Education, From the Experts, Planning Tips, Your Event Career
5 Unexpected Skills You’ll Learn from Your Wedding Planning Course
Thinking of enrolling in a wedding planning course? QC Event School tutor, Amira Harris, is here to reveal 5 surprising skills you’ll acquire from your training! Amira Harris is the proud owner of Aisle Travel™. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Amira’s business provides Canadian couples with full group travel services, destination wedding planning, and customized wedding group experiences.
Is a Wedding Planning Course Necessary?
If you have dreams of being a professional planner, you’ve probably done your research on the industry. Chances are, you know what it’ll take to become successful in this exciting field! One critical step you likely know about by now is completing a wedding planning course and obtaining a reputable certification.
But why is this so important? Since you don’t technically need a certification, is it really necessary?
YES, and here are just a few reasons why:
- Proper certification training will strengthen, refine, and round-out your skill-set!
- A reputable certification is likely to impress clients and help you stand out from the competition!
- You’ll learn everything you need to know about launching (and running) a thriving business!
- As you learn about the different types of wedding planning, you can better target your niche!
- You can potentially increase your service rates in order to reflect the time, money, and skill you’ve put into your certification!
Another major perk to professional training is that it’ll arm you with an abundance of useful skills. Now, of course, successful wedding planners need to have very specialized skills. They need to be organized, patient, and capable of assessing all the risks involved in any event. However, there are a ton of other skills you’ll acquire from your wedding planning course that you might not have expected.
Before you jump into your program, I first want to congratulate you on following your dreams. No matter how big or small they are, committing to training WILL bring you one step closer to your goals! With that in mind, let’s discuss a few of the unexpected skills you’ll obtain and/or develop during your wedding planning course.
5 Surprising Skills You’ll Learn in Your Wedding Planning Course
1. Problem Solving
Throughout your professional wedding planning course, you’ll be tasked with different real-world scenarios. In these scenarios, you’ll need to be resourceful in order to ace your assignments. This could be as simple as doing research on a particular topic. It can also be more challenging, too, and push you to dig deep for a solution.
Wedding planners solve problems and provide solutions with ease, especially under pressure. Problem-solving skills take time to develop and master! If you’re just starting out, you can improve by focusing on pre-event planning. This will help you make sure that you have all the little details and kinks ironed out. The key is to always check for holes in your plans and create backup plans for every scenario possible!
2. Budgeting
Proper budgeting requires you to keep track of spending – while also juggling statements, proposals, and expenses for your wedding couples. If you’re good with money and/or managing your own finances, putting together a wedding budget will be a breeze! Staying on budget takes discipline, which is another great skill that you’ll develop during your wedding planning course. Putting budgets together for clients is a common practice. Each time you do it, will be all the more easier for you to accomplish.
3. Leadership
Being a leader – or the “go-to” expert – is essential in wedding planning. You’ll need to be able to work with many vendors in a fast-paced environment. Moreover, you’ll be expected to execute it all flawlessly. It’s all about trust and getting the job done, without breaking a sweat. Leadership is a skill that can be developed over time. Your hard work, determination, and passion will help you develop strong leadership skills during your wedding planning course. Plus, you’ll further strengthen this skills once you start getting hands-on experience, working with couples for their big day!
4. Customer Service
While doing assignments in your wedding planning course, you’ll notice difficult situations and the recommended ways to handle them in the professional world. If you’re brand-new to wedding planning, a lot of these scenarios will be new for you. But that’s totally okay! Ultimately, it’s how you handle them that is the most important part!
As wedding planners, it’s our job to make things happen, no matter how hard it is. I’d even argue that one of the most difficult aspects of wedding planning is making clients happy. To do this, we need to have a strong dedication towards serving the customer. Top-notch customer service skills are essential when working with couples, as well as suppliers. Trust me: strong customer service will show (and be reflected) in all aspects of your work!
5. Being Tech-Savvy
As you work through your wedding planning course, you’ll not only be using an online platform; you’ll also be learning that new platform. Technology in the wedding industry is a must! There’s no two ways about it – it’s considered very important. Always be willing to learn how to use different tech solutions and stay up-to-date on the current trends. This could be anything from learning new software (such as a customer management system), to being able to use apps and/or designing an inspiration board on your iPad. Technology changes constantly, so we as wedding planners need to adapt with it.
So, Should YOU Enroll in a Wedding Planning Course?
Absolutely! These are a merely a small portion of invaluable skills you’ll acquire (or improve on) by taking a wedding planning course. The fact is, there are tons more – and all of them will set you up for the success you’ve always dreamed of!
Just keep in mind that if you’re serious about honing these skills, you’ll need determination and a willingness to learn. This is applicable both inside the classroom and outside in the real world. Your wedding planning course will prepare you up to succeed with all the tools you have been provided. The most important thing is that your skills will only continue improve with each wedding you put together. In time, you will feel more confident and eager for every new client that books with you!
Happy planning, and stay safe! xo
