Wednesday, June 26, 2013

SO YOU WANT TO BECOME A WEDDING PLANNER … Learn the Best FROM the Best!

Before we get too far into this, please understand that being a wedding planner is not for the faint of heart!  It requires stamina, good health, high energy, and the ability to multi-task, all the while wearing pretty clothes and uncomfortable shoes!

In 2008 Wonderful Weddings launched its Apprentice Program called “Suddenly I See.”  Since that time many candidates have entered the program and one of them is now a permanent member of our staff.  We are proud of the program and want others to know more about it!

The program is bundled into three parts:

1.  Learning through hands-on experience that you gain from working all the aspects of the two weddings from our schedule that you select.  You will of course work at the rehearsal, ceremony and reception; but you will also attend various meetings related to the weddings prior to the wedding day; and you will work in the office the week of the wedding to assist our office manager in creating the important documents that will be distributed at the rehearsal.  You will also sit in on prospective client appointments so you can experience what it is like to sell yourself and close the sale.

2.  You will receive an Apprentice Manual written by Wonderful Weddings’ founder Susie Weiss.  This manual outlines in detail the steps to take to launch your own wedding planning company.

3. You will be provided many of the back-of-the-house, in-house and public forms that are utilized in our work for weddings as part of the program and you will be given the opportunity to purchase others.

For more information about this program, visit www.wonderfulweddingsorlando.com and click on Apprentice Program.  There you will find more detailed information and a short video that shows us hard at work!

Monday, June 10, 2013

A Different Kind of Wedding Etiquette (extending courtesy to vendors!)

Today’s bride is very lucky indeed when it comes to the multitude of resources she has from which to select when shopping for her ceremony and/or reception venue and all her service providers.  Not only are there various web sites and magazines, there are also preferred provider lists compiled by almost every venue in a bride’s particular geographic area.  Venues and vendors work very hard to create just the right ad, put together the best web site to portray their offerings and continue their good service to clients so that they remain on the various lists referenced above.  The people you contact are in this business as a full-time endeavor and strive to respond to your inquiries quickly, efficiently and comprehensively.  To that end, there are some common courtesies that you should extend when you begin the process of shopping for your venue and service providers.
At the very beginning, it would be wise to create a budget on paper for yourself.  This enables you to be realistic about what you can spend and prevents you from wasting your time or the venue’s or vendor’s. 
Take good notes during inquiry phone calls and print out email responses from venues and vendors.  Review this information in a timely manner to determine if there is further interest.  If you know right away that this vendor or venue is not what you are seeking, make contact quickly so that a possible hold on your date can be released.  Most venues and vendors will wait a respectable amount of time to follow up after sending the information you requested; if they contact you before you have made a decision, give them a reasonable time window when you will get back to them if there is further interest.  Venues and vendors know that these are big decisions you are making and will understand if more time is needed.
Once you have decided that a particular venue or service provider is not for you, contact them to let them know.  And if you feel comfortable with it, it is always helpful if you provide the reason for not considering them or moving on to a personal meeting.  This is particularly helpful to the venue or vendor if your reason is more customer service- or offering-related rather than budget.
When you are ready to take the next step to a personal meeting, be mindful of the following:
  1. If you are given directions by the venue or vendor, use them instead of a GPS; often what they provide is more expedient and may contain helpful way-finding landmarks.
  2. Try your best to be on time; if you are running late, give them a call.
  3. If you are conducting several appointments to cover a full day, allow time for traffic and schedule yourself a lunch break–nothing more distracting than a growling stomach!
  4. Limit the number of people who attend the appointments with you–when the group is too large or there are too many opinions, it can be distracting for both you and the vendor.
  5. Take good notes and don’t be afraid to ask questions if something was not mentioned in the presentation.
  6. If you find you can’t make the appointment, be sure to cancel–don’t be a no-show!
  7. Limit any snacks you bring to an appointment to bottled water–there is always the possibility of a mess or spill with a soda, a latte or a hamburger!
One of the more comprehensive appointments you will conduct is with a floral and décor company.  Plan at least 1.5 hours for this first meeting–the vendor will need to spend a lot of time determining your likes and dislikes and throwing out ideas.  If you are provided a written proposal after your meeting, keep this information proprietary.
After your appointments are complete and you have made your various decisions, contact the venues and vendors promptly.  Be sure to thank them for their time and efforts and let them know your specific reason for not selecting them.  This will be helpful to them.  While an email rejection is acceptable, a personal phone call is more meaningful.  Avoid the use of the phrase “I’ll be sure to tell all my friends about you”!
If you have any questions after your appointments, by all means contact the venue or vendor–sometimes a simple clarification can make a difference in your ultimate choice.
Once you have contacted the venue and vendors to let them know you would like to proceed, request a contract and determine the deposit amount required.  When you receive the contract, execute it quickly and send off the deposit in a timely manner.  The verbal request for a contract means you are making a commitment to the particular venue or vendor and they are holding the date for you and turning away others.  If changes need to be made to the contract, request a revision rather than handwriting items in or crossing things out.  Make note if other payments are due prior to the final balance and be timely with these payments.
Should a situation arise after contracting a venue or vendor that is giving you cause to end your relationship (for whatever reason), review your contract carefully before taking this step–there may be severe penalties such as loss of deposit or commitment to subsequent payments if you choose to end your relationship.  If the situation is salvageable in your mind, contact the venue or vendor immediately to see if something could be done to work things out.
Common courtesy is something we should all subscribe to in our daily lives … and extending this to your wedding industry vendors is no exception!