Due for UK wide release in late spring, the movie ‘The Wedding Plan’ is a romantic comedy that pitches the expectations of love against faith. When her fiancé backs out a month before the wedding, Noa Kooler’s character Michal puts her faith in God to deliver her a groom in 30 days before Hanukkah.
She continues to plan the wedding with military precision but which groom, if any, will appear to marry her?
Hopefully, planning your wedding won’t be as stressful as finding a groom as well as planning table settings, booking the photographer and other essential activities – and all against the clock in 30 days.
A wedding planner sounds a fantastic idea but for most people, it is an expense too far. How can you plan your wedding and make it a day to remember (for all the right reasons)?
Precision and Preparation
There is a saying, ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ and never a truer word was spoken when it comes to planning your wedding.
There is a lot to do in in planning and executing a flawless wedding day, from the big stuff – like booking the wedding photographer – to the smaller stuff that ensures the day run smoothly – such as catering for special diets.
How can you plan your wedding and make it a day to remember (for all the right reasons)?
So, folder, pen and paper at the ready, here is what you need to know to create your perfect wedding:
#1 Theme or No Theme
Some people enjoy a traditional wedding, run along formal lines. Other couples prefer something quirky and individual.
There is no right and wrong to theming a wedding, so don’t feel pressured into doing something that you don’t want.
What kind of personalities and characters are you and your partner? Use the answer to this question to the basis of how you theme your wedding.
Take a look at the themes tipped for wedding success in 2017.
#2 Set the Date/ Find the Venue
The second important task is the venue and the date. This is a ‘chicken and egg’ moment of wedding planning;
- The Must-Have Venue – if you have a venue in mind, it may be that your wedding date is decided by the availability of the venue to accommodate your big day. Do not be tempted to shoe-horn your wedding celebrations in alongside another wedding at the same venue on the same day as this can result in chaos and tears.
OR
- The Must-Have Date – some couples, however, have a firm date in mind on which they want to tie the knot. It could be the date they first met, a special birthday or other occasion. If this is the case, the hunt is on for a wedding venue that has availability on that day.
When it comes to wedding dates, there are a few things to bear in mind:
- Peak wedding season is from May through to September in the UK, thus most popular wedding venues will have limited availability for Saturday weddings – it pays to book well in advance.
- Some dates are more popular than others and thus, you may need to book earlier than you think. The last huge rush to book weddings were dates such as 7/7/07, as well as dates around New Year and Valentine’s Day too.
For popular dates and for wedding dates into the future, sending ‘save the date’ cards to your guests is important.
#3 Budget, Budget, Budget
Now that you have the foundations in place, you need to start thinking seriously about your budget. No matter how large or small your budget, it has a lot to cover and could be stretched very thin.
Financial management of your wedding budget needs to be detailed and on-the-money every step of the way or you may find that wedding costs spiral out of control.
There is no right and wrong to theming a wedding, so don’t feel pressured into doing something that you don’t want.
But at the same time, you need to be realistic.
Top tip for making your wedding budget stretch further – haggle.
#4 Get Skilled
Wedding planner courses are not just for people who are choosing to make a career out of wedding planning.
We have fantastic courses that upskill you in the art of wedding planning, including what you need to know about the legalities of getting married, the documentation you need, as well as a great schedule suggestion to follow when planning your Hollywood worthy wedding.
Study online, complete wedding planner courses with support from our fantastic tutors and student support staff and plan your wedding exactly how you want it.
The wedding industry is big business. A recent survey found that the average cost of a wedding in the UK is just over £20,000.
Not everyone chooses to spend a small fortune on their big day; some couples pay far less for a small, intimate wedding whilst other couples enjoy extravagant nuptials. No matter what they choose, a wedding planner can be an invaluable part of this process.
The average cost of a wedding in the UK is just over £20,000.
Being a wedding planner involves a whole host of skills, from being a diplomat in relations between the bride and groom and family members, negotiating deals on everything from flowers to cakes, as well as being there for when the stress gets too much and to deal with any crisis, small or large that may arise.
You need to be super-organised and open to being contacted at all times of night and day. You have to balance the budget, no matter how big or small it is… the list could go on but suffice to say, being a qualified wedding planner, as well as fully insured, is important in this competitive marketplace.
This doesn’t mean, however, spending hours commuting back and forth to college as wedding planner courses online are simply perfect, with the same high-quality materials and tutor support as a ‘taught’ course in the classroom.
In fact, studying at home for a new qualification is beneficial in many ways.
The benefits of study from home
- Convenient – have a spare hour or two in the afternoon? Or maybe you prefer an early morning learning session? Can’t manage during the week but can study uninterrupted for a few hours on Saturday morning? The convenience of studying for a wedding planner qualification from home is that you can study when is convenient for you. So if something comes up on Tuesday, you can make up your study time another day, and so on.
- Support – NCC Home Learning courses come complete with a 12-month tutor support package. Tutors need to be not only qualified in their field, but experienced and experts too, with a practical understanding of the wedding planning industry. Feedback is clear and concise, with clear objectives for future learning, as well as advice and suggestions.
- Your pace – remember in school, you had an hour-long lesson and learning objectives set by a teacher? You had to keep up because falling behind was not an option. This meant that maybe you grasped some concepts really quickly, but others less so. When you study for a qualification at home, you set your own pace so if you need to go over something again, you can. Or, if you do understand a concept really quickly, you can move on quicker.
- Comfortable – let’s be honest, not everyone is comfortable in a classroom. It can be an intimidating place for many students. But imagine being curled up on the sofa in front of the fire, working through a wedding planner course module? No pressure and all the creature comforts of home.
- No financial worries – a career change can be tough to do, breaking into a new industry or sector, or even being self-employed, almost impossible without a basic qualification. But giving up work is not an option either, as this can lead to financial hardship that can be draining on resources, as well as you and your family. When you enrol on an online course, you can study at home, after work or your day’s off, becoming qualified in a new field without giving up your day job.
- Cheaper too – even though online courses are of the same value and quality as those taught in classrooms, they are often cheaper. This is because overheads are minimal thus the savings are passed on to you, without compromising on tutor quality or time.
What will learn with a wedding planner qualification?
Wedding planner courses online are wide-reaching, looking at the history of marriage to how to theme a wedding, negotiate on everything from flowers to transport, as well as how to run your business so that it is profitable and successful.
Apply online today!
Even better, you don’t have to wait to start your course, no matter what time of year it is – no need to wait until September to enrol!
Choose the course you would like to complete and enrol online, either by paying a small deposit and then monthly payments, or by paying for the course in its entirety.
You can choose to complete your course online or in a paper format. Why not break into the lucrative wedding industry and be a wedding planner?