EDA’s Wedding Planner Course

Wedding Planning Course

With EDA, you can enter a wedding planning career with confidence!
Upon completion of EDA’s Wedding Planning course, you will have established and ready to use:

• A portfolio to present to employers and  prospective clients
• A vendor network and contact list of  event vendors in your area
• A  professional letter of recommendation from your instructor
• Certified Wedding Planner (CWP)  credentials which you may use following your  name, including a jpeg file of the EDA logo and the rights to display it on your business cards, marketing materials,  website, email signature, and  correspondence
• A Certificate of Course Completion with EDA Seal and  any Award Seals earned,  suitable for framing

Qualifying Certified Wedding Planner Course students will also receive jpegs of their Award  Seals to display on their business marketing materials.

What the Wedding Planning Course Includes:

As an EDA student, you’ll experience an  engaging course with hands-on assignments that will challenge you and spark  your creativity. You will be drawing event space layouts, designing inspiration boards, and analyzing case studies for real-world wedding planning training so that you can  implement and practice what you learn from the course.  You will receive:

• EDA Textbook with 10 Modules of  instruction, assignments, and quizzes
• Expandable Accordion File for organizing  vendor information
• Event Design  Academy Tote Bag
• A  CD-ROM containing the templates and documents you need to do your job as a Certified Wedding Planner,  including quote form, photography release, wedding planning packages, and more.

Wedding Planner Bridal Show Booth Ideas

Do you want your wedding planning company to stand out from the sea of vendor booths at a bridal show?   You only have one chance to make a first impression, so follow these guidelines and you will shine in the spotlight.

•Bring your own table linens.  Use bright, stylish colors and fabrics.  This will immediately draw eyes toward your booth.

•Display an interesting object to attract attention and stimulate conversation.  Vases of submerged orchids with Floralytes and floating candles are sure to draw compliments and make a great impression.  It’s important not to go overboard so you don’t look like a florist, but you do want to show off your décor abilities and spark brides’ interest.

•Pictures say a thousand words.  In addition to your portfolio, consider bringing one or two digital photo frames or a large monitor and play a slideshow with photos of weddings you have planned or set up.  Focus on using photos of displays, décor and
table settings, as well as pictures of you setting up events and working with clients and vendors, so prospective clients can see you in action.

•Use large signs and banners so that your wedding planning company’s name and service are upfront and memorable.

•Incorporate interactive displays that collect leads.  Consider a drawing for $250 off a wedding planning package.  Place entry cards and pens near a collection bin and watch the leads stack up.

If you follow these tips, you’re sure to book some initial consultations at the show.  Be sure to follow up on all leads you get, and oh, make yourself approachable — don’t sit
or eat while manning your booth!

Looking For A Wedding Planning Intership, Part Two

For the wedding planner who is just starting off, hands-on experience to add to one’s portfolio can be hard to come by.  So make your own internship.  Following the advice in Part One of this article is smart, but if you are starving to get an actual wedding
under your belt, go pro bono.  If you have a friend or family member with a wedding coming up — jackpot, obviously.  Not everyone knows someone who’s getting married soon though — in this case, post a local free ad offering a free day-of wedding planning package at no charge, so long as the recipient provides you with the rights to use some of their professional wedding photos (clear this with the photographer as well), a written letter of recommendation, and a positive review on WeddingWire.com.  Treat this couple the same as a paying client, which includes having all parties sign a contract with an indemnity clause.

Looking For A Wedding Planning Internship?

Try this instead:

It can be nearly impossible to land a wedding planning internship with an established wedding or event planning firm.  Most companies receive stacks of requests weekly from new wedding planners who are looking to get their start in this highly sought-after career field.   But you don’t have to become just one of the many ignored inquirers; you can create your own opportunities.

Volunteer with nonprofit organizations in your area.  These organizations rely on people like you to help plan events to raise money and awareness for their causes.  Find an organization with a mission you support and find out if they have any events coming up that you can help plan.  If they don’t have any on the calendar, propose an idea and offer to be the lead event planner.  The event can be anything from a fall festival to a gala, or even a 5K walk.  Take pictures and save flyers, newspaper articles, etc. to display in your event planning portfolio; and afterwards, ask for a written letter of reference stating that you led the event.

Even if you’re setting out to become a wedding planner, you will gain valuable experience planning any type of event, and it will make your portfolio more diverse.  So forget that elusive internship with an event planning company. Go out and help a cause!  You’ll have more fun doing it than just sending out inquiry letters that may not get answered, and the bragging rights will be sure to impress your future clients.

Welcome to Our World

We would like to introduce a new planIt to the galaxy (well, the blogosphere).  It’s a world where current and aspiring wedding and event planners develop their event planning careers and engage in ongoing education through a community of peers who share ideas and foster each other’s career ambitions.

Planners PlanIt posts will cover an array of event planning topics such as tips and secrets from the pros, event planning career building strategies, advice for starting your own event or wedding planning company, photos to inspire your own event designs, as well as interviews with event planners and industry professionals.

Make the PlanIt a better place:  post your (respectful) comments and post them
often!