Career in Wedding Planning

Event Management to Wedding Planning : A Sneak Peek into the Multi-billion Industry

by
Wedding Stage Decoration

Want to build your career as a wedding planner 

Click here
One of the fastest growing industries in India is the Wedding Industry! One can’t help but notice the remarkable growth that Indian wedding planning industry has shown especially over the last few years. Though, the old-fashioned wedding still exists but now, weddings have been managed more efficiently these days, that involves various professional decoration managers, designers, photo-shoots, catering, and destinations. Tying the (Expensive) Knot is more of a trend now for various reasons. The current average middle-class wedding budget is around ten lakhs, though average wedding spending in metropolitan cities soars higher. That’s where the wedding planners are of necessity. For many, the budget is no longer the issue as most of the iconic Indian wedding opportunities for wedding planners aren’t just about “something old”. There’s always “something new” waiting to be explored around the corner. Today, majority of Indians getting married are millennials, who aren’t very comfortable with Grandma’s age-old ideas for their weddings but are more than happy to embrace new ideas and pave way for the sensational wedding with all the “dhoom dhadaka”. Previously, wedding planning was very much a part of event planning. The event planners were the jack of all trades managing events like birthday parties, corporate events, concerts, etc. and could even lead planning a wedding as they all seem to have so much in common i.e. venues, guest, food, hotel booking, etc. But now weddings requirements are more detailed and client specific taste, style and theme. In a broader sense, the wedding planners are also categorized as Event Planners, but technically wedding planners have expertise and knowledge when it comes to specific details of a wedding. Today, it is elementary to pursue individual career in wedding planning. The wedding industry is built on the backs of various segmented small, local entrepreneurs. “The Indian culture lends itself to be inclusive and supportive in many ways.” Word of mouth and referrals are the augmented tools to grow their businesses. It is imperative for wedding planners to understand the trends of wedding. The growing fraternity of wedding planners are stealing the thunder from old and trusted marriage markets, vigorously expanding right from the florist to the caterer, from tourism to entertainment, from beauty salons to fashion designers, everyone is basking in the glory to become the part of the wedding industry. Even online matrimonial portals like shaadi.com are racking up huge revenues, and this website is somewhat confident that the wedding industry is trending. According to Indian industry experts, the wedding industry revenue pegged at $40 billion last year, with an average 10 million weddings taking place annually in various parts of the country. The market is exponentially trending at the rate of 25% yearly. The estimated cost of a wedding in India starts from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 5 crores, which includes both traditional as well as destination weddings.  Experts states that with the increasing income in India, the wedding market in the country is expected to double in the next 15 years. The fact and figures points towards one thing: that Indian weddings industry is bound to prosper. Various Indian startups platforms are growing exponentially such as WedMeGood, ShaadiSaga, and BollywoodShaadis, offering end-to-end wedding services. The shifting of core event planning to individual wedding planning is increasing as clients seek perfection in every moment on their wedding day. The wedding organizing platforms are also rising as there is an increase in the scope of plush affairs.  For instance, last September, Gurgaon-based WedMeGood raised Rs 2.7 crore in its seed funding round led by Hemant Kanakia and Alok Mittal of Indian Angel Network (IAN). This shows the increasing market value of the elegant affair called “Weddings”. The subsequent paradigm shift from event management to wedding planning is enormous and for this cause, there is much more to planning a wedding. The living genies, called as wedding planners, specialize in planning everything from tip to toe, from possessing the little black book filled with credible professionals to managing the wedding party and various family member roles they slid into all the parts. Be it the Wedding Planner or the couple-to-be-married, the future in this industry looks to be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders and clients. Not ignoring the growing number of the elite and the higher income sections of the society, continue to spurge into bigger, glitterier and glamourous Indian weddings. Yes, so true, the wedding planning industry is undoubtedly continuing to glow the brightest, with all the lights and sounds to the tunes of this amazing era of wedding.

The Indian Wedding Industry Is Booming And We See A Steep Increase In “I Do” To Wedding Planners

by

Want to build your career as a wedding planner 

Click here
Weddings were once a family affair. It used to be a celebration between two families and close-knit relatives. But not anymore. The rising standard of living and the growing affluence of people have not left “Weddings’ untouched with its extravagant traits. The Indian Wedding Industry is now a US 40-billion-dollar industry with tremendous growth opportunities for all involved within this industry. There has been little, or no awareness about wedding planning till the last decade. Let us first understand what has brought this significant shift in the way weddings were conducted. The main reason is the rise in income, changing lifestyles and attitudes of the people. A marriage is a once in a lifetime event. Couples and families do not mind splurging money on the marriage. It is estimated that the money spent on weddings has doubled as compared to what it was about ten years ago. Wedding planners take away the bulk of responsibilities and go around managing everything during the wedding – Searching the best venue or destination venue, handling various vendor coordination, recommend the wedding outfit from the best designers to upkeep stylist, every minute detail to the flowers to be used under set budget. The shift of traditional wedding planning to professional wedding planners is for the better as now things are done more professionally and in a much more organized way. Why do you think the big shots spend substantial sums on the wedding? For instance, Karnataka’s former minister, Mr. G. Janardhan Reddy, paid an exorbitant amount of Rs 500 crore for his daughter’s marriage ceremony. The wedding was an extravagant affair – larger than life event. Wedding planners did the entire planning and execution – right from Helium balloons adorned with the faces of the Reddy clan, the arrangement of Dancers from Brazil and over 3,000 bouncers and security guards were hired to ensure smooth movement of activities.           The low-scale and straightforward weddings have given way to dominant themes and destination weddings. Couples are far more aware and know exactly what they what and how they want it. Many young people who wish to have a lavish wedding don’t need to depend on their parents and have saved enough to have a marriage of their dreams. And it is not that this change has affected only the wealthy and high society people. This shift has been evident when it comes to middle and upper-middle-class families as well. Today when there is so much exposure, the young boys and girls start having ideas about their wedding theme. Celebrity weddings are also a significant influence and more and more youngsters wish to replicate that in their lives. Weddings and receptions of the likes of Anushka and Virat in Tuscany, Italy is very similar to the fairy tale where you can’t stop yourself to fall in love with destination and couple outfits throughout the wedding. More and more people now believe that if you have the right wedding planner by your side, you can have a smooth way of executing the entire plan. That in turns gives you the opportunity to spend that time with your friends and family. Rather than making plans, you can create memories for a lifetime. Once the wedding planner takes charge, you can leave all there worries and tensions to them. The individual needs to be clear about what he/she wants and how they want it, and a good wedding planner will be able to deliver just that. Many a times family members plan everything that is to happen at the wedding, but putting it all into action is not that easy. A seasoned wedding planner would be able to make a complete plan for you depending on your requirement and budget. He is an expert at handling all wedding complexities and can offer you the best advice on the trickiest of situations. This steady change in the attitude of people and acceptance of Wedding Planners in the society has been instrumental in causing a humungous growth of the wedding planning industry. This, in turn, has also affected numerous other sectors. A lot of people and companies are venturing into the Wedding industry as the prospects seem very bright and inviting. There are various subparts of organising weddings which together combine into one big-fat-Indian-wedding. With so much money invested in the wedding, the level and grandeur of a marriage has also grown tremendously. This trend is bound to grow in coming years and the Wedding Planning industry is on a growth trajectory giving fantastic opportunities for all folks who are joining this industry at this stage.

Are You Considering A Career As A Wedding Planner? Here Is What You Need To Know

by
wedding planner

Want to build your career as a wedding planner 

Click here

A wedding is one of the happiest and most important occasions in a person’s life, and a Wedding Planner, therefore, plays an all the more critical role in the lives of the soon-to-be-married-couples and their families. The Wedding Industry in India is growing steadily at 25-30% year-on-year offering multiple career opportunities. The job of a wedding planner is both exciting and challenging. If you are considering a career as a Wedding Planner, you might be drowned in the mirage of questions, which needs to be answered.

Do You Have It In You?

Weddings can be a nerve-wracking experience, both for the couple as well as their family. As a wedding planner, you need to be sensitive to their needs and requirements. The following skills are a must if you wish to be a successful one:

1. Excellent Organizational Skills:

You do not appreciate spontaneity and like to make sure that everything is organised and planned accordingly. You might be extremely organised and like to be the leader in your friend group for guaranteeing that everybody knows when your trip is, what time you’ll be getting together, and precisely where. You’re efficient and some may feel like you take things excessively far while organizing occasions. Be that as it may, this sort of quality is ideal for wedding planning. If you love planning and organizing events and like to know that you are on top of everything, wedding planning might be the ideal career for you.

2. Good Communication Skills:

All the experience and all the training won’t fill in for being a good people person or having good communication skills. While a portion of that comes naturally, it’s additionally an ability that can be developed and cultivated through experience. When working as a wedding planner, you’ll be seeing customers through getting ready for perhaps the greatest days of their lives—and they’re going to rely on you to have all the appropriate responses. They likewise may be coping with a great deal of pressure and stress, particularly as the day of the wedding comes nearer, and you should have the ability to deal with even the most difficult clients with elegance and grace. Also, a major part of the job is working with sellers, which requires haggling with a variety of individual businesses, from venues to DJs, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

3. Outstanding and creative problem-solving Skills:

 No matter what you do, how good your organizational skills are, or how well you plan problems are going to arise and things are going to go wrong. It is Murphy’s Law after all. But if you have good problem-solving skills then you can get ahead of the problems and come up with good and effective solutions. For this, you will need to have critical thinking (out of the box thinking) skills and creativity. This way you will be able to solve every problem and deliver the best and most dreamy wedding to the couple.

4. Ability to create and then manage a budget: 

Regardless of whether you’re in a shop with set prices, you’re probably going to be that person still attempting to squeeze a deal out of the sales rep. Regardless of whether it is asking for 10 extra plates from the caterer, getting the DJ to lower his fee, or getting the pricier venue at a cheaper price being a wedding planner requires a lot of negotiating. If you love negotiating and are very good at it, you may find that being a wedding planner is an extraordinary fit for your talents. You’ll have the option to negotiate with clients and vendors for all of the best costs to stay competitive and remain inside the budget.

5. An eye for Detail:

With all the things that wedding planners have to accomplish to deliver a successful wedding, small things might slip to the crack. On the final wedding day forgetting these things like maybe getting the bride an extra pair of clothes or forgetting to check if the venue has an elevator for the old people might prove to be disastrous. That is why a successful wedding planner should have a keen eye for detail.

6. Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines:

Regardless of how well you plan a wedding, things will occur now, and again that can truly make things difficult. For example, an awful storm could come tearing through upon the day of the wedding and you’ll have to play the hero. A caterer won’t appear one day and you’ll have to make sense of how to keep a Big Fat Indian Wedding well-fed and happy, and find a wedding caterer on a strict budget at the last minute! Through the entirety of this, you’ll have to remain positive and calm or it will further hinder the couple’s special day. This is why you will need to develop the ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines all the while having a huge smile on your face.

Do I need a Degree to Become a Wedding-Planner?

You don’t have to attend full-time college to become a Wedding Planner, and anyone can be one. But then, with weddings becoming more and more lavish and commercial, it is always better to be thoroughly skilled in your profession. So a formal training and getting a Diploma Certification becomes extremely important.

Many institutes offer an Event Management Diploma Course. But TWS (The Wedding School), a Mumbai based premier wedding institute offers a Specialized Diploma Course in Wedding Planning & Management over a span of 6 to 8 months. Their courses go beyond typical classroom sessions and have intensive on-field training and internship programs (domestic as well as international) where the student gets to closely work with expert Wedding Planners.

What Does a Wedding Planner do?

A wedding planner does everything. He is a Jack-of-all-Trades. Anyone, who has seen a wedding at home, knows about the stress that is involved in planning it. The Wedding Planner takes care of all the details, be it big or small. Liasoning with different vendors to plan out the venue, invite, travel, décor, menu, and much more. It is the duty and the responsibility of a wedding planner to be calm and composed even in the most pressured situations. Though sometimes, a wedding planner is compared to an Event Manager, it is not like that. A wedding planner has to deal with the highs and lows of the couples as well as the family emotions. He/she has to ace the hospitality experience for the guests, be well aware of the new fashion and beauty trends for the brides as well as the groom, the list is infinite.

What will I be an Employee or an Entrepreneur of this industry?

If you have the resources that will be enough to back you up, you may start up as an entrepreneur yourself. But being ‘in the business’ is not for everyone, so weigh all the pros and cons before you make a decision. But one thing you need for both is field-experience.  The guidance provided by The Wedding School prepares the students by giving ground experience under the guidance of the best in the business. The student is ready to face any challenging and pressure situations calmly.

What are the Prospects of Becoming A Wedding Planner?

With about 10-12 million weddings every year the Indian wedding industry has become a USD 50 billion industry. Also, if the market trends are to be believed, the profession is likely to see a multifold employment increase as more and more people opt for professional Wedding Planners and Destination Weddings. Needless to say, the prospects for those who hold a certification in the field, are expected to be way higher. The Wedding School understands the prospects and prepares you appropriately and aptly for this rising career opportunity.

How Do I Get Started?

When you’re qualified and prepared to start your career, you can begin working on expanding your customer base and getting your name out into the world. Begin with setting up an office and perfecting your online presence. It could be as straightforward as decking out a home office and sorting out social media accounts and a website.  Working on your marketing to construct your empire will assist with increasing new customers – and don’t forget about tools like flyers and business cards to help spread the news. When you’ve begun working with couples on their wedding plans – and provided you’ve done an amazing job – word of mouth will start taking effect and you’ll hear from new customers needing your assistance.

These are the basic things you need to know if you are considering a career in wedding planning. Being a wedding planner can be very rewarding and comes with great perks like touring gorgeous venues and hotels, sampling delicious food, and turning your creativity into a very successful business. If you consider yourself as an individual who desires to give the others a perfect celebration of their love and togetherness, then becoming a Wedding Planner is probably the best career for you.

Seven Reasons Why Wedding Planning Is A Great Career Choice After Graduation

by
wedding planning career
Want to build your career as a wedding planner CTA
Click here

Wedding Planning is increasingly becoming a popular professional career choice. Wedding planning is an exceptional profession. The work revolves around guaranteeing two individuals have the most joyful day of their lives, stick to their budget, and adhere to a schedule. And the reason seems to be simple, people will always get married; so, you might not really run out of employment opportunities! We think Anushka Sharma’s Shruti said it best in Band Baaja Baaraat- Recession ho ya inflation, shaadiyaan toh hoti rahegi na! Though people of all ages seem to be venturing into this profession, it is attracting the graduates in huge numbers.

Planning weddings can be an extremely rewarding profession. You will never encounter a downturn in job opportunities, individuals get constantly wedded, and weddings are quite often fun. There are some key things a traditional wedding needs to have, however, there are numerous different angles, tangible and intangible, that make a wedding both successful and fun.

If you are still on the fence about becoming a wedding planner then here are seven reasons why wedding planning is a great career choice after graduation.

1. You Show Your Creativity All The Time.

If you are a creative person, there is a huge scope for you in the Wedding Industry. Whether it’s a traditional or a contemporary wedding, if you can foresee and create original designs as per your client’s needs, this is a great profession for you. The Themes, Guest Experience, Venues, Artists, and Food, you can do it differently every time.

2. You Make Memories

Don’t we all love Weddings? The wedding day is indeed the most important and one of the happiest days in one’s life. If you become a wedding planner, your whole profession will be founded on creating these happy moments. This implies that each day will be a happy day. Love and bliss are infectious and by investing your energy in being surrounded by them, you may simply wind up turning into a more joyful, and happier person. To finish it off, it’s amazingly rewarding to see an arrangement come into action and witness the joy you have created. A successful wedding is not only momentous for the couple but for the entire family. It is such a special occasion where all the loved ones come and have fun at the various ceremonies that are held before, during, and even after a wedding.

3. You Live A Glamorous Life

Expensive photo shoots, destination weddings, late-night parties, meeting deadlines are all the parts and parcel of being a Wedding Planner. Not just that, you get to be dolled up at all times, that too in full-on-wedding-style. Another glamorous aspect of being a wedding planner is that you have the chance to travel. Individuals get hitched in a wide range of delightful destinations all over the world and, as a wedding planner, it would be your business to go with them. Envision getting paid to make a trip to charming beaches, sample international cuisine, and experience various cultures en route. If that doesn’t persuade you, we don’t have a clue what will. It sure is a very glamorous life. If you up for one, then the course to know the nitty-gritty is crucial; for instance, The Wedding School has come up with a 6-8 months Diploma Certified Courses to pursue a successful career in the domain of Wedding Planning. An institute based in BKC Annex, Mumbai prepares you to venture into the field of wedding planning with new confidence and necessary skill set.

4. You Get To Meet Celebrities

Meeting famous Fashion Designers, Stylists, Singers, and even movie stars as Guest-Performers at the Wedding, are added perks of this profession. As you sail through the initial years and wedding parties, the sky becomes the limit for you.

5. You Can Earn Well; Really Well

With about 12 million weddings annually and the Wedding industry in India crossing the USD 50 billion mark, more and more students are choosing Wedding Planning as their ultimate career option. Hiring a Professional Wedding Planner is a trend on the rise, more and more Indian families are opting for it. Wedding Planners have various packages at various price ranges. Generally, a Wedding Planner earns as per his client’s budget for the wedding.

6. Your Work Speaks For You

When you plan a successful wedding, you impress each and every guest. This, in turn, helps you build your business and your portfolio too. The reputation you build speaks for you. The wedding itself becomes your Advertisement. You constantly meet new people and new relationships with every wedding you plan.

7. You Can Be An Employee Or Entrepreneur

 

Depending on your financial standing, you can either work as an employee with an individual or a firm. You may opt for first getting some quality experience by working for someone and then when you think you are prepared, you may start up something of your own. Both fields have their pros and cons. So, weigh your options and then decide what suits you best. Many wedding planners are independently employed. With no boss to answer to, you will have the free creative rule over the entirety of your projects. You will have the option to take holidays at whatever point you feel like it. There will be nobody investigating your shoulder. There will be no frightening job interview to go to. You can even set your own hours and complete a great deal of your work from the solace of your own home. Need we go on?

Most of the traits that you need to become a successful Wedding Planner come naturally. The beneficial thing about wedding planning is that you might not need to retrain totally. All of us have planned at least one occasion in our lives or professions previously, regardless of how minor they may appear. This implies that you may have the transferable skills you need to make it in the business. There aren’t many skills that can’t be acquired and mastered. If you think you can work well in high-pressure situations, can be sensitive to other people’s need, you are a creative person, you love to travel and glamour in the profession, can deal with high-family-drama calmly that too on a daily basis, then probably a career as a Wedding-Planner might be the ultimate choice for you! No doubt that it is a high-pressure job, but with so many benefits, in the end, it’s worth it. Rather than spending your money on clothes, food, or drinks, what about getting yourself a profession you’ll adore? Put your money in a learning course and commit your time to self-improvement and outfitting yourself with the abilities for a successful future. In contrast to your usual purchases, this is a gift that will keep on giving.

Path To Making A Successful Career As A Wedding Planner

by
wedding planning career

As the Wedding Industry in India, is spreading its wings, more and more people are trying their hands at the vocation of a Wedding Planner. The reason is not hard to guess. Weddings involve money, lots of money. The glitterati and glamour involved in a wedding too play a major role. And with everyone wanting their Wedding to be a memorable event, not just for the wedded couple, but the friends, family and guests, the role of a Wedding Planner, becomes imperative. Though the industry seems to be overflowing with traditional Wedding Planners, there seem to be rather only a few who can claim their superiority as Professional Wedding Planners.  It is ultimately your work that makes you a reputed and a wanted Wedding Planner. Recommending a “Path to Making a Successful Career as a Wedding Planner”.

Get the Right Training

 While a degree in Wedding Planning is not required, but a Diploma Certification from a renowned Institute would give you the much-needed edge over many others. Though there are many Institutions that provide Event-Management Training, The Wedding School (Mumbai), is a class above when it comes to preparing young aspirants to become successful Wedding Planners. The on-ground training provided to the students helps them ace the world of Wedding Management. They learn and master skills including hospitality, client servicing, budgeting, entrepreneurship and many more.

Have a Plan

When it comes to Weddings, what works for one may not work for the other, you need to have a definite plan about you are going to make each wedding different yet as special as the other. Your creativity has to most certainly suit your client. Giving the perfect blend to your ideas and the client’s need and wishes can be quite challenging. But once you are able to do that, you would be able to process the combo in the most unique way.

Your Team is as Important as You

No Wedding Planner, no matter how experienced or successful he is, cannot survive without a team that understands his foresight and can transform the ideas into a real Wedding. You need to have good relations with every individual, from the florist to the caterer, from the stylist to the photographer, just about everyone. A Wedding cannot be a one-man show. Make good use of others’ ideas and inventiveness and give them the due credit. A happy team will always work better.

Get Well-Trained

For being a successful Wedding Planner, you need to have lots and lots of experience, not just in terms of the amount of time you have spent as a Wedding Planner, but also how experienced you are when it comes to managing everything, that too under tremendous pressure. If you plan to start up your own venture as an Entrepreneur, it is always better to have first-hand knowledge of how things really work. Working as an intern or as an Assistant would help you in building your organizational skills.

Be Compassionate

It’s not just the rich and the royal who opt for having a Wedding through a Wedding Planner. But people from the most humble backgrounds too are making use of the services of a Wedding Planner. A wedding, after all, is a momentous occasion. You need to tend to the family’s requirement to the best of your ability, staying well within the allotted budget. Very often you would need to Talk less and Listen More. Don’t be too rigid with your plans but do present your idea and foresight very clearly in front of your client.

Keep Building your Patience Levels

Weddings can be quite overwhelming not just for the soon-to-be-wedded couple but also for their family as well. That’s where You, a Wedding Planner comes in. There can hardly be a wedding ever that doesn’t include loads of family drama. With emotions running high, and temperaments soaring, you as a Wedding Planner need to be calm and patient all the time, especially in high-pressure situations.

Advertising

As you move ahead in your career, you’ll need to be patient and gradually build your business. Every wedding you organise, will help you grow as a Professional, in terms of adding to your experience and your network. Advertising is very expensive, but if you work well, your work will advertise for you. Make sure that from the bride to the groom, from the family to the guests, from the oldest to the youngest, you offer something exciting. When people carry good memories, be sure that they would return to you soon.

Today, people are far too busy to plan their own wedding! They are either too occupied to do so or their expectations are too high. They know they need professional help. Make full use of all your talents. Explore your own creativity and be bold to try them in reality. Remember, you have the power to turn someone’s dream into a reality.