Want to build your career as a wedding planner
The wedding industry is burgeoning and the need for a wedding planner continues to increase. Be it catering or wedding decorations, designing invitations or wedding favors, wedding planners will fight for your wedding vision and keep everything on track. And as a wedding planner, you have to always be equipped with all the essentials to glam up your client’s wedding.
But the key to a successful wedding lies in effective planning and that is possible only if you understand the client’s requirement list accurately. It is extremely important that you ask all the right questions before planning your client’s big day. Of course, if you have had a chance at obtaining formal training for wedding planning, you would have your bases covered on what are the questions you should ask your client before planning for his/her wedding. Formal training will give you a taste of the real deal before stepping out into such a demanding industry. At TWS, we have a strong focus on educating our students on dealing with clients and asking the right questions. However, if you haven’t had the chance to invest in formal training, worry not! Here are a few questions you should ask your client while planning his/her wedding-
1. Budget of the wedding –
Weddings range from small intimate ones to large starlit ones. That is why it is essential that you are aware of your client’s budget and plan accordingly. You can ask your client to give an approximate budget to you and you can break it into a ‘per person’ budget. This way your client will get a clear idea about the costs involved.
2. Number of guests attending the event –
Once you are done breaking down the budget ‘per person’ wise, you can now ask your client to give you an idea of the number of people attending the event. Realize that there are always some last-minute add-ons and hence always keep room for some extra guests and start setting your budget accordingly.

3. Date and the venue –
This question sounds very basic but it is infact the most important. Make sure that your client gives you a clear answer about the venue or at least the options that he has zeroed down to. Alternatively suggest him places and take him for venue recce and let his indecisiveness rest.

Make sure that if your client is too confused about the location. You must put a break on your horses as the entire planning should start only after the venue has been set right. Assist your client and do enough research to fit his budget. Let his doubts disappear before you hit the floor.
4. Top priorities for the wedding –
Now that you have a budget and guest list in your hand, it is the time to ask the client about the ‘must haves’ at his wedding. Make sure that you evaluate the budget at the beginning only and make it clear if it’s possible to add various other elements that the client might require. For example, your client wants a particular style of flower decoration but if you feel it won’t fit the budget, discuss it and have it clarified in the beginning to avoid any disappointments later.
5. Things the client wants to avoid –
Just like priorities, people have their aversions too. Imagine that you have planned for a particular band to play in the wedding but then your client says no for it and it reflects on the budget as the other options are just way too expensive for client’s budget. Now here’s a situation that should have addressed right in the beginning.
Such a ‘Need this/ need this not list’ might sound obvious but can play a huge role in deciding the wedding as per the client’s taste and satisfaction and avoiding any last-minute disappointments.
So, let all the clients call out your name in unison once their wedding shenanigans start and let your client get the utmost satisfaction from your work with the help of such effective planning.
Wedding Planners
So Much More
Network & Build A Strong Team
A Trained Professional
Though a wedding planner doesn’t need a specific technical qualification, but these days many wedding planners are undergoing specialized courses to get some formal training in this vocation. This hands-on training gives them an edge over the other wedding planners in the market. They master the tricks of the trade, even before entering the market. Therefore, managing a budget is not an issue and they can make your event more cost effective when it comes to a trained Wedding Planner.
Can Negotiate Deals and Discounts
As a bride, you would be planning just one wedding, but for a wedding planner, handling dozens of weddings every year is a cakewalk. With their wide network of vendors and artists, wedding planners often facilitate the best costs involved in a wedding. He would know how to negotiate with the various vendors, something that might be next to impossible for you and me.
Saves your Time and Effort
If you are self-employed or are otherwise engaged in your job, you may not have the time to go into all the details of every aspect of planning the wedding. Even if you take a few days leave there’s so much to do, that it might become too overwhelming. Planning a wedding is a full-time job. When you hire a trained wedding planner, he takes over the entire responsibility of giving you your dream wedding, while you can sit back and enjoy the last few months or weeks as a bachelor/ bachelorette.
Provides you Workable Alternatives
An experienced wedding planner will be able to guide you when you wish to add an unnecessary ingredient to the wedding. From the discounted rates of caterers to florists, from venue to seasonal flowers, he knows all the trade secrets and will save every penny possible.
Is well Connected
Your wedding planner will have contacts, that you and I can only think of. Bookings of your favourite venue, or stylist or the designers may not be possible but for the wedding planner, it is something that he deals with on a regular basis. He is also a good source of reference for vendors and service providers, so many a time he would be the first one to get info on availability and deals.
It is a common myth that hiring a wedding planner is a costly affair. No doubt that the wedding planner will charge you a fee but at the same time, he would also be providing you with his elite services that will save you so much of your time and effort. You and the other family members may feel tempted to go over-budget, but an expert wedding planner will not do so. He would be able to help you in striking a balance between the things that are absolutely necessary and the things that can be discarded. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that hiring a wedding planner is not an expense but a necessity.
Limiting yourself to a budget is the biggest challenge one may face when planning a wedding. There is so much temptation to do more and more, that often leads to going overboard in the beginning and then cutting corners as the wedding day arrives. A wedding planner is a professional and will stick to the budget that you have given him. He will not only help you in avoiding any costly mistakes but will also be able to get you the best discounts from the vendors that would be a part of the wedding.
Can Keep Stress Under-Control
Weddings can rarely go without an emotional drama. Indian weddings especially are known to have ‘emotional outbursts’ a regular occurrence. It is a time when emotions are running high, deadlines are being missed and last-minute changes are on, and in a situation like this, even the most patient people may lose their cool. That’s when the wedding planner comes in extremely handy. He can be very helpful in ironing out the problems that crop up suddenly. He is an expert at handling such high-high-pressure situations and keeping everything peaceful.
Your Very Own Personal Assistant
Whether you are going to be a bride or a groom, being stressful at your own wedding, maybe the last thing that you wish for. There is already so much going on in your mind, that worrying about the wedding details is only going to make you miserable. At such a time, your wedding planner can help you as much as you require. From booking appointments with the stylist to organizing a Bachelor’s/ Bachelorette’s Party. It’s great to have someone by your side.
Turning Your Dream Into A Reality
Many of us have planned a wedding ever since we were very young. Though it may seem to be the best option to do everything on your own, it can become quite overwhelming and take a toll on you. From the invites to the decor, from the caterer to the venue, from the stylist to the mehndi-wala, the list is never-ending. But the wedding planner has a template ready for every little detail. You simply need to tell him what you want, and you can rest assured that your wedding will be the way you always wanted it to be, maybe Better!
As the D-Day gets closer, the stress levels involved are going to soar. In such a time, the presence of a wedding planner can give them peace of mind, and they too can enjoy the wedding. A wedding is after all an event of a lifetime, and rather than running around making arrangements, you should be focused on making memories!