Working as a wedding consultant can be a rewarding profession. You get the opportunity to witness firsthand how two people tie the knot and, of course, get paid a good sum of money in the process. However, it’s only a win-win situation for both you and the couple if you are competent at what you do. So, this begs the question – how to get into consulting for weddings?
Education
There is currently no formal education offered for aspiring wedding consultants. Fortunately, for those asking how to get into consulting in this specific niche, there are specialized training courses that could dramatically improve your career outlook. Credential and training courses offered by third-party agencies can help you stand out from the competition. Regardless, you’ll need to have a business license if you want to become a consultant. Most training programs will typically walk you through contract negotiations, vendor relations, marketing tactics, bridal registries, and so on.
Core Competencies
Do you want to know how to become a consultant for weddings? First, you need strong communication skills. Since you’ll be working with people on a daily basis, you’ll need to have customer-oriented skills including negotiation, organization, and marketing.
Hands-On Experience
While training programs are great for introducing fundamental concepts, hands-on experience is necessary for context. Hands-on experience shows you how to apply the concepts you’ve learned into real-world situations. People aspiring on how to become a consultant in the wedding industry can get this invaluable experience through internship programs offered by event planning companies. Another path to get experience is to help family, friends, and coworkers plan their weddings.
Niche
Sure, you’ve narrowed it down to weddings, but specializing on a specific wedding can help you stand out from the rest of the competition. Some markets you can target include same-sex couples, a specific destination, or day-of weddings.
Mentorship
Perhaps the fastest way on how to be a consultant for the wedding industry or any industry for that matter is to find a good mentor. Mentors can show you the ropes and accelerate your learning much faster by giving you industry secrets and a list of do’s and don’ts. They can guide you step by step, which means less experimentation and risk.
Marketing
Finding clientele is the main hurdle when starting a consulting business. What’s the least painful and cheapest ways you can do it? In general, a combination of traditional marketing methods and some conventional ones can cast a wider net in terms of who finds you. Start by ordering some business cards to give people you meet outside. Then, get yourself a website. Nowadays, a website is often the first point of contact between customers and businesses. It also makes your business feel more legitimate and trustworthy if you have a website.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind, the path on how to be a consultant in the wedding industry is not linear. As with any business, you’ll have to do some trial and error to get a feel of what works for your specific niche, business model, and goals.
Author Bio: Adrian Rubin is a climate change advocate and freelance writer.
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