings or during nighttime ‘pheras’. For a daytime wedding, it gives the feeling that the sun is the witness to your nuptials and a nighttime ceremony will be a romantic one seemingly attended by the stars and the moon. Arches and the erected walls should be covered with flowers and mandap can be on a raised podium with chairs or beautiful plush rugs with bolster long pillows as sitting arrangement.

6. Floral Themed Mandaps

Flowers are considered auspicious and offered during prayers to the deities. These are also used during any auspicious ceremonies like weddings. Wedding mandap decoration can be done predominantly with flowers as per your taste. If you are inclined towards traditional, go for marigold-themed decoration, if you are romantic at heart say hello to a mandap decorated with red roses and if you have a bohemian spirit, insist on the flowers you love.

7. Simple and Elegant Mandap Designs

If you are that person who likes subtlety and hates flashy and blingy décor then go for a simplistic yet elegant mandap design. Use pastel shades of drapes and flowers for wedding mandap decoration with a few pink roses for some colour. You can also select an open-air mandap with a two-toned mandap in serene colours like yellow and white. It will suit your style and relax the senses along with looking elegant. 

8. Traditional Mandap Designs

Mandap decoration ideas with traditional themes are the most followed ones. India is a traditional country and for auspicious ceremonies, people like to follow the traditional path. It does not mean the mandap décor will be boring. Ask for traditional wooden arches decorated with pooja lamps, bells, and yellow and red flowers. For indoor nighttime ‘pheras’ along with traditional décor, add a fine net wooden canopy with arches decorated in red and orange roses and yellow marigolds.

9. Red Themed Mandaps

Red is the colour associated with love and also the preferred choice of traditional wedding finery and ensemble. Most of the time Indian brides will be decked in red ‘jodas’ or sarees for their weddings. Mandap decoration ideas involving a red theme can be a major hit with the couple and enthusiastically embraced by the attendees. An outdoor mandap surrounded by nature with arches draped in red velvet with white and red floral arrangements will look beautiful. Seating arrangements could include wooden bedsteads with decorative patterns draped with plush carpets in a distinct colour like violet and purple to differentiate it from the red mandap.

10. Regional Themed Mandaps

Mandap decor ideas based on regional themes are a popular option whether they be destination weddings in Rajasthan or a traditional south Indian wedding. A regional themed Rajasthani wedding may include a nighttime outdoor phera ceremony with the traditional lighting of pooja lamps with bright coloured lanterns and modern lighting arrangements thrown in. It can be held in the premises of an erstwhile royal haweli or fort for an aristocratic feel with the attendants in traditional robes. A traditional south Indian wedding may include wooden arches with banana stems and traditional oil lamps adding to the surroundings. The open-air canopy could be decorated with pastel and yellow-coloured flowers with pooja bells hanging from above.  

Conclusion

So, these are some of the mandap décor ideas you can implement for a wedding. Just remember that the decoration and theme should be as per your taste and choice. A wedding is a personal commitment and a joyous moment; it should be what you want it to be.

7 Important Things to Keep in Mind Before Planning a Destination Wedding

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Having a destination wedding will be a memorable experience for you and your friends & family but planning it takes careful consideration and deliberation. If you think and work out all the issues and challenges in advance you can enjoy it without fretting about any wedding-related matters later on. Planning the wedding will not even feel tedious to you but give the feeling of accomplishment and self-sufficiency. Let us look into some important things to check while planning a destination wedding.

1. “Plan Before, Enjoy Later”

The first and most important part of the destination wedding checklist is to search for a destination in advance unless you are eloping or planning to keep the wedding secret. Start looking for your dream destination and venues at least a full year before the wedding date. You can compare destinations and venues and get a killer bargain in return. Many hotels and resorts, if booked in advance, will give you a good deal. You can also get better options from local vendors and photographers this way. Look out for any travel warnings including political unrest or health issues in advance. You do not want to be stranded and helpless in a foreign locale instead of having the time of your life. Also, check out the usual local weather and climatic conditions at the time of your wedding. These should be favourable and mellow. Planning a winter wedding in Gulmarg, Kausani in India or Lake district in the UK is not feasible but a summer wedding will be fabulous.

2. Hire a Pro and Go with the Flow

The most important skill set that you are going to need for a wedding planner career is that you should be outgoing, have empathy, and good interpersonal skills. India is a vast country with many different cultures, religions, cuisines, and also with a diverse social background. For a wedding planner career, you need to have good knowledge about different cultures in India and be respectful towards the marriage customs and rituals which may or may not appear quaint to you. 

As we discussed earlier, you need to have a good imagination, a creative mindset, good aesthetic sense, and particularly in the case of India, a magnanimous sense of colour, class, and kitsch, which should be toned down and up depending upon the client’s preferences. Also, you need to be a good planner and organizer, have patience and good diplomatic skills to placate, convince, and not offend clients or workers alike.

3. Save the Date and Don’t Be Late

Planning a destination wedding checklist includes informing the guests well in advance. This will allow them time to make travel arrangements, organize their schedules and apply for passports and visas if the destination is overseas and take care of other matters too. The information should be detailed and include the number of days for the wedding ceremonies along with the location and logistics and travel arrangements if you are providing them. It will be good to include a map to the destination from the nearest airport, bus, or train station, whatever is applicable.

4. Plan the Guest List and Accommodation

While planning the guest list keep in mind the lodging arrangements as well. Choose lodgings and accommodation that are affordable, good, and comfortable with all the necessary amenities. It is important to include it whether preparing an Indian destination wedding checklist or an overseas one. 

5. Make Sure to Get Insured

Get fully prepared and armoured favourable with all the necessary insurance before the wedding. Get travel insurance, theft, and fire insurance, and most important of all, wedding insurance. Some venues have this as a requirement and it also protects and saves your financial expenses in case of any complications. It also provides a certain peace of mind. Do include it while planning a destination wedding checklist.

6. Check the Destinations’ Marriage Laws

This is generally applicable when planning a destination wedding overseas. The marriage laws there may require tiresome paperwork and different identity proofs like birth certificates, medical certificates, residency proof among others. Research about these in advance so you have the necessary documentation at the time. A better way is to go through a civil marriage and get the certificate and then have your planned destination wedding.

7. Secure Passports and other Paperwork

Do not forget to include this point while creating a destination wedding checklist. It is obvious that you need a valid passport and visas for overseas travel. Some countries may deny your visa application if your passport is expiring within 6 months of applying. Do the research and complete the necessary paperwork required in advance along with health certificates and get the required vaccinations.

Conclusion

If planned, a destination wedding will be what you imagined and wanted. For Indians, usually, a wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a perfectly planned destination wedding will be a much talked about and a beautiful, and memorable experience for you and your loved ones.

Scope of Wedding Planner Career in India

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

India is the land of festivals. People here like to gather at the slightest pretext and celebrate. Our festive occasions and the way we celebrate them are larger than life, and one of the most important occasions for a person, and even more so for his/her family, at least in India is marriage. It is a huge affair for everyone involved. This is the time of coming together of friends, family, acquaintances, strangers, and even rivals. Everyone is welcome to the grand spectacle that is a wedding in India. Weddings happen at every economic scale here. They may start from a wedding in a small town to extravagant destination weddings in India or abroad. Wedding planners cater to a significant portion of these weddings. The wedding planning market and careers associated with it are growing day by day as it is comparatively still in its initial stage and set to grow exponentially. Let us explore in detail below the scope of the wedding planner career in India.

Say Yes To Education

Many of you must have watched the hit movie “Band Baja Barat” where the protagonists were both wedding planners. The female lead always did her job better than the male lead as she was depicted as a qualified planner from a reputed wedding school. Well, movies are about imagination, but there is truth in them. A qualification from a good wedding planning institute imparts the necessary skillset and prepares you for an excellent wedding planning career.

The Arrows in Your Quiver AKA Skillsets

The most important skill set that you are going to need for a wedding planner career is that you should be outgoing, have empathy, and good interpersonal skills. India is a vast country with many different cultures, religions, cuisines, and also with a diverse social background. For a wedding planner career, you need to have good knowledge about different cultures in India and be respectful towards the marriage customs and rituals which may or may not appear quaint to you. 

As we discussed earlier, you need to have a good imagination, a creative mindset, good aesthetic sense, and particularly in the case of India, a magnanimous sense of colour, class, and kitsch, which should be toned down and up depending upon the client’s preferences. Also, you need to be a good planner and organizer, have patience and good diplomatic skills to placate, convince, and not offend clients or workers alike.

Figure Out Your Areas of Specialization

Since planning a wedding is akin to managing an event, wedding planning comes under the umbrella of event management. Wedding planning organizations hire persons with the know-how and having skill sets in one of its specific subdomains. Some of these areas include catering, bartending including mocktails, vendor and supplier management, theme designing, and wedding production among others. For a wedding planning career try to get a qualification and internship in any of these fields. There are ample opportunities for employment and growth for specialists in this field.

It’s all About Work

A wedding planner is hired to take care of a wedding event, so the client can fully enjoy the proceedings without any worry. A lot of expectations are pinned on the wedding planner. Given below are some of the job roles inherent to a wedding planner career in India.

  1. Discussing and planning the wedding and the budget with the client

  2. Organizing the wedding as the client envisioned

  3. Monitoring the expenses so the budget does not overshoot
  4. Vendor and supplier management

  5. Interacting and coordinating with other contributors and stakeholders

  6. Time Management
  7. Making necessary arrangements like wedding venues, accommodation for guests, decoration, music, entertainment, invitation cards, bridal and groom wear and other clothing, catering, and certain other associated tasks.

These are some of the challenging and interesting tasks that a wedding planner has to undertake in his daily work schedule.

Peaks to Scale and Perks to Enjoy

There are several benefits and some challenges associated with this field. Let us look into these below.

  1. Becoming an entrepreneur
  2. Becoming an excellent networker and gaining a wide world view through interaction with different clients of varied cultures

  3. Traveling to different locations like exotic beaches, heritage forts, high-end resorts in India and abroad
  4. Chances of meeting celebrities, singers, movie stars, sportspersons, etc.

These are some of the benefits associated with having a wedding planner career, but there are some challenges too as are with every sort of career. The job may be exciting with steady work throughout the year, but during the wedding season in India which falls from January to March and October to December, the workload may be very high. Also, you have to cater to every whim and fancy of the client, which may include extravagant demands difficult to fulfil. But the benefits outweigh the challenges and you will never be bored in this job.

Wedding Planner Salary

Salary for a wedding planner may differ depending upon the cities and the organizations you are working with. A new joiner can command a CTC between 2 to 3 lakhs per year which may increase to 4 and 5 lakhs within five years. And if you are associated with a big wedding planner organization the salary increases accordingly. For an enterprising wedding planner with his own business, the sky’s the limit. Organizing a high-profile wedding may net you upwards of millions in Indian currency.

Conclusion

The wedding planner career has its share of challenges and excitements. It is a rewarding career for a hardworking, creative and outgoing person who is open to new experiences and meeting new people every day. 

The Importance of Soft Skills In 2021-2022 Job Market

The Importance of Soft Skills

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Soft skills reflect your ability to work with others and develop within an organization, not just as an individual but as a team and a part of the company. In contrast, hard skills demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of a specific, measurable ability. Soft skills aid in developing relationships and resolving issues, allowing you to use your hard skills fully. With recruiters becoming smarter, soft skills are what they are looking for in 2021-2022. Before we discuss why soft skills are essential, let us understand what soft skills are, and then we can move on to why they are important.

What Are Soft Skills?

Although a universal concept of soft skills is difficult to come up with, think of them as skills that aren’t attached to a particular job; they’re general characteristics that help workers succeed in the workplace, regardless of their seniority, position, or industry. They’re also known as interpersonal skills or transferable skills.

Employees must have role-specific skills and other skills to fulfill their job duties. On the other hand, high performers typically have some additional characteristics, such as the ability to communicate clearly, function well with others, and efficiently control their time. Soft skills are talents such as these.

Importance of Soft Skills In The Workplace

AI Cannot Replace Soft Skills

While advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning have made it possible to automate a growing number of human tasks, machines still lack emotional and social skills and higher cognitive skills such as problem-solving, logical thinking, imagination, and systematic decision making. As robots and artificial intelligence (AI) replace humans in various occupations, people with skills that technology cannot replace will continue to be in demand.

Without Soft Skills, Hard Skills Are Useless

Job seekers may have all the necessary hard skills, but if they can comprehend what the employer expects from these projects, as well as the ability to communicate with the team and motivate the team members to complete these projects; everything they create or build for the stakeholders would fall short of their expectations and not get you hired.

Maintain Your Organization

Soft skills such as attention to detail, time management, and delegation decide how structured you are at work. Being coordinated will assist you in demonstrating that you are a dependable resource that can not only do their job well but also do it on time. When you combine organization with other soft skills like communication, you can help your team create confidence because they know they can count on you to help them find the information they need. Demonstrating such skills proved to be an excellent soft skill that will get you hired! 

Longevity Is Indicated

Many employers search for signs that an employee will remain at their company long-term when recruiting for a job. If an employee demonstrates the ability to advance within an organization, the employer may not have to invest additional money in finding a replacement. Employers will see you as a long-term advantage if you have soft skills like dispute resolution, loyalty, and motivation. One of the essential measures of job longevity is your attitude toward work, and employers can use longevity to choose between two similar applicants.

Showcase Your Leadership

Emphasize soft skills on your resume to show employers that you have leadership abilities. Focusing on your soft skills demonstrates that you are aware of how your habits and attitude affect others at work, which is an essential aspect of outstanding leadership. Soft skills are more complex than technical skills and can adapt to a range of personality styles and settings, which is why employers seek them out. People with good soft skills will assess what kind of leadership techniques their team requires to succeed and then incorporate different strategies for each situation.

Teamwork Is Evaluated

If you’re applying for a team role, the hiring manager will consider your application in part based on your ability to work in a group setting. Employers use soft skills to assess teamwork and communication abilities. You must be a team player to successfully use your technical skills, regardless of how good they are. List soft skills like versatility and active listening on your resume to cater to an employer’s aim of seeking a better team member.

Demonstrate Initiative

Employers recruit and support employees who show initiative and enthusiasm daily. Employers will see that you have the ambition to think about new projects or ways to fix issues if you have a good mindset and are innovative. Soft skills will also assist you in following through with your plans, allowing you to use inspiration to transform brainstorming sessions into actionable projects. 

Examples of Soft Skills

Now you must be wondering what soft skills are, aren’t you? We are listing some of the top soft skills for 2021-22 here!

Adaptability

An attitude that is open to change. Seeing every situation as an opportunity to learn, develop, and change for the better, particularly in challenging circumstances, and putting your focus on improving yourself rather than criticizing or modifying others.

Managing Emotions

Being able to control your feelings at work (e.g., resentment, annoyance, and embarrassment) so that you can think logically and critically and behave appropriately. Instead of being reactive, you choose to answer calmly and rationally.

Stress Reduction

Being able to remain fit, calm, and balanced in the face of adversity. Knowing how to manage stress will boost your productivity, help you plan for new challenges, and improve your physical and mental health.

Perceptiveness

It is a quality that an individual possesses. Developing cognitive or emotional empathy for other people’s circumstances and experiences by paying attention to others’ unspoken signals.

With technology driving today’s world, you must adapt your skills to meet the demands and needs of the moment. The secret to success is communication. Technology must be complemented by enthusiasm, sincerity, and conviction. Machines can only do so much; humans must handle the rest. Having these soft skills will help you get hired in the 2021-2022 marketplace. 

How To Practice Social Distancing At Weddings?

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Nobody could have ever predicted the current state of weddings. Social distance at a wedding? Seems impossible if it was 2019, right? Planning a wedding in the midst of a pandemic has its own set of problems, as laws and regulations are often changed and vary by location; however, one thing is sure: weddings and activities will continue to ‘look’ and ‘feel’ differently for the foreseeable future. Couples now either have to postpone their weddings or have a ‘socially distant wedding,’ and it may seem like a huge fuss, something that you do not want to indulge in, but believe us- when we say it can be done very easily!

In this article, we’ll show you how to maintain social distance at your wedding while still having the time of your life!

Provide Face Masks

One of the best ways to indicate a message of social distancing is to place a face mask either in the wedding invitation or on the tables themselves at the venue. Many guests would be carrying their masks, but why not make them available? This way, every person present at your wedding will have no excuses not to wear a mask. It is indeed a great move for a social distancing event idea.

Live Stream The Wedding

You may be unable to proceed with your wedding plans if you know that international visitors, grandparents, or other vulnerable guests would be unable to attend. On the other hand, those visitors would feel terrible if they believe they are keeping you from marrying. Consider ways you can include them.

Live streaming your wedding is a great option. Make the live stream available to all the guests who could not be a part of your wedding. If you want to go the extra mile to make the guests who could not make it feel special, you could send them wedding favors. Now, these aren’t regular wedding favors. You can send them food that would be served at your wedding to make them feel like they are at the wedding

Introduce Comfort Bands

Not everyone feels the same about the pandemic—some would want to be friendly and embrace, while others will appreciate some space around them—as a result, it’s a good idea to have a variety of coloured bands on hand that they can wear to show their comfort levels. For example, red or pink could indicate that please “Keep Your Distance”; blue or yellow could indicate “I’m fine with being around people,” and white could indicate “I’m fine with making physical contact.” You could do this with everything, like masks, badges, bands, and ribbons, and you could even make these yourself. In this way, all the wedding guests could enjoy the wedding to the fullest while being socially distant!

Keep Everything Clean And Sanitized

Ensure that surfaces are decontaminated before the wedding and that sanitizing stations are available during the wedding festivities. To spruce up places that need to be re-sterilized, have hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and cleaner-filled spray bottles on hand.

Check with your venue’s rules and regulations, and be considerate of vendors’ concerns. Hand sanitizer containers should be placed where they are easily accessible, such as on reception tables and at the counter. Couples can also make personalized labels for mini hand sanitizer bottles, which guests can use at the wedding and afterward. Sanitizing stations are a great option to make sure that the guests are regularly sanitizing.

Communicate With The Vendors

Since you are having a socially distant wedding, there would be many changes in your plans. Contact your vendors if the pandemic has forced you to change your plans. You must inform the caterer that you are reducing your guest list. Instead of making a plethora of wedding reception centrepieces, the florist should add more flowers to your background. Allow vendors to weigh in on some of the improvements you want to make, as they may have innovative ideas to redistribute your budget for the social distancing event ideas.

Talk to your vendors to let them know you’re not just going ahead with your wedding despite the risks; you want to avoid the risks as much as possible. Sharing your guidelines allows them to relax and enjoy their time with you on your special day. You may also want to subtly mention any immunocompromised visitors or who are unnecessarily fearful so that vendors can take extra precautions.

Talk To Your Wedding Guests

Times are tough, and you are going to make considerable changes to your wedding. You not only have to prepare yourself for this but also your wedding guests. Remember, communication is the key. There is some planning — both physical and emotional — that goes into getting ready for those who are attending in person. It’s possible that guests would need to buy face masks or carry an extra bottle of hand sanitizer in their pockets or bags.

They must also emotionally prepare for maintaining social distancing, like restraining themselves from hugging people they haven’t seen in years. Handshakes can be avoided in favour of elbow bumping.

Just make sure the guests aren’t surprised by something they need to do beforehand. Furthermore, being positive will help ease any concerns that certain people may have about attending an event where they may be introduced to others. Taking steps is a lovely way to demonstrate that you care for your friends and family.

Avoid The Buffet

Buffets and family-style setups are difficult to track, and the more people who come into contact with the food counter, the riskier it becomes. Instead, you can choose plated meals prepared by caterers who follow safety precautions such as wearing gloves and masks.

The same can be done for beverages, appetizers, and dessert stations. Having their food and drinks delivered to their table would make your guests feel more special. Food counters usually tend to get crowded, but if you serve your guests on the table itself, there won’t be much of a crowd and comparatively less risk!

Weddings are one of the most important days of the couples’ lives and all the couples want their close ones to witness this day. So make that happen with plenty of precautions and prevention measures and your wedding can be risk-free and fun. The above-mentioned ideas will reassure all the relatives that it is safe to attend and you can have the dream wedding you want.

How to Become a Wedding Planner?

how to become wedding planner

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Becoming a wedding planner is no easy task, which is why you need to take up professional courses. Being calm and composed is the first step towards wedding planning. 

Wedding planning isn’t simple and a far more complex process than what we see every day. No matter how simple it appears, you cannot become a wedding planner in a few days or with a bit of knowledge. In many countries, you will need to undergo a wedding planning course to become a wedding planner. A proper wedding planning course will help you understand all the essential aspects of what goes into planning a wedding. Furthermore, these wedding planning schools provide you with formal training by assigning tasks that can help you understand the small aspects of planning a wedding.

How To Become a Wedding Planner?

If you want to know how to become a wedding planner, you will need to do proper research. One of the main things to know about wedding planning is that it is one of the most challenging jobs in the event planning industry. 

If you do your job right, it is also one of the most rewarding ones. After all, who doesn’t like to be appreciated? As wedding planning experts, you will need to follow a proper wedding timeline as well. Wedding planning experts say that though it is one of the most challenging jobs, nothing is more rewarding than this. If you want to know how to become a wedding planner, you need to be aware of all the nuances involved in the process. 

Your main priority is customer satisfaction, and the key to customer satisfaction is to deliver the right work. When you do the work right, your clients will feel magical and dreamy as their wedding unfolds. And honestly, there’s no better feeling than that. 

There are certain steps that you will need to follow to ensure proper wedding planning. If you are new to the field, it is advisable to work with some companies who manage weddings. This will be your complete shot to understanding how wedding planning works. 

Here's everything you need to know about becoming a wedding planner.

  • Set the goals of wedding planning

The wedding trends and styles evolve with time. Every year there’s a new demand for a couple that goes on to become viral on the internet, thereby becoming a trend. 

The goals of wedding planning will change with time, but you will need to have clear-cut goals about the same when you begin with it. The key to becoming a wedding planner is to understand the goals of your clients. It would be best if you are patient while dealing with customers. Every customer will be different. While some may be extremely cooperative, some of them can be stingy. 

Apart from understanding the personal goals of customers, you also need to understand how you want to proceed. Do you want to organize weddings for everyone? Well, the priorities will change with time. But, when you start, you need to have a clear goal. You may come across several options, but the choice will be yours. 

  • Know the industry

The wedding planning industry is huge, and hence, you need to do proper industry research. Once you start planning, you need to work hard on implementing them.

The best way to do industry research is to analyze what you want. You may want to know how much money you’ll make, the vendor charges, and other things. Industry and market research should be your priority. Hence, it is necessary to know the wedding planning industry. You can always take inspiration from prominent wedding planners. 

It is advisable to know your competitors better. You should consider checking your local wedding planners, following the type of clients they choose, how much they charge, and all other aspects. This can be of great help for beginners.

  • Business plan for a wedding planner 

No matter whatever business you have, it is always advisable to have a plan. Preparing a business plan is never easy, especially when preparing one for a wedding planning business. You can download different business planning templates from the internet. You can use the templates for creating a business plan. Here are some of the details that you will need to include in your business plan

Executive Summary

You need to write down what you want to achieve in each wedding and your path towards it. Furthermore, you need to map your vision, as well. 

Company Summary

Do you plan weddings individually? Do you have a team to manage weddings? Well, irrespective of everything, you need to focus on preparing a proper company summary that can help you in the long run.

Offerings

whenever creating a business plan, never forget to mention what services and products you offer. Wedding planning, as stated earlier, isn’t a small sector. It would be best if you focused on mentioning every detail properly. Establishing your way into the business is exceptionally crucial for you. 

Should you do a professional course?

As mentioned earlier, there are professional courses for wedding planning. If you want to become a successful wedding planner, you should consider joining the course. 

The course is perfectly designed for beginners who want to step into the market but have no knowledge. Professional courses can play an essential role in helping you understand the ins and outs of the industry. Most of these wedding planning institutions offer online as well as offline training. Nonetheless, it would be best if you met the eligibility criteria. 

You are free to choose the duration of the course. You can either opt for an 8-9 week-long course or opt for a yearly course. The course can turn your dreams into reality. These are usually undergraduate courses that you can take up to suit your needs. 

The Wedding School is one of the many prominent wedding schools in India that can provide you comprehensive training on the wedding. Here you will learn the best knowledge of wedding planning. The enrollment procedure is going on and only 15 students get the chance to be a part of the diploma program.

Have a marketing plan to promote your Wedding Company

How do you market your wedding planning business? Whether you want to start an agency or your business, it is essential to have a proper plan for your wedding business. 

Most couples are looking up online to find the perfect planner for them. So, it would be best if you had a strong marketing strategy. You can use social media for marketing yourselves. If you’re active on social media platforms, you can grow your online business. Make sure you are regular in posting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. 

If you continuously blog about your business, you will be able to leverage your business revenue. Blogging is one of the best ways to get recognized and grow the market. It is advisable to follow successful wedding blogs and videos. YouTube can be an excellent source of inspiration, and so is Instagram. Before you start your business, you need to follow the ethics that can help you gain recognition.

Develop relationships to become the best wedding planner

It is necessary to leverage your business by developing relationships in the industry. It would be best if you worked with couples, venues, vendors, and planners. Thus, you need to understand the importance of networking. 

The more you network, the better it will be for you to start a business. The kind of relationship you build will play an essential role in developing your business. You are not going to make connections overnight. Thus, you must be patient while making connections. Make sure that you reach out and consult the clients. 

Takeaway

If you know how to become a wedding planner, you will establish yourself in the market. Even when you become a wedding planner, you should never stop learning. You must stay focused and keep learning to grow with time. 

7 Skills Needed To Become a Wedding Planner

skills needed to become wedding planner

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Becoming a wedding planner is a challenging task that takes a lot of creativity and responsibility and crisis-manage. It’s your business, and you need to understand every aspect of it to become a wedding planner. You will need to work accordingly and maintain profits too. In this article, we will learn about a few essential skills that you will require to become a successful wedding planner. 

Is this possible?

What Skills To Have?

If you want to become a wedding planner, you will need to know all the complications involved. One of the main reasons people work with wedding planners is because they know the wedding’s in and outs. 

The right people and the right etiquette can have a considerable impact. As a professional wedding consultant, you will need to have the experience, detail-orientation, and every detail needed to make someone’s big day- a grand one. 

As stated above, becoming a wedding planner is not everyone’s game. Wedding planning is a stressful job, and until and unless you’re ready to take up the pain, you shouldn’t do it. Many things are involved in wedding planning, and only the experts can help you out with it. 

Here are some of the skills that you should have to become a wedding planner

Maintain your calm to keep them calm

Become wedding planner

The first and foremost quality to become a wedding planner is to be calm. Planning a wedding will throw you a lot of adversities and complaints. Honestly, no matter how good you are at your job, there are high chances of leaving behind small mistakes. 

These small mistakes can make you a victim of scoldings and naggings from the clients. You will be the main person for the bride and groom since you’re making their big day. You will need to handle everything.

You are the person who manages miscommunications and vendor mismanagement. Hence, it would help if you were extremely careful and calm. You should be the one to manage every mishap in the wedding. As a wedding planner, you should be able to handle all these problems and have a plan B ready with you. You never know when an emergency arrives in conditions like this. 

Negotiate but don’t make it too prominent

The bride and groom are going to have a lot of demands on their wedding day. Becoming or starting your wedding planning business can be too confusing. If you’re going to start your wedding management business, you need to be exceptionally good with words. Hence, it would help if you were an excellent negotiator. 

You are the one who needs to hire photographers, caterers and even find venues for the wedding. If you’re a great negotiator, you can get all these done at a pretty affordable rate. Moreover, getting the lowest rate becomes extremely easy if you have a good reputation in the market. 

Wedding vendors must establish themselves in the market and make their business a brand. If you have good connections, you will get better deals and eventually pass them on to your customers. This ensures better customer satisfaction. Hence, you will be able to scale your business accordingly. 

Lure the clients into choosing you over others

You are the representative of your client and the face of your business. Hence, you need to be charming and attract everyone. As a wedding planner, you need to have great communication and socializing skills. 

How your network with the people around you has a huge impact on your business. As a business owner, you need to have a good working relationship with those around you. You need to know the venues and vendors. Well, also know that not everyone you meet along the way will be useful to you. Thus, make sure to prepare yourself accordingly to meet the client’s desires and expectations. 

Be the finance manager

You need to have impeccable money management skills. Becoming a wedding planner will require you to manage all the expenses while sticking to a proper budget. It would help if you were responsible too. 

The client is going to hand over their entire money to you for managing the wedding. Hence, you should be ready to do it. Also, you need to have prior experience with money management. Make sure that you consider your previous expense of managing your household finances. These small details can play an important role in managing the entire schedule and being good with money management. 

Organization- The key to organizing a successful and grand wedding

You need to organize every little thing about the wedding since you are a planner. As a wedding planner, you will need to manage food, theme, venues, attire, photography, and so much more. 

Not only do you need to track what is done, but you will also need to track the contract dates and deadlines. If you pay proper attention to the management of the wedding, you’d be able to manage everything. Well, your calendar is your best friend so, pay attention to details accordingly.

Know how the wedding planning industry works

As a wedding planner, you need to have a great fashion sense, good taste in music, and knowledge of color, flowers, and themes. You will need to manage every little thing. 

As a result, you need to keep up with the changing wedding trends too. The wedding etiquette is to be followed as well. Many wedding planners also learn about the different religious ceremonies involved in the wedding to accommodate the couple. Moreover, small gestures like these are to be appreciated by the clients as well. 

You need to keep up with the sense of humour for the best

become wedding planner

Why is a sense of humour important for a wedding planner?- This question must have struck you once. 

Being the wedding planner, you need to have a good sense of humour, and we’ll tell you why. Emotional brides and absent vendors are some of the common issues you will have to face. Well, you will need to manage every intricate detail about the wedding. You will have a tough time managing a wedding if you aren’t prepared for unpredictable situations like these. 

While you need to understand the point of view, you also need to keep everything in perspective. Honestly, if you have a good sense of humour, you will be able to manage a lot of things pretty easily.

Wedding Planning Trends

If you want to become a wedding planner, you need to keep up with changing trends and creativity. Every client has different requirements, and hence, you will need to prepare the wedding accordingly.

Weddings are very much different from corporate events and even more stressful. While you may take inspiration from the internet, it is also advisable to bring your creativity on board to impress your clients. As a wedding planner, you will need to take care of visual aesthetics, lighting, and so much more. You might as well get the opportunity to work with experts and professionals. Make sure to browse the internet thoroughly so that you can get the best for your clients.

Takeaway

Planning a wedding requires you to give in your everything. You are responsible for shaping someone’s big day, and hence, you will need to work accordingly. It is your opportunity to make someone’s dream turn into reality. Hence, make sure to have all the required skills and craft your own creativity for someone’s good.

What Are The Unique Career Options for Boys in India?

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

If you are a boy and wondering if there’s a career that matches your aspirations and interests? If you wish to pursue some professional courses after 12th here is a list of some profitable job-oriented courses best suited for boys that can be pursued after 12th. It would help you to look out for the best career options in the future. Don’t go with the crowd and choose the future that is right and only for you. Your life after the 12th grade shapes your career so make sure it is in your interest

Unique career options after 12th commerce

  1. Fashion designer

Fashion designing refers to creating and designing clothing. If you are someone who has a knack for both creativity and clothing, this is one of the best professional courses after the 12th that you can take up. Fashion designers create designs for accessories and clothes depending on the industry demand. They work with clothing brands and help them in developing new designs.

2. Digital marketer

If you wish to work with online businesses and are interested in doing so, you can become a digital marketer. As a digital marketer, you would be responsible for helping the clients to establish a booming online presence. You need to create content, run paid ad campaigns, analyze its results, manage the social media platforms, and make sure that your client’s online presence keeps growing. However, you must be familiar with digital marketing concepts such as SEO, SEM, SMM, content marketing, etc. for becoming a digital marketer.

3. Caterer

If you love cooking or are passionate about it and wish to start your own business, you can consider entering the catering industry. Caterers provide food on special occasions such as weddings, parties, etc. You must make your recipes and promote your business. You’d meet a lot many new people during this journey and cook a lot of delicious food. Catering is one of the most interesting career options after 12th commerce that you can take up.

4. Wedding planner

Weddings are one of the most important days in a person’s life. To make sure that wedding events go outstanding, people tend to hire wedding planners. As a wedding planner, you would organize the events, set up all the ceremonies, arrange for spaces, meet vendors, and handle all the important tasks of the wedding. If you have a stronghold over organizing and communication, you can check out this course.

5. Event planner

Event planners need to plan and organize events for their clients, for example, corporate events, parties, etc. They work with vendors, manage the budget, hire entertainers and manage the entire event. As an event manager, you are your boss and can also work on a freelance basis. It is undoubtedly one of the most fun and unique career options that you can look out for and check out an event planner course online to get started.

6. Staff photographer

As a staff photographer, you would work with blogs, newspapers, or magazines. You would click pictures of places, people, events, and objects for their publication. The types of photos that you take depend on the types of publications that you would work for. You should also be familiar with picture editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.

7. Personal trainer

If you are passionate about fitness, you can consider becoming a personal trainer. You would need to create workout plans, diet plans and direct your clients when they are working out. You would aim to help your clients reach their fitness goals. You can work independently or in gyms. However, you would require a physical training certificate if you wish to pursue a lucrative role as a personal trainer.

8. Booking agent

If you wish to work in the entertainment sector with artists and actors, you can become a booking agent and help artists and actors find new gigs and work. You would also be responsible for negotiating the contracts on your client’s behalf and would need strong interpersonal skills in the field.

9. Tour guide

As a tour guide, you would be responsible to help tourists explore a particular location. You must have an in-depth knowledge of the location facts and history since they are responsible for making the tourists familiar with the place. It is one of the most interesting professional courses after 12th commerce.

10. Stylist

If you wish to have a creative and fun career, you can consider becoming a stylist. You can help people to get their desired and attractive haircuts and adapt to cutting and styling hair. You can either work in hair salons or have one of your own and must be familiar with different hair care products and their applications.

11. Florist

Florists help in arranging both real as well as artificial flowers for their clients. They water the plants, take good care of them, cut and clean them and organize their storage. This career option is the best for you if you are keen on plants and gardening and possess gardening skills and creativity.

12. Farmer

India is known as an agricultural country which makes it one of the best places to become a farmer. You would need agricultural land and the needed knowledge for farming as well as irrigation if you wish to pursue a career in this field. Being a farmer would need a lot of hard work but it is extremely lucrative if you put in the right efforts.

13. Actor

Acting is one of the best career choices if you wish to pursue a career in the entertainment sector. As an actor, you would have to play a role in films, television, or even stage shows. You must have strong acting skills like expressing emotions, memorization, understanding the drama, etc. It would need a lot of patience and hard work but it is one of the best career options after 12th commerce.

14. Video game designer

As a videogame designer, you would need to handle creating and designing the animation, characters, art, and levels of a video game. You would also be responsible for the visuals of the game. You would need to work along with teams and other professionals like video game developers, content writers, etc. for the same reason you would need to have good communications skills as well as strong artistic skills.

The list of professional courses after 12th commerce is long and exhaustive. However, it provides you with unique career options that you can look out for in India. Hence, next time if you are wondering about a career choice that would match your interests, make sure to look it up in this list. There are high chances that you would find one!

Five Helpful Stress Management Tips for Wedding Planners

stress management for wedding planners

Want to build your career as a wedding planner 

Planning a wedding is no easy task. It is extremely necessary to consider every aspect thoroughly. Not only will you have to take care of the guests, but also analyze other parts of the event. 

Preparing for a wedding is like preparing for a marathon. For event planners, planning every event can be a tough task. Hence, they should be aware of stress management tips. Honestly, there’s no greater stress than wedding stress. You need to consider every small detail because a tiny mistake will ruin the entire thing. 

Wedding stress management is extremely crucial and needs to be managed properly. A lot of people say that these event planners get overworked and become prone to exhaustion and get panic attacks. This can, however, have a negative impact on their entire lifestyle. Planning a wedding is time-consuming and very stressful. Honestly, this is like a monumental challenge that you will have to face.

How to Handle Wedding Stress?

When you’re planning a wedding, you will need to juggle around different places. This will not only consume time but also cause you difficulty. If you’re planning a wedding for the first time, you surely wouldn’t want anything to go wrong. This is because your entire reputation is at stake. 

Even the most chill wedding planner can get nerve-wracking attacks due to such stress. Well, a wedding is one of the most beautiful parts of life, and as a wedding planner, you should make it happen beautifully & memorable.

You cannot move ahead or be successful if you can’t manage stress. It is necessary to be careful with every aspect and contribute to them carefully. If you’re prone to wedding stress, here’s everything you can do to manage it.

1. Create a Solid To-Do List

stress management for wedding planners

The first thing you need to do to avoid wedding stress is to create a to-do list. One of the main reasons why so many wedding planners are prone to stress is because they don’t know what to do. Before any game, you need to have a plan to avoid last-minute anxiety, stress, and procrastination. 

An exact to-do list can play an important role in building up essentials. It is better if you get a clear idea of everything you’re to do. Moreover, mark the priority tasks as well. Move as your list is planned and go plan by plan. Once you find that everything has been laid down perfectly, you can proceed accordingly.

If everything is available in writing, you won’t forget a thing. Also, you might prefer to create a digital task list to bring down the wedding stress. It is advisable to set automated reminders. Make sure you come off as a confident person in front of your client.

2. Follow a Timeline

stress managent for wedding planners

Procrastination is a big No-No for wedding plans. We understand that you might be prone to it, but it is advisable to avoid it. 

If you think that you will leave your task for the end of the wedding it won’t be complete, then you should plan up accordingly! Instead, you will end up feeling anxious and stressed. If you’re in the final few weeks of the wedding, you should consider building up the planning accordingly. 

It is better to create a proper timeline and follow it. You should get everything ready before the big day arrives. This ensures that you can kickstart your wedding effectively without having to worry about everything. It is advisable to have a clear view of weddings and create a plan accordingly. 

3. Keep Everything Segregated

stress management for wedding planners

Procrastination is a big No-No for wedding plans. We understand that you might be prone to it, but it is advisable to avoid it. 

If you think that you will leave your task for the end of the wedding it won’t be complete, then you should plan up accordingly! Instead, you will end up feeling anxious and stressed. If you’re in the final few weeks of the wedding, you should consider building up the planning accordingly. 

It is better to create a proper timeline and follow it. You should get everything ready before the big day arrives. This ensures that you can kickstart your wedding effectively without having to worry about everything. It is advisable to have a clear view of weddings and create a plan accordingly. 

4. Set Boundaries

stress management for wedding planners

Although you’ve taken up the project doesn’t mean that you need to overwork yourself. In your career as a wedding planner, many will come up with their suggestions, and it is your job to prioritize the important ones.

You are a wedding planner, and the only orders you should ever take from are your clients. Make sure you set boundaries. Listen to them but do not take unnecessary orders. One of the main reasons wedding planners are prone to so much stress is that they agree to everything the client has to say, even when it is insignificant.

5. Take Breaks

Taking a break and setting boundaries for yourself is one of the most important stress-handling skills. Not everyone can do wedding stress management, not even couples. We understand that your reputation is at stake, but you need to take care of your health as well. 

You can create a drive for all your clients separately so that you can find the perfect client. It is advisable to choose the dates and set them accordingly for all your clients.

How Do You Know That You're Dealing With Wedding Planning Stress?

As a wedding planner, you may be undergoing a lot of stress. Hence, in situations like these, it is essential to know the aspects clearly. The first thing you need to do as a wedding planner is to understand the entire process’s stress. 

All these can be easily done as long as you have a proper to-do list. You can be prone to a lot of mental and physical stress if you don’t understand its complexities. 

Some of the signs that are an indication that you’re dealing with wedding planning stress include the following

  • Feeling exhausted and drained.
  • Feeling anxious and worried all the time that you may miss out on something. 
  • Procrastinating on the main date or event
  • Feeling pressure that you may lose something or the vendor may not arrive.

If you’re planning a wedding for the first time, it is very natural to feel this way. Even after gaining experience, many wedding planners feel this way. But, it would help if you were extremely careful. These are the small stresses that grow on to become big. Moreover, even when nothing is going wrong, your anxiety may pave the way for one.

Takeaway

Thanks to experts, there are several wedding stress management tips that you can follow. It is advisable to keep it cool rather than going onboard. Furthermore, it would help if you kept every aspect going through. 

Weddings, as said, can be an exciting event. There is no completely stress-free wedding. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you need to take a break. Have some space while planning for someone’s big day. You can always get back to the wedding with a fresh mind. 

As event planners, you will come across a lot of stress. You need to be dedicated and follow every tip properly. 

 

The Dynamic Way of Learning with TWS in 2021

Wedding Planning

Want to build your career as a wedding planner

Welcome to the world of wedding planning!

We at The Wedding School have a simple objective. We decided to provide our budding wedding planners with a customized, concise, and real-world relevant curriculum. And this curriculum would be taught only by our industry stalwarts who can provide students with real-life insights. And also you will be studying under our Co-Founder and CEO Mareesha Parikh, who has been an integral part of the Events and Entertainment industry for over two decades.

In 2020, COVID-19 struck and a strict lockdown was imposed. The whole world went online and so did we. Nothing can stop the zest in learning new things, not even the pandemic. You can now learn wedding planning and management from any corner of the world. We took our very first batch of live online course and had students joining us from all over India and a few students from abroad which made our classrooms more diverse.

We are focused on quality learning and we help individuals get professional training relevant to the industry. We made sure our online sessions had an offline touch by holding live interactive sessions.

During the course, our students worked on incredible assignments and projects which helped them understand the subject more deeply. Learning under the guidance of industry experts is a whole different experience in itself. Our #TWSTribe studied the nuances of the wedding industry and gained knowledge from them. On successful completion of the course, our students received a certification in wedding planning which upskilled them to make their entry into the industry.

After the completion of the course, we received praise from our students. Students said “COVID – 19 has given them an opportunity to join TWS with live online classes. Amazing faculties, friendly nature, and homely feeling – everything under one roof of TWS.” 

Our students had no complaints. They said “Professional folks impart knowledge about every aspect of the wedding industry by bringing stalwarts of weddings to give you sessions on various subjects. Good learning overall.”

With all the overwhelming feedback and positive responses, acknowledging that our students had a wonderful experience learning online. Our next aim was to make our course available beyond Mumbai, beyond our classrooms, across the world. So after the huge success of Live online course 2020, we decided to continue with Our Live Online Course.

TWS is back with the Live Online wedding planning and management course.

If wedding planning is your dream job, why wait any longer to make that first move?  Worldwide, the demand for talented wedding planners is growing. It’s simply a case of priming yourself with the skills, knowledge, and industry insights you’ll need to make things happen.

Worried about career opportunities?

We at TWS help you get the internship where you will be working with industry professionals and will be learning things practically.

As a wedding planner, your opportunities vary from being a wedding coordinator to a bridal consultant, and maybe one day you can be your boss by running your own business.

Our course starts on 21st May 2021 

Click here to get more details about our live online course.

As we all know “Learning is a never-ending process”

If you really want to become a master planner in the industry, you can upgrade to our Hybrid Course. That is a diploma course in wedding planning and management. In this course, we will be taking live online + offline sessions for a better learning experience. 

In this hybrid course, not only we provide you with all the great learning but also job placement assistance and On Ground Wedding Event \-Opportunities with companies close to your city. 

Our hybrid course starts on 10th July 2021. Be a part of the #TWSTribe and choose the career of your dreams.


Click here to get more details about the Hybrid Course.