Michelle has been considering a career in event and wedding planning. It’s a question she’s been struggling with for over a year.
She’s talked to her friend, Susan, about how she started a career in event and wedding planning, but Michelle feels she lacks experience and isn’t sure she can make up for it with her passion and motivation. She’s faced with the difficult decision to stay in a job that she doesn’t like or change careers and industries altogether.
Starting a career in event and wedding planning may sound like a dream, and for some, like Michelle, it is. So how do you know if it’s the right career for you or if you have what it takes to excel in this competitive industry?
Is a Career in Event and Wedding Planning Right For You?
Start by doing a self-asssessment of your core values, how you like to work (9-5pm vs. evenings and weekends, for example), your abilities, and your skills (like interpersonal and communication skills).
In addition to interpersonal and communication skills, here are 3 must-have skills needed to be successful as an event and wedding planner:
- Business Knowledge – having the ability to know and understand business jargon is the difference between running small, local events or running large, high budget events. To work on your business acumen, register for business classes at your local college and put yourself in situations where you have to make quick and effective decisions.
- Project Management – the best way for a new event planner to learn is to find an event mentor and get involved in industry associations.
- Emotional Intelligence – as an event and wedding planner, it’s critical that you know how to manage your own emotions so you can adjust to change, work better in teams and are more flexible.
Why They Started a Career in Event and Wedding Planning
If you’re trying to figure out if a career in event and wedding planning is for you, read more about how some of our community members got started and why they chose to do what they love.
Important: While we support and highlight our event planning community, we have not personally used the services of anyone mentioned below.
Hourglass Productions Lauren Smith, from Denver Colorado, started Hourglass Productions after planning her own wedding in 2012 and has built her wedding planning business on referrals from satisfied brides. Lauren and her team focus on day-of-coordination because, according to Lauren, it’s “what we are absolutely fantastic at doing for our clients!” Why did Lauren start her event planning business? “Because I wanted to do what I love for a living, and I had a miserable time planning my own wedding here in Denver. I had trouble finding planners and vendors that wanted to work with a local / offbeat bride on a budget and thought there had to be a better way to do this!”
Wild Orange Events Based in Salt lake City, Utah, Michelle has combined her connecting people, entrepreneurs and travel that focuses on retreats that help her coaching clients focus on their clients. Why did Michelle start her event business? “I started my event business because I saw the lack of connection between coaches and their clients. Retreats give you the connection you really want and the get away you need to refocus.” I’d love to hear from you. In the comments below, let me know what questions you have about starting a career in event and wedding planning.
We love hearing from you, but please note that any links to videos and posts will be removed because they appear as SPAM.
No matter what decision you make, make sure it’s the right one for you.
Here’s to your success!
P.S. Ready to streamline your path to success and start a career in event or wedding planning? Learn more here.
