I was reading a forum today with a posting from an aspiring wedding planner. It went as follows. “I’m 19 now and starting the event and wedding planning course at the local university, and I just wanted to know if how old your wedding planner is matters (if you use one) or if you’d just go by how professional they are and if they have the qualifications? I do have some experience, planned my first wedding at the age of 15, my cousin was too busy with work so she handed it over to me, I did everything for her, from picking up a tux for her groom, to making sure the cake got to the reception area and I’ve helped brides plan two other weddings since then.” Her name or where she was from was not listed.
Most of the responses were in favor of hiring older, more experienced planners. The general feeling was that wedding planners needed a certain level of maturity and life experience in order to handle all the different situations and personalities that as a planner, she would encounter. My advice to her (and all the new planners out there trying to navigate the wedding waters) is as follows.
“Congratulations for signing up to take courses and getting educated in the field before you just start handing out business cards. At first, when you don’t have a lot of experience, the classes, seminars and conferences you’ve attended, and professional organizations you belong to should help with credibility until you have done 20 or so weddings; 2 seasons is usually enough to tell whether or not you can make it for the long haul. I started in my late 30′s and did not have any problems. My first assistant was mid 20′s, we did have an age confidence problem at first, moms would pull me aside and insist that if things weren’t up to their expectations, that I would step in and take over. I never had to do this. My assistant worked under me for two seasons (approximately 30 weddings) and then she began booking weddings. I got a new assistant and trained one for her as well. I went to her weddings when I could to make sure she was comfortable doing them without me. She worked for me for 8 years before moving out-of-state. Once she was married and after her first child, no one questioned her ability; the feeling was that a married person with a family was “stable” and knew how to handle responsibility. So you won’t be 19 forever, you will grow and mature and will have to prove yourself everyday. Networking and building vendor relationships will be key. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know, just follow it up with “I will find out”. Check and double-check everything. Get everything in writing from the bride and vendors. Even now, after 12 years and 230 weddings, I still feel like I am only as good as the last wedding I did. There’s no phoning it in no matter how long you’ve been doing it. It’s just too important.”
I am passionate about weddings, but not in a frou frou, everything over the top sort of way. I am all about every detail having purpose and meaning. I insist on practicality and functionality in the design and the flow of the weddings I plan. When I have accomplished that, then I look to infuse all the elements with the bride’s vision of how she wants her day to unfold. My team and I bring together an inspired creativity, and an energetic enthusiasm that is as calming as it invigorating, delivering a beautiful, romantic and memorable wedding day experience. There is not a bride on the planet that shouldn’t have this on her wedding day, and as a planner, it the very least that we can do for them.
Choosing a wedding planner is like choosing a new employee. A company will prioritize for the experienced one but they don’t know that newbies also have great talent and will excel than that of the old ones.
Most companies opt for experience and a proven performance record because it is very costly to train someone, and also to absorb the cost of their mistakes while learning. Everyone has to start somewhere, and even the most talented among us has made mistakes and learned hard lessons. That is why the education is so important. An employer in any field will feel like he’s not starting totally from scratch with someone who has at least had some formal training in their given field. Also, most companies have other employees to pick up the slack while the newbie gets acclimated. This is not the case in Wedding Planners, we are generally self-employed with a few part-time assistants. There is no one to pick up the slack for us. We either know what we’re doing or we don’t. That’s a pretty big risk for a bride to take, it could end up costing her money, peace of mind, and a smoothly run wedding weekend. Your wedding day is not the time to be playing Russian Roulette.