Wedding Planning

Course Info

Think of planning a wedding like planning a party for your closest friends. Well, maybe two hundred of your closest friends! We've broken down the major elements of a wedding into individual lessons. You'll be able to guide your clients step by step in a professional, structured way to a wonderful experience.

You'll receive a comprehensive collection of instructional materials designed to give you a complete and enjoyable learning experience. Everything you need is delivered right to your door. You set your own schedule and complete your studies when it's convenient for you. This is truly learning made easy.

Course Outline

The IWPPTM course covers everything you need to know to start your own successful business as a professional wedding planner. The program is divided up into four units. Each unit includes full-colour course lesson booklets, instructional movies on DVD, and a workbook of assignments designed to test your knowledge and develop your planning and organisation skills.

In addition, you'll receive a collection of supplementary learning materials to enhance your training and prepare you for success as a wedding planner. Your materials include full-colour reference books, a CD packed with electronic templates, forms, checklists, and spreadsheets, and Organizer Pro-business software to help you manage your projects, appointments, and contacts.

Unit A

• The World of Wedding Planning: An overview of the duties and responsibilities of a wedding planner, a look at the personality traits and characteristics of successful planners, and a list of basic wedding planning services.

• The Wedding Step-by-Step: A summary of the events that take place before, during, and after the wedding.

• Wedding Roles: A look at the people involved in a wedding, from the bride and groom to the wedding party and important family members. A full description of the responsibilities of each person is included.

• Working with the Wedding Party: Different situations you might encounter with brides, grooms, and attendants during the wedding planning process and tips for how to handle each one.

• Starting Your Own Business: How to register your business and website domain name, how to set up your office, how to build your event planner's kit, and how to write your business plan.

Unit B

• Religious Wedding Variations: A look at the wedding customs and traditions of the largest religious faiths.

• Civil and Cultural Wedding Variations: The basic practices and requirements for a civil marriage ceremony and a detailed examination of cultural wedding customs from around the world.

• Getting Started: Early Planning Tools: A complete wedding planning timeline. Includes planning forms, checklists, and handouts to give to the bridal party.

• The Wedding Budget: How to set the wedding budget, examples of budgets for many different sizes and types of wedding, and tips on how to spend money wisely. Electronic wedding budget templates and examples accompany this lesson on the Business and Planning Templates CD.

• Marketing and Promotion: Detailed descriptions of the different types of wedding planning services you can offer. Includes information on how to price your services, how to advertise your business and develop your marketing materials, and how to find people who need wedding planning services.

Unit C

• Pre-Wedding Parties: Help your clients plan engagement parties, wedding showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, stag and doe parties, and the rehearsal dinner.

• The Guest List and Wedding Stationery: How to set and manage the guest list, how to select and design wedding stationery, types of wedding stationery, and printing options. Invitation etiquette and wording is also discussed.

• Attire and Aesthetics: Detailed information on how to help your clients select engagement and wedding rings, the bride and groom's attire and accessories, and professional hair and makeup services.

• The Ceremony: A look at various religious and non-religious ceremony venues and the additional challenges of planning outdoor wedding ceremonies. An outline of a typical wedding ceremony, including poetry and readings, music, the marriage vows, and the rehearsal. Wedding flowers, ceremony decorations, and guest seating are also discussed.

• Introduction to Project Management: A look at the five phases of a project: planning, scheduling, controlling, executing, and closing. How to effectively manage delays, changes, and problems.

Unit D

• The Reception: How to evaluate and select the reception location, including information on special event permits and regulations. Choosing the menu, the refreshments, and the wedding cake or dessert. Decorating the reception location and organising the events/activities. Working with wedding vendors, including caterers, photographers, videographers, and transportation companies.

• After the Wedding: Closing the reception site and transporting the gifts, dress and flower preservation, thank you cards, name changes, and the honeymoon.

• Special Topics: Second marriages, vow renewals, and destination weddings. Tips for planning on short notice and what to do when the wedding is called off.

• Working with Clients and Vendors: A look at the wedding planner's personal skill set, as well as how to sell to potential clients, close deals, conduct consultations, and negotiate with vendors.

Practical Learning

Our comprehensive program goes beyond written and audiovisual learning materials and gives you practical exercises designed to develop the knowledge and skills you need to succeed as an International Wedding Planning ProfessionalTM.

In addition to showing you how to plan and organise a wedding, we'll prepare you to deal with many types of situations that can arise when you are dealing with your clients, their families, and wedding vendors. You'll find that on top of your role as a wedding planner, at various times you'll be asked to be a therapist, a mediator, a sounding board, or an ally when debates or disagreements erupt. Your assignments will give you practice dealing with these situations, while at the same time giving you the opportunity to polish your organization, research, creativity, and planning skills.

Each unit of your course includes a workbook of assignments. You'll be asked to come up with creative wedding ideas and themes, plan wedding budgets, and answer questions about the information contained in your lessons. You'll also be asked to respond to situation-based questions and case studies. We'll present you with a variety of scenarios involving the bride and groom, wedding vendors, and other key people and ask you how you would react to them or solve them. This gives you the opportunity to prepare for the situations you'll face in your professional career.

Your assignments will include business-related exercises as well. You'll research the local wedding resources in your area and begin building relationships with vendors and suppliers. You'll also begin working on plans for your wedding planning business and strategies to advertise and sell your services. With each passing lesson and assignment, you'll feel more confident and secure in your developing knowledge and skills.

At the end of the course, you'll complete your final project. This comprehensive assignment simulates the work involved in conducting a wedding planning consultation, as well as preparing and presenting a preliminary wedding plan to your clients. You'll practice the consultation process, the first and most important service you'll offer as a wedding planning professional, before you begin working so you feel fully prepared and confident.

Your tutor, a wedding planning professional, will personally evaluate your work and proved you with in-depth audio commentary on CD. Your assignments are discussed in detail, with specific suggestions based on your tutor's years of professional experience.

Step-by-Step Training

Our program is 100% career-focused. It's designed to fully prepare you to succeed as a professional wedding planner. With our extensive business series, you'll learn how to set up your business, advertise your services, charge for your work, and conduct consultations. We'll show you how to build relationships with vendors, negotiate discounts, work with your clients, and effectively manage your projects.

Step 1: Your course begins

Your first package arrives in the mail with all the materials you need to get started. Your study guide will lead you through the course step by step. It begins by giving you an in-depth introduction to the world of wedding planning. You'll then get detailed instructions on how to go through your course materials and when to send your completed assignments to the School.

Step 2: You read lessons and watch instructional DVDs

Our course is designed to give you the knowledge and tools you need to become a successful wedding planner. Your full-colour lesson texts take you through all the steps and details involved in planning a wedding. Our exclusive DVD set, Professional Planning Secrets, gives you insider information on the whole wedding industry.

Step 3: You work on assignments

All the assignments in your course are developed to give you practical experience in wedding planning. These projects will give you full opportunity to practice your organizational, planning, and people skills. You're supplied with everything you need, even templates and spreadsheets, to make planning a breeze.

Step 4: You contact the School for help and advice

With our program, you have personal support available to you by telephone and by email.You can speak with one of our friendly counsellors or connect with your personal tutor.

Step 5: Your instructor carefully reviews your work

Once you email your assignments to the School or we receive them by mail, they'll be given directly to your personal tutor. He or she will analyze your work carefully and provide you with in-depth audio commentary on CD. Your projects are discussed in detail, with specific suggestions based on your tutor's years of professional experience.

Your next package arrives and the process begins again. Each unit will introduce new topics and build on the knowledge and concepts you've just learned. You'll develop your professional skills and gain the confidence you need to succeed as a wedding planner.