Starting a Wedding Planning Business

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How do you start a wedding planner business? What does it take to set up your wedding planning agency? What status and how to get known? Where to find a market study and a wedding planner business plan template?

Wedding planner, definition: A wedding planner is a wedding organizer: the wedding planner advises, proposes, plans, budgets, looks for partners, negotiates with them, organizes, and finally supervises the wedding.

Note that the wedding planner does not replace the different service providers, but coordinates them. Some wedding planners take care of the decoration themselves.

From the client’s point of view, using a wedding planner should allow gaining time and efficiency, but also price and serenity.

The wedding planners carry a heavy responsibility on their shoulders, it is a stressful job that requires a lot of rigor and implication.

It is a commercial activity, so it is necessary to register with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Note that there is no requirement for a diploma or experience to be able to practice.

Elements of the “wedding planner” market study.

In America, the wedding market is doing well:

  • the arrival of marriage for all has led to an increase in the total number of weddings,
  • the thirty somethings are currently the most numerous age group in America, and it is precisely in this age group that people get married the most,
  • The increase in the number of divorces leads people to marry several times in a lifetime, which expands the market.

Here are the main characteristics and trends of the wedding market in America:

  • the average age of the bride and groom is 35 years old, which has been steadily increasing for several decades,
  • more settled in life, brides and grooms are less and less dependent on their parents to finance their wedding,
  • despite the crisis, getting married is becoming more and more expensive
  • more than half of the wedding budget is spent on catering,
  • the average number of guests is around 80,
  • weddings are most often held in spaces with gardens,
  • the aperitif or cocktail tends to replace the traditional
  • the time spent at the table tends to be reduced,
  • we note the progression of theme weddings,
  • we also note the appearance of many websites specialized in weddings, which sometimes compete with the activity of wedding planners,
  • Some wedding planners also propose the organization of the honeymoon.

The democratization of wedding planner services.

The wedding planner profession was born in the United States, where 80% of the future brides and grooms use a wedding planner.

In America, more and more future brides and grooms are using a wedding planner. The wedding planning market is growing in double digits and is becoming more democratic.

The legal status of a wedding planner (wedding planning agency).

Should I set up a wedding planner as a self-employed business or should I opt for a company ? The choice of the auto-entrepreneur system may seem light, but it is not impossible.

More precisely, the following legal statutes are possible to create a wedding planner agency:

  • The status of the micro-enterprise : this is the simplest status but not necessarily the most credible for this type of activity.
    The status of the real individual company: more expensive than the micro-enterprise, and plagued by the system of social security deductions, this status also requires the use of a chartered accountant, which is not the case with the auto-entrepreneur system,
  • The company status is the most adapted for a wedding organization company.

Becoming an independent wedding planner: conditions for success.

The main difficulty for a wedding planner is to identify potential clients early enough, i.e. individuals who plan to get married in the next few months.

There are several solutions for this:

  • Conducting a market study that is broad enough to detect and contact potential clients,
  • network with other wedding service providers: they will be able to act as prescribers for your services, and you will be able to return the favor by calling on them for the various tasks of the wedding:
  • caterers,
  • florists,
  • decorators,
  • pastry chefs and wedding-cake designers,
  • videographers and photographers,
  • DJs and entertainers,
  • hairdressers,
  • beauticians and make-up artists,
  • artists and musicians,
  • event room owners,
  • accommodation owners,
  • fireworks, etc.

On the other hand, the wedding planner will have to develop the following qualities to succeed in his business:

  • ability to communicate, interpersonal skills,
  • ability to put in confidence his interlocutors,
  • imagination and creativity (to know how to propose original ideas but not necessarily expensive),
  • management and project leadership skills: management, coordination, negotiation, optimization, budget monitoring,
  • resistance to stress: there is the pressure that you put on yourself and the pressure that your clients will put on you!

Creating a wedding planning agency requires a lot of qualities and know-how. It will be necessary to capitalize on the references obtained and the customers’ testimonies, for example through a website.

The steps to becoming a wedding planner.

Here are the main steps to create your own wedding planner agency:

  • Take stock of your skills and your network,
  • Validate your project with a market study,
  • Define your positioning,
  • Build your offer, your communication tools (website), and your sales pitch,
  • Choose your commercial name,
  • Carry out an economic study: build a business plan (click to access our model),
  • Obtain financing (if needed),
  • Choose your legal status and register,
  • Find your customers.

More than ever, you will have to distinguish yourself by canvassing, quality of services, creativity, cost control, and excellent visibility on the internet.

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