Planning Tips, Student Ambassador, Wedding Planning Tips, Your Event Career

3 Ways Your Wedding Planner Certification Will Teach You to Downsize Weddings During COVID-19

Neena McConnell is a QC Event School graduate, Student Ambassador, and professional floral designer. As the proud owner of Wallflower Events & Designs, she specializes in event and wedding planning, event decor, floristry, and so much more! Today, she reveals 3 critical ways that your wedding planner certification will help you downsize weddings during the global pandemic.

Downsizing Weddings in 2021

Let’s start by being painfully honest: COVID-19 has not been kind to the wedding industry. Many couples who originally planned to have large, in-person events had no choice but to postpone. In some cases, the celebrations had to be canceled altogether.

Over the last year, in-person weddings have had to get drastically downsized. There are for numerous reasons for this, such as:

• A smaller guest list helps stop the spread of the virus;
• Smaller get-togethers of any kind will help keep everyone safe (especially those who are high-risk);
• A small wedding means a more affordable budget;
• Travel restrictions limit who can attend the wedding, etc.

However, one thing we’ve learned since the beginning of this pandemic is that love ISN’T cancelled! COVID-19 may have changed the world, but it cannot crush love. Instead of large, celebratory weddings with sizeable guest lists and rocking dance parties, we’re now seeing an increase in intimate affairs. Elopements and micro-weddings are perfect examples of this.

Micro-Weddings and Elopements

Micro-weddings and elopements allow couples to still get married, despite the the pandemic. Furthermore, they can be used to host a small celebration with immediate family members present. Micro-weddings (as well as smaller weddings in general) help keep everyone safe and limit the spread of COVID-19. This is because proper spacing between guests can be put into place. Moreover, you can limit the number of households present, the number of vendors, and the number of staff members onsite at any given time.

Benefits of Downsizing a Wedding

As a professional wedding planner, there are many benefits of knowing how to downsize a client’s wedding successfully. Some of the main benefits include:

• Understanding how to put a safety plan and proper procedure in place;
• Knowing the risks associated with having an event during a pandemic, and being able to express those risks to the client;
• Meticulously designing a layout (i.e. venue and floor plan) with the current restrictions in mind;
• Knowing the right questions to ask vendors, in terms of postponements, cancellations, and/or any last-minute changes;
• Creating numerous wedding day plans for both the best and worst-case scenarios.

The Importance of Getting a Wedding Planner Certification

In my opinion, it’s incredibly important for a professional planner to get trained and certified. By obtaining a reputable wedding planner certification, you instantly stand out as a professional in the industry. Plus, adding a trustworthy designation to your resume and portfolio will help you increase your client reach!

A wedding planner certification will teach you tips and tricks of the trade that are not always obvious to the untrained mind. You’ll gain first-hand experience before ever setting foot in the industry. As a result, your career will have an even greater chance to thrive!

Not to mention, many of your clients will ask how you got into this profession and if you’ve had any specific training. By letting them know that you hold a professional certification, you’ll gain their trust, improve your reputation, and potentially increase your business’s exposure.

I highly recommend obtaining your wedding planner certification from QC Event School. Firstly, the mentorship and encouragement received from QC’s tutors are second to none. Secondly, QC Event School allows you to train at your own pace. Thirdly, they also provide a virtual platform where students and alumni can gather together to discuss courses and real-life scenarios. In this Virtual Classroom, we can also ask questions and network with fellow, like-minded individuals!

3 Ways Your Wedding Planner Certification Will Teach You How to Downsize Weddings

1. Guestlist Creation and Proper Invitation Verbiage

QC’s training teaches you who is typically invited to a wedding, who gets a plus one, and when someone should not be invited. Since the pandemic hit, the restrictions have forced couples to recreate guest lists numerous times. Over the past year, it’s not been uncommon to see guest lists range anywhere from 5, to 10, to 20, to 50, to 70+ guests – and then drop back down to 5. Your wedding planner certification will also teach you how to guide your clients in the creation of each guest list. This is incredibly helpful when navigating all of the new (and sometimes changing) government restrictions, in terms of events and social gatherings.

Cutting the guestlist, or uninviting someone after they have already RSVP’d to a wedding, is a difficult and often daunting task. But rest assured, your wedding planning training will equip you with the necessary skills and verbiage to pull this off with ease. Alternatively, a fun and unique option is to live stream the wedding so guests who still want to participate are able to!

2. Vendor List

A wedding would not run as smoothly without all the hard work of professional vendors. Your wedding planner certification training will teach you which vendors you should be working with and how to hire them, in order of importance. When downsizing a wedding during COVID-19, it’s critical to understand the value each vendor has to offer.

There are other options than simply cutting the vendor list, cancelling services, and likely losing out on deposits. Instead, consider working with each vendor to downsize the service they are providing. Moreover, you can also try to decrease the amount of time they’ll need to be onsite. Work together with the vendors to build packages that everyone is comfortable and happy with.

For example, are your clients questioning whether to use a DJ anymore because their reception has been postponed? Consider asking the DJ if they would downsize their package to just the ceremony!

3. Budget Management

Budget management is arguably one of the most important skills you’ll learn as a wedding planner. QC’s wedding planner certification course will teach you how to design a budget that suits your client’s wedding vision and that everyone is comfortable with. Just keep in mind that when your clients decide to move forward with their wedding plans in 2021, it’s likely that the budget will change as often as the restrictions do.

Downsizing a wedding does NOT necessarily mean a decreased budget. My biggest piece of advice when it comes to budget management is this: be fluid. Are your clients now able to have that 5-course meal they wanted, that they couldn’t originally afford with a larger guest list? Or would they prefer to use that extra money to splurge on more flowers and event decor, in order to really make their ceremony space POP?

The point is, always have open communication between you and your clients. The more you understand their wants and needs, the better you’ll be able to fulfill them!

Final Thoughts

With all the uncertainty in the world, now’s the time to try something new! I strongly encourage anyone who has been on the fence about pursing their dream career in wedding planning to take the plunge, get their wedding planner certification, and make that dream a reality in 2021! Adapt to all the changes and curveballs being thrown at us during the COVID-19 pandemic, and make this YOUR year!

As always, thank you all for taking the time to join me today. I would love to hear from all of you in the comments below. You can also connect with me directly in QC Event School’s Virtual Classroom on Facebook. I hope to see you there!

Earn your wedding planner certification in as little as 3-6 months by enrolling with QC Event School today!

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