The role of wedding and event planner has been gaining strength in recent years. The beginnings of this activity, both in Latin America, the United Kingdom, and part of Europe date back to the year 2000, when we began to frequently see people other than the hosts and waiters, giving control and attention to events. However, this activity arose in the United States in the 1950s where it was considered a “burden/problem” for couples, in the case of weddings; Given the paradigm shift regarding the role of women in society, they begin to have less time to devote to tasks such as the organization of their social events (weddings, birthdays, celebrations in general), arising the need to delegate stories activities in other people. This is how the event planner arises. Although it is true that it was women who began to dedicate themselves to the event organization business, today it is an activity that is carried out by men and women alike.
Although in some countries this industry is not formally constituted as an independent economic sector, it is true that it has gained great strength throughout the world. This opened the way for institutions that today have training programs in this area, taught by experts. Personally, in addition to the experience, I´ve gained in the companies I worked for, I took several specialized courses with INIBEP, which endorse me as an international planner. I have also had some mentoring with Indira Fodor, (luxury events planner and producer and director of Florida Events Academy) who has landed me a little more at our opening in Houston. She recommended this book to me, which is the Wedding Planner’s Bible, The Wedding Book – Mindy Weiss, and yes, it is terrific. As in life and in other professions, in the Weddings and Events industry, you also learn daily and I take from how much virtual course I see that it would contribute to my profession.
Today, after the experience and knowledge acquired, I dare to share with you the basic skills and functions of the Wedding & Event Planner. This post will be of great use to clients who often doubt this service, because they do not know the objective and importance of this role and to people interested in being part of this industry as planners.
Skills:
1. Organize, Plan, Direct: from the interview with our client to the closing of the event for which we were hired, these words will be the protagonists of our management. Everything absolutely everything must be in accordance with a plan established with the client and with the suppliers or allies. In this way, you will help clients in a systematic way to carry out their event, according to their ideas, dreams, and expectations.
2. Advise, support, be creative: Many clients come to you with clear ideas of what they want for their event in terms of design; If they allow you, you can contribute your ideas so that they get together and be the Big Day; However, they will need your support to bring those ideas to life and that is when you as a professional advice and support them in the execution of their event. You will also receive clients who fully deliver their events and that are where our creativity comes into play most, with their basic tastes you seek to design a unique moment, an unforgettable experience. In all cases, you always have to be very, very attentive to everything that we talk to them since in this way we will know in-depth their tastes and real needs, which will allow you to inspire yourself and help them design and execute a unique and exclusive moment for their event.
3. Solving Problems: although it is true that we will surely have everything planned for our event, there will always be surprises and no matter how simple they are, we must be able to solve them in the best way possible. Much better if we succeed and our clients do not notice. Don’t be surprised when a client asks if you did magic, because sometimes it’s almost our turn.
4. Skills Negotiation: Clients will thank you for supporting them in all supplier management to achieve the success of their events; but they will love you if you achieve negotiations that save them time, money, and stress that in the end will translate into peace of mind to fully live the day of their event.
5. Be Empathetic: Taking into account that as a Wedding & Event Planner we sell experiences more than a service, we must be very receptive, observant, and listen very well from the first sitting with our client. Along that path, ups and downs will arise that as professionals we must manage in the best way and achieve the success of our events in calm.
The specific tasks of the wedding and event professional will depend on the magnitude of it and the real needs of the client. However, I share some that are almost always fulfilled in all events: (it will also depend on the type of service you offer)
- Design and Styling
- Task and activity planner
- Project schedule
- Budget creation and follow up
- Procurement and Coordination of suppliers
- Advice on legal procedures (Notaries / Churches)
- Invitations delivery
- Guest Confirmation
- Logistics transportation and lodging for the bride, groom, and guests
- Event Lay-out.
- Wedding day timeline to distribute it to your vendors to ensure the day goes smoothly as scheduled
- Event setup
- Bridal Assistant Services
- Event protocol – Attention to Guests
- PRE and POST Wedding Events organization
As we can see, there are many responsibilities that your planner carries and many skills they must have in order to satisfy you. Like any activity, it has its science and many times we take it for granted that it is a simple task that anyone can do. My advice is that as a client, leave your events only in the hands of professionals and if you want to undertake in this world, prepare yourself, learn and thus offer quality services.
This is the book that I list at the top, for those who are interested in acquiring it, do so through the pic link below:
As always, a warm hug and a nice day!
TOT
