business plan for wedding planner

Wedding Planner Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Wedding Planning Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their wedding planning companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a wedding planning business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a wedding planning business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Wedding Planning Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your wedding planning business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan as a Wedding Planner

If you’re looking to start a wedding planning business or grow your existing wedding planning company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your wedding planning business to improve your chances of success. Your wedding planning business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Wedding Planning Businesses

With regard to funding, the main sources of funding for a wedding planning business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for wedding planning companies.

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How to write a business plan for a wedding planning business.

If you want to start a wedding planning business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your wedding planning business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of wedding planning business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a wedding planning business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of wedding planning businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the wedding planning industry.
• Discuss the type of wedding planning business you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of wedding planning business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of wedding planning businesses:

• Traditional wedding planning : Wedding planners in this type of business utilize a wide array of skills to plan and execute the wedding rehearsal, the wedding ceremony, the reception, and the after-party. In many cases, the wedding planners will also plan and oversee the bridal shower, the bachelorette party, and the bachelor party, as well.
• Wedding ceremony planning: Wedding planners are often contracted to plan exclusive or small wedding ceremonies without receptions that follow. In this type of wedding planning business, the details of the ceremony and the rehearsal prior to it are the components that require artful design and a composed execution. Wedding planners will often oversee the entire wedding party before the wedding ceremony and direct the flow of the wedding itself, as well.
• Extreme wedding planning: With the growing popularity of unique and over-the-top weddings, extreme wedding planners are called upon to create detailed plans and highly-complex preparations for successful weddings and receptions. A bride who wants to get married in a hot air balloon, a groom who desires to get married on a professional football field, or a couple who desire to get married during an opera onstage all require the highest level of attention for a wedding planning business.
• Destination wedding planning: Wedding planners who specialize in destination weddings have become significantly more popular in recent years. Part travel agent and part wedding planner, the skills required in this type of wedding planning business are extensive. Wedding planners will often accompany the wedding party to the destination, as well as take care of all the details.
• Luxury wedding planning: Wedding planners are often called upon to demonstrate the highest level of luxury for a wedding and reception. This may mean a weekend wedding with guests at multiple events: pre-wedding cocktail parties, pre-wedding golf games, rehearsal dinners, wedding ceremonies, receptions and morning-after buffets are all part of the top-shelf luxuries offered by wedding planners in this type of wedding planning business.
• Budget-saving wedding planning: In addition to brides who want the most exclusive and expensive weddings, there are those who are more practical and resourceful in their wedding plans. Wedding planners in this type of business offer reasonable rates, artful compositions, sustainable features and memorable receptions without breaking the bank for their clients.

In addition to explaining the type of wedding planning business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of destination weddings with highly-positive outcomes, reaching X number of clients served, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the wedding planning industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the wedding planning industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your wedding planning business plan:

• How big is the wedding planning industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your wedding planning business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your wedding planning business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, bridal couples, families of bridal couples, and friends of bridal couples.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of wedding planning business you operate. Clearly, the mother-of-the-bride would respond to different marketing promotions than young friends of the couple, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other wedding planning businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes church wedding hosts, personal friends of the bride or groom, retail department stores that offer wedding attire.

For each direct competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But, you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of weddings are their specialty?
• Which wedding locations and settings do they frequent?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide optional amenities for the reception?
• Will you offer wedding-related products that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a wedding planning business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of wedding planning company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide 3-4 pre-wedding planning sessions with your client, will you offer a full traditional wedding and reception package, or will you offer to arrange child care for babies and children during the reception?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your wedding planning company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your wedding planning business located in a busy retail shopping district, is it attached to a major event center, or is it near an exceptional wedding venue? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your wedding planning marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your wedding planning business, including answering calls, planning and providing wedding planner services, billing clients and maintaining records, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth wedding, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your wedding planning business to a new city.

Management Team

To demonstrate your wedding planning business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing wedding planning businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a wedding planning business or successfully running an event planning business.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you meet with prospective clients three times each day, and/or offer a few, small wedding planner services as a gift to the bride? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your wedding planning business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a wedding planning business:

• Cost of furnishings, decor items and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of contracted clients on a 6-month planning calendar.

Writing a business plan for your wedding planning business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the wedding planning industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful wedding planning business.

Wedding Planning Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my wedding planning business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your wedding planning business plan.

How Do You Start a Wedding Planning Business?

Starting a Wedding Planning business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Wedding Planning Business
• Create Your Wedding Planning Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Wedding Planning Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Wedding Planning Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Wedding Planning Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Wedding Planning Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Wedding Planning Business Equipment
• Develop Your Wedding Planning Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Wedding Planning Business
• Open for Business

Learn more about how to start your own wedding planning business .

Where Can I Download a Free Business Plan Template PDF?

Click here to download the pdf version of our basic business plan template.

Our free business plan template pdf allows you to see the key sections to complete in your plan and the key questions that each must answer. The business plan pdf will definitely get you started in the right direction.

We do offer a premium version of our business plan template. Click here to learn more about it. The premium version includes numerous features allowing you to quickly and easily create a professional business plan. Its most touted feature is its financial projections template which allows you to simply enter your estimated sales and growth rates, and it automatically calculates your complete five-year financial projections including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Here’s the link to our Ultimate Business Plan Template.

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Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

How To Write a Successful Wedding Planner Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for wedding planner businesses that want to improve their strategy and/or raise funding.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines the vision for your company, but also documents a step-by-step roadmap of how you are going to accomplish it. In order to create an effective business plan, you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article provides an overview of the key elements that every wedding planner business owner should include in their business plan.

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What is a Wedding Planner Business Plan?

A wedding planner business plan is a formal written document that describes your company’s business strategy and its feasibility. It documents the reasons you will be successful, your areas of competitive advantage, and it includes information about your team members. Your business plan is a key document that will convince investors and lenders (if needed) that you are positioned to become a successful venture.

Why Write a Wedding Planner Business Plan?

A wedding planner business plan is required for banks and investors. The document is a clear and concise guide of your business idea and the steps you will take to make it profitable.

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting their new company or venture, especially if they are inexperienced in starting a business.

Writing an Effective Wedding Planner Business Plan

The following are the key components of a successful wedding planner business plan:

Executive Summary

The executive summary of a wedding planner business plan is a one to two page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your wedding planner company
• Provide a short summary of the key points in each section of your business plan, which includes information about your company’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast among others.

Company Description

This section should include a brief history of your company. Include a short description of how your company started, and provide a timeline of milestones your company has achieved.

If you are just starting your wedding planner business, you may not have a long company history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in this industry and how and why you conceived your new venture. If you have worked for a similar company before or have been involved in an entrepreneurial venture before starting your wedding planner firm, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen wedding planner business model and how, if applicable, it is different from other companies in your industry.

Industry Analysis

The industry or market analysis is an important component of a wedding planner business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends and document the size of your market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the wedding planner industry are you targeting?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now (and if applicable, how do these trends support the success of your company)?

You should also include sources for the information you provide, such as published research reports and expert opinions.

Customer Analysis

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, the customers of a wedding planner business may include:

• Bridal party members
• Family of wedding couple
• Wedding vendors (e.g., caterers, florists, photographers)

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy from you as well as what keeps them buying from you.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to buy from you, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or wedding planner services with the right marketing.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis helps you determine how your product or service will be different from competitors, and what your unique selling proposition (USP) might be that will set you apart in this industry.

For each competitor, list their strengths and weaknesses. Next, determine your areas of competitive differentiation and/or advantage; that is, in what ways are you different from and ideally better than your competitors.

Below are sample competitive advantages your wedding planner business may have:

• Extensive industry knowledge and experience
• Personalized service
• Comprehensive planning and organization
• Creativity and attention to detail
• Value-driven perspective

Marketing Plan

This part of the business plan is where you determine and document your marketing plan. . Your plan should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service : Detail your product/service offerings here. Document their features and benefits.
• Price : Document your pricing strategy here. In addition to stating the prices for your products/services, mention how your pricing compares to your competition.
• Place : Where will your customers find you? What channels of distribution (e.g., partnerships) will you use to reach them if applicable?
• Promotion : How will you reach your target customers? For example, you may use social media, write blog posts, create an email marketing campaign, use pay-per-click advertising, launch a direct mail campaign. Or, you may promote your wedding planner business via word-of-mouth marketing.

Operations Plan

This part of your wedding planner business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your product/service to customers? For example, will you do it in person or over the phone only?
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is where you also need to include your company’s business policies. You will want to establish policies related to everything from customer service to pricing, to the overall brand image you are trying to present.

Finally, and most importantly, in your Operations Plan, you will lay out the milestones your company hopes to achieve within the next five years. Create a chart that shows the key milestone(s) you hope to achieve each quarter for the next four quarters, and then each year for the following four years. Examples of milestones for a wedding planner business include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include adding new products or services, expanding to new markets, or hiring new personnel.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific wedding planner industry. Include brief biography sketches for each team member.

Particularly if you are seeking funding, the goal of this section is to convince investors and lenders that your team has the expertise and experience to execute on your plan. If you are missing key team members, document the roles and responsibilities you plan to hire for in the future.

Financial Plan

Here you will include a summary of your complete and detailed financial plan (your full financial projections go in the Appendix). 

This includes the following three financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue : how much revenue you generate.
• Cost of Goods Sold : These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss) : Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, this is the net income or loss.

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Wedding Planner Business

Balance sheet.

Include a balance sheet that shows your assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Wedding Planner Business

Cash flow statement.

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include:

• Cash Flow From Operations
• Cash Flow From Investments
• Cash Flow From Financing

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup wedding planner business.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Wedding Planner Business

You will also want to include an appendix section which will include:

• Your complete financial projections
• A complete list of your company’s business policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.)
• Any other documentation which supports what you included in the body of your business plan.

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your wedding planner company. It not only outlines your business vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it.

A well-written business plan is an essential tool for any wedding planner company. If you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, it’s important to have a polished and professional business plan. Use the template above as a guide as you write your own wedding planner business plan.  

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If you love love and have stellar organizational skills, you may have considered starting a business in the wedding industry. When it comes to how to start a wedding planning business, it pays to keep calm and carry on. In fact, these very qualities have helped generate a growing income stream for Eileen Kaden Dean, owner of a successful wedding planning business in the New York City and New Jersey area.

“To be successful in this business, you have to stay calm and realize that a wedding emergency isn't your emergency. You can’t make the stress about you because it’s not your day,” says Kaden Dean, owner of An Affair to Remember and a go-to wedding planner.

Kaden Dean, who opened her company more than a decade ago, is among the many small business owners who make up the nearly $60 billion wedding services industry in the U.S. The lucrative industry covers an array of wedding service providers, including wedding venues, apparel retailers, florists, photographers, and wedding planners, according to market research firm IBISWorld.

The average wedding in the U.S. cost over $44,000 in 2018, according to Brides.com. Wedding costs vary greatly depending on where you live and your budget, but Manhattan is the most expensive place to get married, with the average couple spending a whopping $96,910 according to The Knot.

Although websites like The Knot and WeddingWire make it easier for couples to plan their big day themselves, many still turn to professionals like Kaden Dean. An Affair to Remember helps plan the wedding, deals with vendors, and coordinates the chain of events at the wedding and reception to make sure the day goes off without a hitch. In a nutshell, wedding planners are in the business of creating happiness and keeping everything organized, so the couple doesn’t have to worry about all the little (and big) things, says Kaden Dean.

If you're wondering how to start a wedding planning business, know that there are many moving parts, from picking out a bridal dress and venue to choosing invitations, to hiring a band or DJ, to selecting a menu. And the list goes on. Even small weddings—in vogue right now—aren't as simple to plan as you might think.

“There’s a need for wedding planners as couples are busy doing other things, like looking to buy a house and working long hours in their careers. Having someone to manage things is attractive, and this way couples can enjoy themselves and be present on their wedding day,” says Kaden Dean.

How to start a wedding planning business in 7 steps

There are a ton of different ways you can learn how to start a wedding planning business, but we'll give you a few steps to help you get your business started.

Step 1: Choose the type of wedding business you want to start and a name

Before you can do much else, you need to decide what kind of services you want your wedding planning business to offer. Wedding planners can offer all types of different services, and you should pick which ones you'll offer before you get to the nitty-gritty of planning your business and setting it up. You should also choose a business name during this step, and check with your state's Secretary of State resources to make sure that the name you want is available. You can usually do this using an online database on their website.

Kaden Dean started her wedding planning business out of a bridal dress store in New Jersey and expanded it from there. Her business offers everything from the full package to smaller day-of planning.

Although her clientele is in the greater New York area, Kaden Dean recognizes that not all couples can afford to spend upward of $50,000 on their weddings, which is part of the reason she offers several packages. Deciding what types of services and packages your own wedding planning business will offer will be important as you plan the business, market your services, and meet with potential clients.

For context, An Affair to Remember offers three pricing packages:

1. Full planning

For this most expensive option, Kaden Dean will plan the entire event from soup to nuts. This includes helping couples find the perfect venue, lining up all the vendors, helping choose invitations and centerpieces, and just about everything else. “Sometimes I even help pick the colors of the ties.”

The cost: about $5,000 and up.

2. Day of the wedding

This least expensive option is ideal for couples who want to do the planning themselves, but need some organizational help on the day of the wedding. For a typical wedding where Kaden Dean is hired for the day only, she creates a minute-to-minute timeline of when events will happen, like the hour the flowers will be delivered to the site and the exact time when the bridesmaids will arrive. On the big day, Kaden Dean is there to ensure that all goes according to plan.

She also handles any snafus. “One time a couple in the wedding party left a diaper bag in a taxi with their passports in it.” She went to work and tracked down the diaper bag, so that the couple could participate in the wedding stress-free. An hour later, the bag arrived at the venue.

The cost: about $1,750 to $2,250. The exact pricing depends on the amount of time Kaden Dean puts in, the number of assistants hired, and so on.

3. Day of “plus”

This is An Affair to Remember’s most popular offering. Couples hiring Kaden Dean for this package will plan their own weddings but rely on her to handle events on the wedding day, as well as any last-minute planning issues. “I take everything they have, shake it out, and see what pockets are missing to make sure everything is cohesive.” This package usually entails five hours of consultation time, 12 hours on the day of the wedding, one hour for the rehearsal, and 15 hours of virtual legwork to put all the ducks in a row.

The cost: about $2,500 to $3,000.

How much do you need?

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We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

Step 2: Choose a business entity

The next step in starting a wedding planning business is deciding how you'll structure your business for legal and tax purposes. You'll likely want to choose a business entity that protects you personally from any legal ramifications your wedding planning business might face. A great option for this would be to choose a limited liability company (LLC) as your business entity. An LLC is a registered business in which owners are not personally liable for the business's debts or obligations. You might also choose a limited liability partnership if you want to have a business partner but the protections an LLC can offer you. Once you choose a business entity you can move on to step 3 which is writing your business plan.

You'll also want to register the business with the state once you have the entity and name decided on. Now would be a great time to consult a business attorney familiar with your type of business who can help you make sure everything is up to par and that you aren't missing any steps. This person can also help you choose which business entity is best for your wedding planning business.

Step 3: Write a detailed business plan

If you're starting a wedding planning business, hopefully, you're already a good planner and this step should come naturally to you. You'll need to write a business plan before you can get your business up and running. You can use a business plan template or business plan software to make the process easier, but there are some specific things you should be sure to include in it, no matter how you write it.

You should include a summary of your business in the plan as well as a market analysis, a detailed list of the products and services you'll offer, your marketing and sales plan, your financial plan and projections, and more. Think of your business plan for a roadmap that will lead you through the early stages of building your business and making it profitable.

Your business plan should also include some of the vendors and any other businesses you plan on working with. During the first year of starting her business, Kaden Dean focused on developing such relationships. “It was a challenging first year, but I spent the time introducing myself to the local wedding vendors so I could find people to recommend and work with. I set the groundwork for my business and established myself.”

An Affair to Remember’s start-up costs the first year maxed out at $10,000, including the rent and furniture for the small space in the bridal shop, along with signage, business cards and brochures, a website, and advertising on WeddingWire. Kaden Dean also had to pay to attend bridal shows, hire an assistant to help her track advertising inquiries, and cover her childcare costs. The costs Kaden Dean had are the kind you should plan to face and include in the financial section of your business plan.

Step 4: Get an EIN

If you plan to hire employees to help run your wedding planning business, you'll need to obtain an EIN, also known as an employer identification number. However, even if your business is a one-person show at the moment, you'll likely want to get an employer identification number for your business to make things easier on yourself down the line. The good news is that it's fairly easy to apply for an employer identification number and you can apply online through the IRS' website and get one in a matter of minutes.

An EIN comes with a number of benefits and can be extremely helpful for your business. It can help you when it comes time to file your business taxes, get a business credit card, open a business bank account, or any other number of business necessities.

Step 5: Get a business bank account and business credit card

Now that you have an EIN, you'll use this number when applying to open a business checking account and business credit card . This next step of starting a wedding planning business is crucial, as you'll want to keep your business finances separate from your personal finances. When you're still working on setting up your wedding planning business maybe you'll be working out of your house as a home-based business or maybe you'll have a small storefront. Either way, you'll probably want to spend on some decor, or at least on some marketing products, and you'll likely want a credit card to use for that.

Keeping the business finances completely separate from your personal finances will be huge when it comes time to file your taxes and it will help you boost your business credit score as well.

Step 6: Get any funding you need

The next step in starting a wedding planning business? Funding your new venture. The startup costs associated with opening a wedding planning business don't have to be too high, especially if you're working out of your home or another business's space. However, you will still have some upfront expenses you may not have the savings to cover. In that case, this is the time when you might need to work on getting a business loan or other funding option.

And because you have a great business plan already, you can use that to show potential investors or lenders that you have a well thought out business and a plan for turning a profit quickly. Of course, getting a loan as a new business isn't always easy. If you're finding your options to be limited, you might turn to a 0% introductory APR business credit card as an interest-free loan of sorts. With this type of credit card, you won't pay any interest on the balance you carry over for the length of the introductory offer (this will depend on the card, but at most will be 12 months). Just make sure you have a plan to pay off your balance by the end of this intro period, when a variable APR will set in, or this won't be the most effective funding tool.

Step 7: Market your services and start doing business

Once your wedding planning business is up and running and have the services you're offering laid out, you can start marketing them and hopefully bringing on new business. Consider marketing at trade shows and with any bridal boutiques in your area, or forge relationships with wedding venues to find clients. Once you get your first client, you're off to the races and can consider yourself fully in business.

The brides and grooms you work with will be grateful for your services and you can help them make their special day as stress-free as possible.

"Hiring a planner is so important to your big day," says Kaden Dean. The last thing a bride needs is for someone else to show up to handle the details: “They trust me. When you hire me, you get me. I’ve never missed a wedding.”

And keep in mind, happy customers can provide referrals and word-of-mouth marketing that can give you business the boost it needs to take off.

Start Your Dream Business

The bottom line

If you want to survive and thrive in the wedding planning business, you’ve got to put on a happy face and mean it—all the time. Also, you’ve got to be nice—all the time, says Kaden Dean.

It might seem like a simple recipe for success, but if you do a great job and you’re happy and people know it, the referrals will flow and you’ll stay busy, she says.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

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Wedding Planning Business Plan

If you are into creating memorable experiences, then planning a picture-perfect wedding for someone would be blissful and rewarding.

Anyone can start a new business, but you need a detailed business plan when it comes to raising funding, applying for loans, and scaling it like a pro!

Need help writing a business plan for your wedding planning business? You’re at the right place. Our wedding planning business plan template will help you get started.

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• Fill in the blanks – Outline
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How to Write A Wedding Planning Business Plan?

Writing a wedding planning business plan is a crucial step toward the success of your business. Here are the key steps to consider when writing a business plan:

1. Executive Summary

An executive summary is the first section planned to offer an overview of the entire business plan. However, it is written after the entire business plan is ready and summarizes each section of your plan.

Here are a few key components to include in your executive summary:

Introduce your Business:

Start your executive summary by briefly introducing your business to your readers.

Market Opportunity:

Wedding planning services:.

Highlight the wedding planning services you offer your clients. The USPs and differentiators you offer are always a plus.

Marketing & Sales Strategies:

Financial highlights:, call to action:.

Ensure your executive summary is clear, concise, easy to understand, and jargon-free.

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2. Business Overview

The business overview section of your business plan offers detailed information about your company. The details you add will depend on how important they are to your business. Yet, business name, location, business history, and future goals are some of the foundational elements you must consider adding to this section:

Business Description:

Describe your business in this section by providing all the basic information:

Describe what kind of wedding planning company you run and the name of it. You may specialize in one of the following wedding planning businesses:

• Full-service wedding planner
• Destination wedding planner
• Theme wedding planner
• Wedding consultant
• Describe the legal structure of your wedding planning company, whether it is a sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or others.
• Explain where your business is located and why you selected the place.

Mission Statement:

Business history:.

• Additionally, If you have received any awards or recognition for excellent work, describe them.

Future Goals

This section should provide a thorough understanding of your business, its history, and its future plans. Keep this section engaging, precise, and to the point.

3. Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should offer a thorough understanding of the industry with the target market, competitors, and growth opportunities. You should include the following components in this section.

Target market:

Start this section by describing your target market. Define your ideal customer and explain what types of services they prefer. Creating a buyer persona will help you easily define your target market to your readers.

Market size and growth potential:

Describe your market size and growth potential and whether you will target a niche or a much broader market.

Competitive Analysis:

Market trends:.

Analyze emerging trends in the industry, such as technology disruptions, changes in customer behavior or preferences, etc. Explain how your business will cope with all the directions.

Regulatory Environment:

Here are a few tips for writing the market analysis section of your wedding consultant business plan:

• Conduct market research, industry reports, and surveys to gather data.
• Provide specific and detailed information whenever possible.
• Illustrate your points with charts and graphs.
• Write your business plan keeping your target audience in mind.

4. Wedding Planning Services

The product and services section should describe the specific services and products that will be offered to customers. To write this section should include the following:

Describe your services:

Mention the wedding planning services your business will offer. This list may include services like,

• Initial consultation
• Venue selection
• Budget planning & management
• Wedding design & theme development
• Wedding day coordination

Explain the service process:

Additional services.

In short, this section of your wedding planning plan must be informative, precise, and client-focused. By providing a clear and compelling description of your offerings, you can help potential investors and readers understand the value of your business.

5. Sales And Marketing Strategies

Writing the sales and marketing strategies section means a list of strategies you will use to attract and retain your clients. Here are some key elements to include in your sales & marketing plan:

Unique Selling Proposition (USP):

Define your business’s USPs depending on the market you serve, the equipment you use, and the unique services you provide. Identifying USPs will help you plan your marketing strategies.

Pricing Strategy:

Marketing strategies:, sales strategies:, customer retention:.

Overall, this section of your wedding planning business plan should focus on customer acquisition and retention.

Have a specific, realistic, and data-driven approach while planning sales and marketing strategies for your wedding planning business, and be prepared to adapt or make strategic changes in your strategies based on feedback and results.

6. Operations Plan

The operations plan section of your business plan should outline the processes and procedures involved in your business operations, such as staffing requirements and operational processes. Here are a few components to add to your operations plan:

Staffing & Training:

Operational process:, equipment & machinery:.

Include the list of equipment and machinery required for wedding planning, such as office supplies, camera & photography equipment, project management software, wedding planning software, social media management tools, file transfer tool, etc.

Adding these components to your operations plan will help you lay out your business operations, which will eventually help you manage your business effectively.

7. Management Team

The management team section provides an overview of your wedding planning business’s management team. This section should provide a detailed description of each manager’s experience and qualifications, as well as their responsibilities and roles.

Founders/CEO:

Key managers:.

Introduce your management and key members of your team, and explain their roles and responsibilities.

Organizational structure:

Compensation plan:, advisors/consultants:.

Mentioning advisors or consultants in your business plans adds credibility to your business idea.

This section should describe the key personnel for your wedding planning business, highlighting how you have the perfect team to succeed.

8. Financial Plan

Your financial plan section should provide a summary of your business’s financial projections for the first few years. Here are some key elements to include in your financial plan:

Profit & loss statement:

Cash flow statement:, balance sheet:, break-even point:.

Determine and mention your business’s break-even point—the point at which your business costs and revenue will be equal.

Financing Needs:

Be realistic with your financial projections, and make sure you offer relevant information and evidence to support your estimates.

9. Appendix

The appendix section of your plan should include any additional information supporting your business plan’s main content, such as market research, legal documentation, financial statements, and other relevant information.

• Add a table of contents for the appendix section to help readers easily find specific information or sections.
• In addition to your financial statements, provide additional financial documents like tax returns, a list of assets within the business, credit history, and more. These statements must be the latest and offer financial projections for at least the first three or five years of business operations.
• Provide data derived from market research, including stats about the industry, user demographics, and industry trends.
• Include any legal documents such as permits, licenses, and contracts.
• Include any additional documentation related to your business plan, such as product brochures, marketing materials, operational procedures, etc.

Use clear headings and labels for each section of the appendix so that readers can easily find the necessary information.

Remember, the appendix section of your wedding planner business plan should only include relevant and important information supporting your plan’s main content.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

This sample wedding planning business plan will provide an idea for writing a successful wedding planning plan, including all the essential components of your business.

After this, if you still need clarification about writing an investment-ready business plan to impress your audience, download our wedding planning business plan pdf .

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a wedding planning business plan.

A business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful wedding planning business. It helps to get clarity in your business, secures funding, and identifies potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

Overall, a well-written plan can help you make informed decisions, which can contribute to the long-term success of your wedding planning company.

Where to find business plan writers for your wedding planning business?

There are many business plan writers available, but no one knows your business and ideas better than you, so we recommend you write your wedding planning business plan and outline your vision as you have in your mind.

What is the easiest way to write your wedding planning business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of any wedding planning business plan example and edit it as per your need. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software .

How do I write a good market analysis in a wedding planning business plan?

Market analysis is one of the key components of your business plan that requires deep research and a thorough understanding of your industry. We can categorize the process of writing a good market analysis section into the following steps:

• Stating the objective of your market analysis—e.g., investor funding.
• Industry study—market size, growth potential, market trends, etc.
• Identifying target market—based on user behavior and demographics.
• Analyzing direct and indirect competitors.
• Calculating market share—understanding TAM, SAM, and SOM.
• Knowing regulations and restrictions
• Organizing data and writing the first draft.

Writing a marketing analysis section can be overwhelming, but using ChatGPT for market research can make things easier.

Can a good wedding planning business plan help me secure funding?

Indeed. A well-crafted wedding planning business plan will help your investors better understand your business domain, market trends, strategies, business financials, and growth potential—helping them make better financial decisions.

So, if you have a profitable and investable business, a comprehensive business plan can certainly help you secure your business funding.

What's the importance of a marketing strategy in a wedding planning business plan?

Marketing strategy is a key component of your wedding planning business plan. Whether it is about achieving certain business goals or helping your investors understand your plan to maximize their return on investment—an impactful marketing strategy is the way to do it!

Here are a few pointers to help you understand the importance of having an impactful marketing strategy:

• It provides your business an edge over your competitors.
• It helps investors better understand your business and growth potential.
• It helps you develop products with the best profit potential.
• It helps you set accurate pricing for your products or services.

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OK – you've made this HUGE decision that you want to start a wedding planning business. But not just ANY kind of wedding planning business. You want to build a business that gets amazing clients, is successful, and allows you to build and grow something that's YOURS.

You want to plan gorgeous weddings, work with incredible clients, get featured in magazines, and spend your days obsessing over linen swatches, pretty flowers, candles, and of course, the logistics that make all the pretty happen.

In this blog post, I've put together my 12+ years of experience in running a profitable, multi six figure, multi-country wedding planning & design business so you can learn how to start a wedding planning business you love quicker, faster, and better.

First, let me say how delighted I am for you. In other words, when I started my wedding planning and design company back in 2007, I had the same feelings you did about creating the life and career I wanted.

I was excited, nervous, energized, and willing to consume any information on starting a wedding planning business.

(Back in 2007, that information was hard to come by. There were not a lot of resources on how to start a wedding planning business. However, you've got a lot of information on hand to guide you.)

I'm going to break down how to start a wedding planning business–but not just any kind of wedding planning business–one that will be profitable and scalable.

Here are the 11 steps you need to take to start and grow your new wedding planning business:

Step 1: Know What Kind Of Wedding Planning Business You Want to Build

Before you do anything, knowing what kind of wedding planning business you want is the first step. I've got an easy exercise for you to figure this out, too.

We call it vision casting.

It's important to know what kind of business you want, which will help you write strategies to make that business come to life.

In addition, we can't know what we're really building until we see the destination we want to arrive at, right?

That's what vision casting is. It's knowing the destination you want to arrive at–the business that you want.

To make this even easier for you, I've recorded an entire podcast episode on how to vision cast for your business. 👇

Episode 42 of my podcast for wedding pros, The Power in Purpose Podcast gives you step-by-step guidance and action on how to start your wedding planning biz with vision casting.

Everyone is building a different kind of business under different circumstances. For instance, you might want to have a career that allows you to raise your family at the same time. Or, you might want to build a million-dollar empire.

This is why it's important to know what kind of business YOU want so that you can reverse engineer the strategies that it will take to get there.

Don't skip this step. And listen to this podcast episode to get started.

Step 2: Write A Business Plan For Your Wedding Planning Business

Yes, I know you wanted to skip this part–biz plans are so 2007, aren't they?

No. They're essential. To build the wedding planning business YOU want (the one you're going to vision cast for!), you have to write a strategy to get there.

That's what a business plan is: an overarching strategy for getting from where you are today to where you want to go. And it cannot be overlooked.

Writing your business plan doesn't have to be challenging or overwhelming. You don't need an MBA or a fancy degree to start a business.

Instead, you just need to discover a problem that needs solving, and then your business becomes the solution.

With that said, I know that writing a business plan isn't the easiest (or sexiest) task.

That's why I've created my Free Business Plan Outline + Guide , a way to jumpstart your efforts and get you to write a plan for your wedding planning business.

Write a wedding planner business plan with this free guidebook and outline. It'll take you from stuck to start. I take all the guesswork out of how to write a business plan and even teach you some strategies. Plus, it's free! That's why I want to make sure you grab it.

Step 3: Know The “Ideal Clients” Your Wedding Planning Business Will Serve

The #1 reason why businesses fail is they don't know who their customers are. They don't really, truly, and personally know their customers. 

Their values.

Their problems.

However, this isn't going to be you; you're here to learn how to start a wedding planning business–and a crucial step is knowing your ideal clients!

Instead, you're going to create a business that fully understands who your ideal clients are so that you can solve their problems quicker, faster, and better than anyone else.

You must get specific about your ideal clients and why they need you to solve their problems. Knowing more about what motivates them, what they value, what challenges they face, and yes, what problems they have means you can position yourself as the solution.

I want to clarify that knowing your ideal clients is more than knowing what kind of car they drive, their favorite color, and their age range. Moreover, those things are essential but only tell you part of the story.

If you want to book high-end clients in the wedding industry, you need to check out The Client Cocktail . In this mini-training, I teach you how to call in dreamy clients and magazine-worthy weddings.

When you start your business, you'll be tempted to serve everyone and anyone. That's one of the biggest mistakes new entrepreneurs make: they reason they'll cast a wide net, increasing their chances of customers. After all, the wider the net, the more you can catch, right?

What ends up happening is you become too watered down, too unspecific, and too generic. However, by appealing to everyone, you appeal to no one because no one can really connect with your company.

They don't look at what you offer, your message, and say, “This is for me.”

Step 4: Create A Wedding Planning Brand That Gets Noticed

There are a lot of wedding planners out there. What makes you different?

One of the cornerstones of marketing is that people buy with their eyes, and your brand–aka the visual manifestation of your company–is what sets you apart.

You need to create a visual brand that gets noticed.

One that makes YOUR ideal client stop in their tracks.

One that makes your perfect client buy with their eye.

Your visual branding helps to accelerate the know/like/trust factor with your customers. The couple who wants to hire someone like you lands on your website or sees some of your marketing, and because of its polished nature and overall experience, they want to know more.

After you've set a vision and written your business plan, don't let it all fall apart by having a bad logo and website.

Your clients will notice immediately that your business doesn't live up to what it offers. And they will click off.

You have a matter of seconds to capture someone's attention (sometimes, it's a fraction of that number!). How will you capture the attention of your ideal clients with your marketing and branding?

Here are some quick resources for you to start creating a kick-ass wedding planning brand from DAY ONE (bc that's how we roll!)

• Showit Website Platform : To create a GORGEOUS website (it's my website platform!)
• Sourced Co : For incredible stock images created JUST for wedding pros. You can find images for marketing and your website, making it easy to start without a portfolio. Use code PLAYBOOK to get a special discount.
• Hautestock : Use code CANDICE for 15% off gorgeous stock images that don't look stock. Firstly, Hautestock's images are great for your website to fill in the gaps where you might not have a portfolio. Secondly, they make perfect social media posts so you can start marketing TODAY – even if you don't have any clients or work!
• Styled Stock : Another fantastic styled stock membership for beautiful stock images that don't look like “stock images.”

Step 5: Work More On Your Wedding Planning Business Than In It

You had the idea to start a wedding planning business because you want to be a wedding planner. However, when you decide to open up your own company, you're a business owner first. Wedding planner, second.

They say that businesses fail not only because they don't know their ideal clients but because the owner of that business doesn't work on their business. 

You toil away at being the best wedding planner, focusing all your time on planning weddings and serving your clients, but what about the business owner side? 

I want you to work more ON your business than IN your business. Consider yourself a business owner above all other roles you might have in your business.

Owning a business is like having a classic car: it needs love, care, and attention. It needs you to tune it, fix what's broken, and invest in its care.

If you're serious about owning a wedding planning business, consider yourself an entrepreneur first and a business owner second.

My advice? Seek education to help you build and grow your wedding planning business from the ground up correctly. Find mentors and business owners who are where you want to be and hire them to help you.

In addition, you should invest in courses , conferences, and other educational avenues to learn all you can and speed up your results.

Always learning, always moving forward. That's my motto.

Step 6: Network With The Right People

The wedding industry is mostly about connections, and some of the most incredible business comes from referrals (if you sign up for The Client Cocktail , you'll know how important this is!).

You have to seek out new connections as much as possible–but not just any old “links”–and focus on the right ones.

As you set out to market your business, you must get in front of the right people. Ideally, the people and companies that are already in front of your ideal clients.

They have the power to refer to you and to help lift your business alongside theirs.

Do you want to know one of the first things I did when I started my business?

I networked my butt off. Networking with the right people was one of the first things I did when I started my business, which paid off. I was armed with my biz plan, a vision for the future, and a nice-looking brand/website. I sought out businesses that were already in front of my ideal clients.

And it paid off in dividends. 

Step 7: Know Your Marketing Message And Market Your Wedding Planning Business As Much As You Can

Marketing is simply sharing your message so that it reaches the right people. What's your message?

Your company's mission, vision, and purpose are vital. They connect you to your customers and ground you when the going gets tough.

You need to have a clear, concise message about what your company does, how life looks for your customers after you do it, and why you do it in the first place.

Step 8: Make Mistakes, Try New Things & Do It Your Way

When you start a business, you follow the same path as those you admire. No doubt you've rapidly followed a bunch of people on the ‘gram who are killing it in their wedding planning biz right now.

And you're probably thinking: I need to do it this way too.

Maybe. Or maybe not. Don't fall into the trap of copying what other folks are doing. That's their business–their vision–not yours.

I want you to feel empowered to do it YOUR way. Sure, you can seek out roadmaps and blueprints on how to build your business, but make sure you adapt what you learn as it fits your unique circumstances.

Don't build someone else's business. Build yours.

If you want to hear some of my epic wedding planning mistakes, check out my tales from the clipboard email series.

Step 9: Give Your Business Time To Grow & Take Root

As a business coach for wedding planners and pros, I've seen biz owners quit just when the going gets going. Owning a wedding planning business is a marathon and not a sprint. It takes time for your efforts to start to take root.

When I started my company, it took me six months to land my first client. Imagine if I had quit five months and two weeks in? 

I want you to know that things take time. Give your business time to take root. It will happen with consistency and perseverance. Don't quit at the first failure. 

Remember, your failures lead you toward your successes.

Patience is necessary for business (just like with most things in life). The strategies you implement today may not show results for 3-6 months. But they will see results if you give them a chance. 

Step 10: Hire A Wedding Planning Mentor And Learn, Learn, Learn

Let me ask you a serious question. Why not hire someone to help you do all the above and teach you the ropes so that you can accelerate your business quicker and faster?

There is no greater gift you can give your biz than enlisting the help of someone who has been where you want to go.

As a wedding industry business coach and mentor , of course, I will advocate for what I do. And that's because I've seen the results my expertise brings to those that I humbly help.

If you're serious about starting a wedding planning business, pay for an expert to teach you the road to success. 

I want you to be open to learning as much as you can from trusted sources as you navigate the tricky road of entrepreneurship. Recognize that you don't know everything, be 100% coachable, and apply what you learn in your business.

The truth is, you'll achieve the results you want quicker, better, and faster than you had expected.

Step 11: Believe In Yourself

Finally, I want you to believe in yourself because you were put on this earth for great things.

No, seriously, I want you to believe in your abilities to design a business you love, a business YOU want. While you may lack experience in certain areas, you have a wealth of knowledge about how things work.

You're smart. You're driven. And you're here for the right reasons. Believe in your abilities to learn as you go and apply your knowledge and unique life experiences to the services and products you provide.

For instance, too many people quit because they lack the confidence and belief in themselves to do what they want to do. I don't want you to be one of those people. 

I believe in you. So believe in yourself. All things are possible, and you CAN design a business that you love–and one that gives back to your meaningful life.

And if you're ready to take your wedding planning dreams to the next level, I want to invite you to check out my coaching program for wedding planners .

The Planner's Playbook is your secret weapon for planning, designing, and coordinating high-end weddings like a pro. The doors to this program are open now for a limited time. Click here to learn more about The Planner's Playbook!

Not ready for that? Then grab my free course on how to start your wedding planning business!

Let's summarize this post so you can start your wedding planning business:

How do I start a wedding planning business?

Follow these steps to start and launch your wedding planning business:

It's important to know what kind of business YOU want so that you can reverse engineer the strategies that it will take to get there. Don't skip this step.

Every business needs a strategy to grow and scale. Sit down and write your business plan using your vision as a guide for the strategies you'll create in marketing, sales, services, and pricing.

Businesses exist to serve their customers. Who are you serving? Know your ideal client as well as you know your BFF–and then create products and solutions that help them.

The wedding industry is a saturated market. You'll need to create a brand that stands out from the competition and gets noticed. How will you be different from the rest?

Initially, it'll be easy because you won't have many clients. But as your business grows, it's important to continue working on it more than in it.

The wedding industry is a people industry. Form relationships and connections with the right people–the businesses already in front of your dreamy clients–and watch your biz grow.

Marketing is simply sharing your message so it reaches the right people. Know your message and watch your ICAs start knocking on your door.

Resist the temptation to copy others and be confident that you can do things your way. A signature way of doing anything for your customers will set you apart from the competition.

Nothing happens overnight. It could take months to land your first wedding, so give your business time to take root. Don't rush the brush, so to speak. That moment you feel like quitting? Keep going.

Why try and figure this out all on your own when you could hire someone to help you achieve your goals quicker, faster, and better? Hire a mentor who has been where you want to go and watch how quickly you scale.

A little confidence goes a long way. Believe in your worthiness, experience, creativity, and capabilities. You can do this.

If you're serious about starting your wedding planning business, here are some resources I offer to help:

• Free Business Plan Outline + Guide
• Free Course To Launch Your Wedding Planning Business
• The Client Cocktail
• The Planner's Playbook
• WeddingPro Insiders
• Wedding Planner Business Tools

Know that I'm cheering you on and believing in you. 

Explore More Wedding Industry Resources

How to become a wedding planner with no experience.

• 9 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your Wedding Planning Business
• The Ultimate Wedding Planner Templates in 2024

How To Prepare For Your First Wedding As A Wedding Planner

• 6 Things You Need To Include In Your Wedding Planner Process
• How To Build Your Portfolio As A Wedding Planner When You’re Just Starting Out
• Why You Need To Create A Client Journey As A Wedding Planner
• How To Get Wedding Clients When You’re Just Starting Out
• Day of Coordination: The Pros and Cons as a Wedding Planner
• How Much Should You Charge As A Wedding Planner? Learn How To Figure Out Your Wedding Planner Pricing
• 5 Contracts Every Wedding Planner Must Have To Be Legally Set
• The #1 Reason Why You’re Not Booking The Right Wedding Clients (And How To Fix It)
• 5 Online Wedding Planning Tools You Need to Use
• How To Become A Destination Wedding Planner
• 4 Strategies That Will Help You Book MORE Of Your Ideal Clients
• 5 Tips On Crafting a Business Plan To Book Out Your Biz With Your Ideal Clients And Get Paid
• What A Business Plan Will REALLY Reveal About Your Business
• 6 Reasons Why I Recommend Asana for Wedding Planners
• Are You a Disorganized Wedding Planner? Let’s Fix That With These Organized Wedding Planner Tips!

For More Wedding Planner Business Secrets Follow Me On Instagram

Should you be on TikTok? That’s a question I get asked a lot - and it should come as no surprise that I have some STRONG feelings about this. The quick answer is yes - but not on the way you think. Comment EPISODE 128 and I’ll send you a link to this weeks episode of The Power in Purpose podcast where you’ll hear me make the case for why it think it’s a MUST. Plus, I talk about Nancy Meyers, THAT submarine, and Vanderpump Rules. Once you listen, I’d love to hear your take. Agree or disagree with my opinion?! #weddingindustry #weddingpro #candicecoppola #marketing #weddingpros #weddingplanning101 #weddingindustryeducation #marketingstrategy #socialmediamarketing

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✨ Spend the day with me and see what a very busy day is like for me as a business coach and content creator! Yesterday was definitely a full day of coaching calls with the women in my mastermind and a lot of teaching and content creation. Here’s how I spent my day: Coaching calls with @ininkweddings @afamilyaffairmaine @itssimplyaddy @wild.smile.events @nicoledaniellestudios @laceandbowbridalnm @atouchofgrayevents @letterpressmade Teaching a workshop with @honeybook Recording an episode of my podcast (premiering next week!) Trying to get my steps in and taking the smallest of breaks between meetings Not everyday looks like yesterday, but I definitely love when I get to spend my time with the women and communities I serve! Would you like to see more content like this from me? I’d really like to hear from you! This was a lot of fun to make. ❤️ #candicecoppola #dayinthelife #weddingindustry #weddingpro #businesscoach #podcaster #adayinthelife #thepowerinpurposepodcast #weddingpros #weddingindustryeducation

Let’s create a quarterly business strategy together! ✨ For years, I’ve set goals and created business plans every single quarter. I love working in 90 day chunks because it’s short enough to take quick action but long enough to make progress. Each quarter I: 👉🏻 Review the previous quarter, celebrate wins, and acknowledge what got left behind or didn’t work 👉🏻 Make decisions about where I want to focus my time and energy for this quarter 👉🏻 Set sales goals 👉🏻 Take it to my big white board calendar and create a plan, assigning due dates to big projects while managing my schedule 👉🏻 I put everything into Asana and start creating more concrete to do lists and plans! I LOVE doing this and loved getting the chance to share it with you! Tomorrow I’m leading a 90 day goal setting sesh inside my 1:1 coaching mastermind, WeddingPro Insiders and later this month I MIGHT be doing a special workshop in the Honeybook community 👀 Stay tuned!! #goalsetting #weddingindustry #weddingplannereducation #weddingbusiness #weddingpros #quarterlygoals #businessowner #businessstrategy #businesscoach #candicecoppola #weddingproinsiders #weddingpodcast #vlog #businessvlogger #comewithme

Want more? Check out this video on my YouTube channel ↓

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Wedding planning business can be very successful career, if you work properly before establishing it. Many people learn the basic etiquettes about wedding planning while event planning course. If you want to get basic knowledge you can also get a course from a good institution and start up your business. Though it is a very interesting and joyful business for those, who love thrill and fun, but at the same time it demands commitment lots of energy and stress. Before starting up your business for wedding planning if you follow some important points, you can get better result in start and get good grip over your business soon.

Great post! I read your blog fairly often and you’re always coming out with some great stuff. I shared this on my Facebook and my followers loved it! Keep up the good work. 🙂

Nice post. I just found this article while searching for ways to improve my wedding business. This is not only helpful for people looking to start a wedding business, I got a lot out of it after being in business for nearly 20 years. Thanks for the great info!

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Business Plan Template for Wedding Planner

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
• Get started in seconds

Planning a wedding is a labor of love, but running a wedding planning business requires careful strategy and organization. That's where ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Wedding Planners comes in!

With this template, you can create a comprehensive business plan that will help you:

• Outline your strategies and goals for success in the competitive wedding industry
• Identify your target market and tailor your services to meet their needs
• Calculate financial forecasts and budgets to ensure profitability
• Define your unique value proposition and set yourself apart from the competition

Take your wedding planning business to the next level with ClickUp's Business Plan Template and position yourself for success in the ever-romantic world of weddings!

Business Plan Template for Wedding Planner Benefits

Planning a successful wedding planning business requires careful strategy and preparation. By using a business plan template, wedding planners can:

• Outline their business goals and objectives, ensuring clarity and focus
• Identify their target market and tailor their services to meet their needs
• Calculate financial forecasts, helping to manage expenses and maximize profitability
• Define their unique value proposition, setting themselves apart from competitors
• Guide their operations, making informed decisions and minimizing risks
• Position themselves for success in the competitive wedding industry, attracting more clients and growing their business.

Main Elements of Wedding Planner Business Plan Template

Are you a wedding planner looking to streamline your business planning process? ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Wedding Planners has got you covered!

With this template, you'll have all the essential elements to create a comprehensive and effective business plan:

• Custom Statuses: Track the progress of each section of your business plan with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do, ensuring that every aspect is accounted for and on track.
• Custom Fields: Utilize custom fields such as Reference, Approved, and Section to add relevant details and keep your business plan organized and easily accessible.
• Custom Views: Explore different perspectives with five unique views, including Topics, Status, Timeline, Business Plan, and Getting Started Guide, allowing you to focus on specific aspects of your plan or get an overview of the entire document.

By using ClickUp's Business Plan Template, you can efficiently outline your strategies, set goals, and stay on top of your wedding planning business, ensuring success in the competitive wedding industry.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Wedding Planner

Planning a wedding can be overwhelming, but with the help of a comprehensive business plan template in ClickUp, you can stay organized and ensure a successful event. Follow these steps to effectively use the Business Plan Template for a Wedding Planner:

1. Define your vision and mission

Start by clearly defining your vision and mission for your wedding planning business. What sets you apart from other planners? What type of weddings do you specialize in? Your vision and mission will guide your business decisions and help you attract the right clients.

Use the Docs feature in ClickUp to outline your vision and mission statement.

2. Analyze the market and competition

Conduct thorough market research to understand the wedding planning industry in your area. Identify your target market, analyze the demand for wedding planning services, and study your competition. This information will help you position your business and develop effective marketing strategies.

Use the Table view in ClickUp to gather and analyze market data, competitor information, and target audience demographics.

3. Develop your services and pricing

Determine the range of services you will offer as a wedding planner. Will you provide full-service planning, coordination, or day-of coordination? Define your packages and outline what each service includes. Additionally, establish your pricing structure based on market research, competitor analysis, and your desired profit margin.

Create custom fields in ClickUp to track and organize your services, packages, and pricing details.

4. Create a marketing and sales plan

Outline your marketing and sales strategies to attract and retain clients. Identify the most effective marketing channels for reaching your target audience, such as social media, wedding directories, and local advertising. Develop a strong online presence and leverage customer testimonials and reviews to build credibility.

Use the Calendar view in ClickUp to schedule and plan your marketing and sales activities, including social media posts, blog content, and networking events.

By following these steps and utilizing ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Wedding Planners, you'll be well-equipped to create a successful and thriving wedding planning business.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Wedding Planner

Wedding planning companies can use the Business Plan Template for Wedding Planner to create a comprehensive plan that outlines their strategies, goals, and financial forecasts.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a successful business plan:

• Use the Topics View to organize your plan into different sections such as marketing, operations, and finances
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, whether it's complete, in progress, needs revision, or still to do
• The Timeline View will give you a visual representation of your plan's milestones and deadlines
• Use the Business Plan View to have a comprehensive overview of your entire plan, including goals, strategies, and financial forecasts
• The Getting Started Guide View will provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to use the template effectively
• Customize the template by adding custom fields such as Reference, Approved, and Section to provide additional information and track progress
• Update statuses and custom fields as you work on each section to keep team members informed of progress
• Monitor and analyze your plan to ensure it aligns with your business goals and objectives.
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February 28, 2022

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Did you grow up dreaming of your wedding day? If you’ve had a scrapbook or Pinterest filled with pictures of dresses and floral displays for as long as you can remember, you may be ready to dream beyond your own wedding ceremony and begin a career as a wedding planner.

Luckily, there’s no required training or licensure to become a wedding planner. And getting started on a new career path always takes time and perseverance. However, if you have a passion for helping other couples make their wedding picture-perfect, all you need to get started is a little know-how. This wedding planning business guide gives it to you.

Before you say “I do”…

As any great wedding planner knows, the key to a successful event is making sure you understand the requirements (and expectations) of the job. If you’re thinking of starting your own wedding planning business, you know that the job isn’t all cake tastings and champagne toasts.

If you’re just starting out and don’t have experience in event planning, it may be helpful to get a start working as an assistant to an experienced wedding or event planner. An experienced planner will teach you the lessons they learned early on so you hopefully don’t repeat their same mistakes.

Planning a wedding requires the following traits:

• Great communication skills – Understand the couple’s tastes and preferences, and communicate clearly with your clients, your staff, and your subcontractors.
• Creativity – Everyone wants a unique wedding. Can you come up with a creative, unique solution for each client?
• An eye for detail – A couple is hiring you so they don’t have to worry about the details. It’s important to cross your t’s and dot your i’s. This includes outlining a crisis plan.

When it comes to how to start a wedding planning business, you may need to secure some start-up funding. Even if you have enough cash on-hand to begin marketing and promoting your services, it’s important to begin with a clear, detailed plan so that you know exactly what you hope to accomplish in your first year of business (and beyond).

A strong business plan will help you with everything from pitching yourself to potential clients to taking on a manageable number of ceremonies. It should answer:

What are your goals and vision? – How does your wedding planning business stand out from your competitors? Do you cater to a niche market, offer flat-rate packages, or have a particular design focus that can woo customers?

What steps will you take to achieve your goals? – Do you have potential business partners? Potential customers? How will you market and promote your services?

What is your budget? – How much money do you need to cover your costs until your business becomes profitable? How many ceremonies will you need to plan before your business turns a profit?

How will you structure your business? – Creating a legal business entity like an LLC can help to protect you from some liability. What other steps will you take to legitimize your business and protect yourself from risk?

Having a clear business plan helps you to set achievable goals and take concrete steps towards them.

A website is the first step in your online marketing campaign and will be your digital portfolio. Thankfully, smart website builders such as Wix and Squarespace make it easier than ever to create an attractive site that reflects your style without needing a development background.

The key elements of any good business website are:

Design – A big part of your job as a wedding planner is creating a ceremony to remember. Make sure your website reflects your style.

Your bio – clients want a planner they can relate to as they’re entrusting their big day in your hands. Your bio should reflect your style and personality – include some fun facts to help you stand out.

Portfolio & client reviews – Clients want to be able to imagine their wedding. Consider planning a friend’s wedding, or even staging a mock wedding with a photographer you’d hire for future events. This can help you to convey professionalism and experience as you’re getting started.

Contact information & form – you need a way for prospective clients to easily contact you. Include a phone number and form so people can submit their details. Don’t forget to call prospective clients back as soon as possible – ideally 24-48 hours.

Social proof – Include links to your profiles on industry organizations or websites such as Wedding Wire or The Knot to help potential clients know you’re legitimate. And, if you’ve received any awards or badges, make sure to include those on your website. Additionally, make sure to link to your social profiles.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is how to help your website show up in the search results. The basic setup doesn’t take a marketing degree: simply follow your website builder’s instructions for adding page descriptions, and be sure to include keywords related to your local area so you can show up in local search results.

Once you have a site, start showing it off to your network and updating your social profiles with a link to your website.

Once you land your first gig, it’s important to make sure your business is protected in the event that something goes wrong. As you start your new venture, you’re likely excited, even giddy—but it’s important to come down from cloud nine and assess your risks.

Any time people gather together, there’s the risk that an accident could hurt someone or damage their property. And when it comes to their wedding day, people can become especially litigious. The cost of legal fees alone might burn through your start-up budget.

Most wedding planners can benefit from the following kinds of insurance policies:

General liability insurance provides coverage against client and third-party claims of bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and advertising injury.

Professional liability insurance , also called errors & omission (E&O) insurance, provides coverage against claims of negligence and errors related to your work.

In addition, make sure you’re working with venues and vendors that carry their own insurance policies.

When you’re just getting started, you may only have a single wedding to plan in the months ahead. It may seem like an annual insurance policy just isn’t worth it or a cost you can spare.

But you don’t have to pay for insurance when you’re not working. That’s why there’s Thimble’s Wedding Planner Insurance . Our fast, flexible policies go by the hour, day, or month. You can take out insurance just for an afternoon of venue tours with your clients, or for an entire wedding weekend.

And while a wedding may take months to plan, you can get insurance in just 60 seconds. All you have to do is enter a few details about your business, and we’ll generate your free quote. Click purchase, and your proof of insurance will arrive in your email inbox right away.

Starting a business can be scary, but with the right steps, you can look forward to a long and happy career as a wedding planner. Remember to:

• Understand the job requirements
• Build your online portfolio (your website)
• Protect yourself from risk with insurance

Pop the champagne—you’re ready to be your own boss!

Written on February 28, 2022

Our editorial content is intended for informational purposes only and is not written by a licensed insurance agent. Terms and conditions for rate and coverage may vary by class of business and state.

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Here is a free business plan sample for a wedding planning services.

If the allure of orchestrating the perfect wedding day makes your heart flutter, but you're uncertain about how to turn that passion into a profession, you've landed in the perfect spot.

In the passages that follow, we will guide you through a comprehensive sample business plan tailored for a wedding planning business.

As you might already be aware, a meticulously developed business plan is a cornerstone of success for any aspiring entrepreneur, as it outlines your vision, objectives, and strategies for your enterprise.

To craft a winning plan with clarity and precision, feel free to utilize our wedding planner business plan template. Our specialists are also on standby to provide a complimentary review and refinement of your plan.

How to draft a great business plan for your wedding planning services?

A good business plan for a wedding planning business must be tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities of the event planning industry.

To start, it's crucial to provide a comprehensive overview of the wedding planning market. This includes up-to-date statistics and an analysis of emerging trends, as illustrated in our wedding planner business plan template .

Your business plan should articulate your vision clearly, define your target clientele (such as luxury, budget-conscious, or destination weddings), and establish your brand's unique value proposition (personalized service, exclusive venues, etc.).

Market analysis is key. You need to understand the competitive landscape, what other wedding planners are offering, and what gaps you can fill. This section should also cover the demographics and psychographics of your target market.

For a wedding planner, services are your products. Describe the range of services you'll offer, from full-service planning to day-of coordination, and how these services cater to the needs and desires of your clients.

The operational plan is vital. It should outline your business structure, the roles of your team members, your approach to vendor partnerships, and the logistics of how you will plan and execute weddings.

Quality of service is paramount in wedding planning. Your plan should detail your approach to ensuring a high standard of customer satisfaction, including communication strategies and contingency planning for unexpected events.

Marketing and sales strategies must be addressed. How will you attract couples and encourage referrals? Consider your promotional tactics, networking, and reputation management.

Embracing digital strategies is also crucial, such as maintaining a well-designed website, engaging on social media, and leveraging online reviews and testimonials.

The financial section is a cornerstone of your plan. It should include startup costs, pricing strategies, sales projections, operational expenses, and the break-even analysis.

In wedding planning, margins can vary greatly depending on the type of service offered, so a thorough understanding of your financials is essential. For assistance, refer to our financial forecast for wedding planners .

Compared to other business plans, a wedding planner's plan must pay special attention to client relationship management, the customization of services, and the ability to handle high-stress situations.

A well-crafted business plan will not only help you clarify your business strategy but also attract investors or secure loans.

Lenders and investors are looking for detailed market research, realistic financial projections, and a clear plan for client acquisition and event execution.

By presenting a comprehensive and convincing business plan, you show your dedication to the success of your wedding planning business.

To achieve these goals efficiently, you can start with our wedding planner business plan template .

A free example of business plan for a wedding planning services

Here, we will provide a concise and illustrative example of a business plan for a specific project.

This example aims to provide an overview of the essential components of a business plan. It is important to note that this version is only a summary. As it stands, this business plan is not sufficiently developed to support a profitability strategy or convince a bank to provide financing.

To be effective, the business plan should be significantly more detailed, including up-to-date market data, more persuasive arguments, a thorough market study, a three-year action plan, as well as detailed financial tables such as a projected income statement, projected balance sheet, cash flow budget, and break-even analysis.

All these elements have been thoroughly included by our experts in the business plan template they have designed for a wedding planner .

Here, we will follow the same structure as in our business plan template.

Market Opportunity

Market data and figures.

The wedding industry is a significant and resilient market that continues to flourish.

Recent studies have valued the global wedding market at over 300 billion dollars, with expectations for steady growth as couples continue to invest in their special day. In the United States alone, there are over 2 million weddings annually, contributing to a substantial market with a wide array of services and products.

These statistics underscore the wedding industry's robust nature and its substantial contribution to the economy.

The wedding planning landscape is constantly evolving, with new trends and preferences emerging each year.

Personalization is at the forefront, with couples seeking unique and tailored experiences that reflect their personalities and love stories. There is a growing trend towards destination weddings, where couples and their guests travel to picturesque locations to celebrate the occasion.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important, with eco-friendly weddings that minimize environmental impact gaining popularity. This includes the use of locally-sourced materials, digital invitations, and conscious choices in catering and decor.

Technology plays a significant role, with virtual reality tours of venues, live streaming services for guests who cannot attend, and the use of wedding planning apps and online platforms to organize and manage the event.

Moreover, inclusivity is a key trend, with wedding planners offering services that cater to diverse cultures, traditions, and orientations, ensuring that every couple's needs are met.

These trends highlight the dynamic nature of the wedding industry and the importance of staying current to meet the evolving desires of couples.

Success Factors

Several critical factors contribute to the success of a wedding planning business.

First and foremost, attention to detail is paramount. A wedding planner who can meticulously organize and execute every aspect of the event will build a reputation for reliability and excellence.

Creativity and the ability to design memorable and distinctive weddings are also vital. Planners who can offer innovative ideas and themes will stand out in a crowded market.

Networking with vendors and venues is crucial, as strong relationships can lead to better service and pricing for clients.

Exceptional interpersonal skills are necessary to understand and meet the expectations of couples, ensuring a stress-free planning process and a successful wedding day.

Lastly, adaptability is essential, as wedding planners must be able to navigate the unexpected and manage any challenges that arise with poise and professionalism.

By focusing on these success factors, a wedding planner can establish a thriving business that resonates with couples looking to celebrate their union in a special and personalized way.

The Project

Project presentation.

Our wedding planning business is designed to cater to couples looking for a stress-free and memorable wedding experience. Situated in a region known for its picturesque venues and vibrant wedding industry, our service will offer comprehensive wedding planning, from venue selection and theme development to vendor coordination and day-of execution. We will specialize in creating bespoke weddings that reflect each couple's unique style and personality, ensuring their special day is as flawless and distinctive as their love story.

We will focus on meticulous attention to detail, creative design, and seamless execution to deliver a wedding that not only meets but exceeds our clients' expectations.

As wedding planning professionals, we aim to become the go-to experts for couples who desire a personalized, elegant, and well-organized wedding celebration.

Value Proposition

The value proposition of our wedding planning business is centered on delivering a personalized and hassle-free wedding experience. We understand that each couple is unique, and we are dedicated to creating a celebration that is tailored to their individual vision and desires.

Our commitment to excellence, combined with our extensive network of high-quality vendors and our expertise in event management, ensures that every aspect of the wedding is handled with care and professionalism.

We strive to make the wedding planning process enjoyable and exciting for our clients, allowing them to savor every moment of their engagement without the stress of managing the myriad details of their big day.

Our wedding planning service is committed to transforming our clients' dreams into reality, making their wedding day an unforgettable and joyous occasion.

Project Owner

The project owner is a seasoned wedding planner with a passion for creating magical and memorable wedding experiences. With a background in event management and a keen eye for detail, she has the expertise to bring any wedding vision to life.

Her experience in the wedding industry has equipped her with the knowledge and skills to navigate the complexities of wedding planning, from the initial consultation to the final send-off.

Driven by a love for romance and a desire to deliver perfection, she is dedicated to providing exceptional service and creating bespoke weddings that reflect the personal style and essence of each couple.

Her dedication to her craft and her commitment to her clients' happiness make her the ideal leader for this wedding planning venture, with the goal of making every couple's wedding day as beautiful and unique as their love story.

The Market Study

Market segments.

The market segments for our wedding planning business are diverse and multifaceted.

Firstly, we cater to engaged couples looking for a comprehensive, stress-free wedding planning experience. This includes those who have demanding careers and lack the time to plan their wedding.

Secondly, we serve destination wedding clients who require local expertise and resources to plan their wedding from afar.

Additionally, we target clients who desire unique or themed weddings that require specialized planning and creative execution.

Lastly, we also appeal to clients who are seeking luxury wedding experiences, where attention to detail and exclusivity are paramount.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis of our wedding planning business highlights several factors.

Strengths include a strong network of vendors and venues, extensive experience in event planning, and a reputation for delivering personalized and memorable weddings.

Weaknesses might involve the high-stress nature of the job, which can lead to burnout, and the seasonal fluctuations in wedding bookings.

Opportunities can be found in the growing trend of personalized and non-traditional weddings, as well as the potential to expand services to include other life events.

Threats could encompass economic downturns affecting clients' wedding budgets and the increasing number of DIY wedding planning resources available online.

Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis in the wedding planning industry indicates a competitive landscape.

Direct competitors include other local wedding planners, event management companies, and venue-specific coordinators.

These competitors vie for clients by offering a range of services, from full-service planning to day-of coordination.

Potential competitive advantages for our business include our personalized approach, strong vendor relationships, and a portfolio of successfully executed weddings that showcase our expertise.

Understanding the unique selling propositions and service gaps of our competitors is crucial for carving out our niche and ensuring client satisfaction.

Competitive Advantages

Our wedding planning business prides itself on our meticulous attention to detail and our personalized service that caters to each couple's unique vision.

We offer a comprehensive suite of services, from venue selection to vendor coordination, ensuring a seamless and unforgettable wedding experience.

Our dedication to staying ahead of wedding trends and our ability to adapt to each couple's needs set us apart in the industry.

Moreover, our established relationships with top-tier vendors and venues enable us to provide exclusive benefits and competitive pricing to our clients.

You can also read our articles about: - how to offer wedding planning services: a complete guide - the customer segments of a wedding planning services - the competition study for a wedding planning services

The Strategy

Development plan.

Our three-year development plan for the wedding planning business is designed to establish us as a premier choice for couples.

In the first year, we will concentrate on building a strong local reputation for excellence and reliability, with a focus on creating bespoke, memorable weddings.

The second year will be geared towards expanding our services to include destination weddings and forming partnerships with exclusive venues.

In the third year, we aim to diversify our offerings by introducing wedding consultancy and coordination services for other wedding-related events such as rehearsal dinners and post-wedding brunches.

Throughout this period, we will uphold our dedication to personalization, attention to detail, and seamless execution to exceed the expectations of our clients and secure our place in the industry.

Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas for our wedding planning business targets couples looking for a stress-free, personalized wedding experience.

Our value proposition lies in our expertise in creating unique and tailored wedding experiences, supported by our extensive network of vendors and venues.

We offer our services through consultations, online platforms, and personal interactions, utilizing our key resources such as our experienced planning team and vendor relationships.

Key activities include event design, vendor coordination, and client relationship management.

Our revenue streams are generated from wedding planning packages, coordination fees, and consultancy services, while our costs are mainly associated with staffing, marketing, and operations.

Access a complete and editable real Business Model Canvas in our business plan template .

Marketing Strategy

Our marketing strategy is centered on personalization and creating emotional connections.

We aim to engage our target audience by showcasing our ability to create unique and unforgettable weddings. Our approach includes leveraging testimonials, showcasing real weddings, and providing valuable content on wedding planning.

We will also build partnerships with wedding venues and vendors to offer exclusive packages.

Additionally, we will harness the power of social media and influencer collaborations to reach a wider audience and establish our brand as a leader in the wedding planning industry.

Risk Policy

The risk policy for our wedding planning business is focused on mitigating risks associated with event planning, vendor reliability, and client satisfaction.

We implement thorough vetting processes for all vendors and maintain contingency plans for unforeseen events. Regular communication and detailed contracts with clients help manage expectations and responsibilities.

We also maintain a strict budget management policy to prevent financial overruns. Furthermore, we carry comprehensive liability insurance to protect against potential legal issues.

Our priority is to deliver flawless wedding experiences while safeguarding our business and our clients' interests.

Why Our Project is Viable

We are passionate about creating unforgettable wedding experiences that reflect each couple's unique story.

With our focus on customization, quality service, and industry expertise, we are poised to capture the hearts of those embarking on the journey of marriage.

We are committed to adapting to the evolving needs of our clients and to the trends of the wedding industry, ensuring the longevity and success of our wedding planning business.

We are excited to embark on this venture and are confident in the viability and future success of our wedding planning services.

You can also read our articles about: - the Business Model Canvas of a wedding planning services - the marketing strategy for a wedding planning services

The Financial Plan

Of course, the text presented below is far from sufficient to serve as a solid and credible financial analysis for a bank or potential investor. They expect specific numbers, financial statements, and charts demonstrating the profitability of your project.

All these elements are available in our business plan template for a wedding planner and our financial plan for a wedding planner .

Initial expenses for our wedding planning business include securing a workspace, investing in planning software, creating an attractive and functional website, marketing to attract clients, and building a portfolio of vendors and venues. We will also allocate funds for insurance, legal fees, and staff training to ensure a high level of professionalism and service quality.

Our revenue assumptions are based on an in-depth analysis of the local wedding market, taking into account the number of weddings per year, average wedding budgets, and the demand for personalized wedding planning services.

We expect a steady growth in clientele, beginning with a conservative number of contracts and expanding as our reputation for creating memorable weddings spreads.

The projected income statement outlines expected revenues from our wedding planning services, costs of goods sold (such as subcontractor fees, materials), and operating expenses (office rent, marketing, salaries, etc.).

This results in a forecasted net profit that is essential for assessing the long-term viability of our wedding planning business.

The projected balance sheet provides a snapshot of our business's financial standing, including assets such as office equipment and software, and liabilities like business loans or accounts payable.

It will display the net worth of our wedding planning business at the end of each fiscal period.

Our projected cash flow statement will detail the cash inflows from our services and outflows for business expenses, helping us to ensure we have sufficient cash on hand to meet our obligations and invest in growth opportunities.

The projected financing plan outlines the sources of funding we intend to tap into for covering our initial costs, such as personal savings, bank loans, or investments from partners.

The working capital requirement will be carefully managed to maintain the liquidity needed to cover day-to-day operations, including vendor payments, marketing initiatives, and staff wages.

The break-even analysis will show the number of weddings we need to plan to cover all our costs and begin generating a profit, marking the point at which our business becomes sustainable.

Key performance indicators we will monitor include the average revenue per wedding, client satisfaction ratings, the ratio of repeat to new business, and the return on investment for our marketing efforts.

These metrics will guide us in measuring the financial performance and overall success of our wedding planning business.

If you want to know more about the financial analysis of this type of activity, please read our article about the financial plan for a wedding planning services .

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How to Start a Wedding Planning Business

A wedding planning business may help couples with any and every aspect of planning for the wedding. This may include helping pick clothing for all parties, creating thematic decorations and décor, picking a wedding cake, handling photography and video, and more.

You may also be interested in additional side hustle ideas .

Learn how to start your own Wedding Planning Business and whether it is the right fit for you.

Ready to form your LLC? Check out the Top LLC Formation Services .

Start a wedding planning business by following these 10 steps:

• Plan your Wedding Planning Business
• Form your Wedding Planning Business into a Legal Entity
• Register your Wedding Planning Business for Taxes
• Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
• Set up Accounting for your Wedding Planning Business
• Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Wedding Planning Business
• Get Wedding Planning Business Insurance
• Define your Wedding Planning Business Brand
• Create your Wedding Planning Business Website
• Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your wedding planning business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas .

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What will you name your business?

• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?

How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Wedding Planning Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship , you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name , we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability .

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

Want some help naming your wedding planning business?

Business name generator, what are the costs involved in opening a wedding planning business.

One of the most exciting aspects of a wedding planning is that many planners start by working out of their own homes. This effectively sidesteps the need for an expensive monthly office lease, related utilities, and so on. Because of that, most of the costs involved in opening your business involve advertisement. It's important to have a highly professional-looking website, and either hire a professional or design it yourself. It's possible to set up good-looking website using templates you can buy and use for under $1,000. If you have to hire designers or others to help provide content, it may cost between $500 to $5,000 extra, though you can potentially do all (or most) of this yourself. Beyond that, it is worth establishing a social media presence on sites such as Facebook (this is free) and doing traditional advertising (newspapers, radio, and possibly television), which should cost between $1,000 to $5,000 depending on how you advertise and how much you advertise.

What are the ongoing expenses for a wedding planning business?

Another highly attractive feature of being a wedding planner is that there are almost no ongoing expenses. The various costs related to vendors for the wedding are paid for by the couple, and if you are operating out of your home or meeting clients at their own homes, the only real ongoing cost is your advertising. After the initial advertising push, you should probably spend less than $500 on advertisements each month, as your social media advertising and positive word-of-mouth, along with your website, will handle much of this for you.

Who is the target market?

In general, the best customers that wedding planners can have are those who are both flexible and realistic. Sometimes, customers may have their fixed ideas of a “perfect wedding” that do not mesh well with their budget or location. Therefore, customers who are realistic about how far their money can go and flexible enough to listen to alternative suggestions make for the best customers.

How does a wedding planning business make money?

On the most basic level, a wedding planning business makes money by charging money for the planning and execution of the wedding itself. However, there is great flexibility in how you charge customers. Some planners charge a flat fee, whereas others might charge a percentage based on the overall cost of the wedding. You may even simply charge clients by the hour. An additional way to make money is that some wedding planners also negotiate and receive a certain percentage of the amount that clients pay to different vendors (between ten and twenty percent). However, this effectively ends up making the different vendors cost more, so building a fee structure that doesn't seem like it has hidden costs may go over better with your customers.

How much you charge, and how you charge, is usually contingent on how much you have to do. For customers who merely want a consultation to help them with their own plans, charging between $40-$60 per hour is appropriate. For people who have their own wedding somewhat planned but want assistance finalizing the plan, conducting the rehearsal, and coordinating the day of the wedding, you could charge between $600 to $1,800 (variances typically reflect differences in regional economy and level of work involved for you). For a full-service package, in which you plan everything, coordinate with all vendors, develop the theme and décor, and help coordinate the day of the wedding, you may charge between $2,000-$10,000 (variances reflect differences in regional economy and whether the client is involved and helps out with anything).

How much profit can a wedding planning business make?

How much profit you make is mostly a matter of mathematics. For instance, many wedding planners only choose to do “full-service” packages, so you can essentially multiply the cost of that full-service package times the number of weddings you conduct per year. Thus, someone charging $5,000 per wedding and conducting 20 weddings a year could easily crack six figures, though you will likely be making less as you are starting out and establishing your name. Plus, more rural areas or areas with a slower economy will likely necessitate charging closer to the $2,000 for full-service packages.

How can you make your business more profitable?

To make your business more profitable, offer incentives or prizes to people who refer friends to you. Consider sponsoring monthly parties where you talk about how people can have a perfect wedding, and offer them a chance to win a nice door prize for attending. Aside from ideas like these, the best thing you can do is to do the best job possible on the weddings you plan and let positive word of mouth do the rest!

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC's free Small Business Startup Guide - a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship , partnership , limited liability company (LLC) , and corporation .

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your wedding planning business is sued.

Form Your LLC

Read our Guide to Form Your Own LLC

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

Two such reliable services:

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services . You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website . If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil .

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history , which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

In most states, it is necessary to obtain a business license. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

For more information about local licenses and permits:

• Check with your town, city or county clerk’s office
• Get assistance from one of the local associations listed in US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses .

Services Contract

Wedding planning businesses should require clients to sign a services agreement before starting a new project. RocketLawyers Make your Free Wedding Planner Agreement clarifies clients expectations and minimizes the risk of legal disputes by setting out payment terms and conditions in advance.  Here is an example service agreement.

Recommended: Rocket Lawyer makes it easy to create a professional service agreement for your wedding planning business when you sign up for their premium membership. For $39.95 per month, members receive access to hundreds of legal agreements and on call attorneys to get complimentary legal advice.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance . This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance . If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your Wedding Planning Business needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Wedding Planning Business.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners , we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended : Get a logo using Truic's free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker .

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator . Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a wedding planning business

The key ways to market and promote have already been mentioned. You should use a combination of a professional-looking website, social media presence, and advertisements via newspapers, radio, and television. Flyers, business cards, and other print advertisements at locations like florists and hotels can also help to catch the eye of couples looking for a planner.

How to keep customers coming back

In addition to using the advertisement methods above, you should run contests via social media where people can win things like dresses and discounts from your affiliated vendors. To add to the impact of such contests, part of the free entry should be customers writing sweet poems or stories about how they met their significant others. People get excited about the prize but quickly come to associate your business as a place that understands and cares about why people fall in love. This helps spread word of your business and its contests via traditional word-of-mouth advertising.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business .

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended : Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders .

Other popular website builders are: WordPress , WIX , Weebly , Squarespace , and Shopify .

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

This business is good for those who thrive on interactions with new people. It is also good for those who grew up playing “matchmaker” and get a thrill out of helping bring two lives together. Much of the planning business is visual, so those with a flair for design and/or a good eye for stylish clothing and skill at creating a unique atmosphere in any room will do very well.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a wedding planning business?

The nature of a wedding planning business is that each day may involve different tasks. Some of those activities, however, include helping the couple set a realistic budget, taking the couple to different places in town that will suit their needs, and creating a detailed plan for pretty much every moment of the wedding. You will also have to call, email, and otherwise coordinate with various bands or DJs, photographers, caterers, florists, and any other vendors the couple may require. This requires a lot of contracts for the couple to sign, so much time will be devoted to walking them through the finer points of the paperwork. You may also help design and distribute wedding invitations and serve as a kind of liaison and supervisor of the various parties during the actual day of the wedding.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful wedding planning business?

Because of the nature of the work, a college degree in fields such as Public Relations or Communications can help you with the coordination of various different entities related to this job. Prior experience as an intern or other kind of worker that helped plan weddings can be invaluable. While there are certifications for things like wedding planning, they offer little to no practical, real-world experience.

What is the growth potential for a wedding planning business?

The growth potential for a wedding planning business is steady, though there can be variances according to region and time of year. Overall, though, about 6,200 weddings happen each day, and many of them are getting married for a second (or even third) time, so the market is steady. Weddings are more common in warmer months (the most popular month for weddings is June), and the costs of the wedding can vary, ranging from an average of just over $15,000 in Utah to just over $31,000 in Manhattan. Those differences can affect how much you get paid and when you are likelier to be busier.

TRUiC's YouTube Channel

For fun informative videos about starting a business visit the TRUiC YouTube Channel or subscribe to view later.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor.

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a wedding planning business?

If possible, volunteer or get permission to “shadow” successful wedding planners in other cities in order to figure out how to make your own business highly successful. Try to get to know various vendors, hotel managers, and others you will work with as soon as possible in order to make your future business successful. Make sure that your website has a dedicated place for you to feature customer testimonials about successful weddings you've helped with before.

How and when to build a team

Most wedding planners start out on their own. This makes it easier to create a cohesive vision for weddings and to make sure everybody sticks to a set game plan. However, there will always be more weddings than you can reasonably work, so when you have more interested clients than you have time to serve them, it may be time to hire a partner or a team. While this can make things a little harder to organize, it does give you the flexibility of hiring people that are naturally better at some of the aspects of the job you are weaker at (such as hiring someone who studied graphic design and making sure they are in charge of creating invitations and wedding programs).

Useful Links

Industry opportunities.

• American Academy of Wedding Professionals
• Association for Wedding Professionals International

Real World Examples

• California-based wedding planning business

Further Reading

• Advice from successful wedding planner
• Wedding Planning Business Plan
• Information on the wedding planning industry

Have a Question? Leave a Comment!

How to Build Your Wedding Coordinator Business Plan

• November 8, 2021

When you know better, you do better. Having a business plan for your wedding coordinator business is “knowing better.” As you learn how to become a wedding planner, planing the business side of the equation your business is the first foundation step. 

Statistics show that entrepreneurs who plan their business are more likely to succeed . 

Since your business is planning (for weddings), you should prove your mettle with an effective business plan to help you scale your wedding coordination business.

Just like you would plan each individual wedding for your clients, a business plan takes care of the nitty-gritty for your consultancy. 

6 Benefits of Having a Wedding Coordinator Business Plan in 2022 

Benjamin Franklin famously said that “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” 

As a wedding planner and coordinator, you are in the planning business. By not planning your business, you are leaving room for unknown factors that may ruin your business. 

The benefits of having a plan for your wedding coordinator business is even more far-reaching than a business plan for the average consultancy. 

Consider that planning your business path has these six benefits:

1. Raise Funds and Attract Investors 

Nobody will give you money without some well-laid plans. Simply knowing you want to make a living from coordinating weddings is not enough. 

You need to create a life plan for your business that will prove you have the goods to be financially successful in the long-term. 

A comprehensive business plan helps you attract the right investors (should you choose to go this route). 

2. Prove Your Business Smarts

Being business smart is not just about calculating finances. You need to be able to handle issues, resolve challenges, and manage all the resources at your disposal. 

By being smart, you ensure your investors find value.

3. Spot Issues Before They Appear

If you can see the edge before you fall, you can avoid weakness. Generate industry insights by consulting with people in your field and people who have used planners in the past. What issues to they experience? What mistakes do they think should be addressed? Learn from others, so that you don’t make this same mistake.

4. Become an Effective Communicator

With your business plan, you can show investors precisely what you want to achieve, and you can explain clearly what you want from them. 

You can use it as proof to convince people to work with you, securing supplier credit and attracting new customers.

5. Gain New Insights 

A business plan isn’t set in stone once it is written. Instead, see it as a living document that helps you think creatively about how to start and grow a wedding planning business. 

If you come across a challenge, use this opportunity to update your plan. Keep adding and subtracting as you iron our services, firm up mission statements, and pivot target audience.

6. Business to Action Plan

With a business plan, your wedding planning business can schedule action items, future steps, and forthcoming activities to show you where you need to focus and expand. 

Create an outline, fleshing it out as you learn about wedding planning and ask the right questions. 

The Elements of Wedding Planner Business Plan 

The wedding coordinator business plan is where you gather all your thoughts, ideas, and future budget so you can plan how you will address issues and reach goals. 

The aspects of a comprehensive business plan are: 

The Structure of Your Wedding Planning Business 

As part of your strategy on how to become a wedding planner, you should look at the legal aspects of your business, such as the legal name of the consultancy and whether you will be operating as a sole proprietor or even enter into a partnership with a fellow coordinator. 

You can also include all the relevant contact information and a brief professional bio for each of you. Valuable should you seek investors, or for adopting as a part of your website.

Your Mission and Goals 

Your business should strive to become a recognizable brand in your local wedding industry. To do this, you need to stand apart from the flock. 

You should evaluate the economic trends and patterns of expansion in the wedding industry. Use these insights to craft a mission statement, and set specific goals you wish to accomplish. You missio statement should be powerful and dialled in. “Planning weddings for couples” is not good enough.

The Services You Provide 

Not all wedding planners provide a full-stack service. You can choose to be a one-stop-shop for your clients or specialize in offering partial wedding planning packages . 

Full wedding planning includes coordinating everything from concept design up until the wedding event (and even the honeymoon). 

Partial wedding planning involves helping the happy couple with their wedding timeline. You may also be asked to manage the wedding day and ensure everything flows smoothly. 

Then there are also wedding consultation services. If you choose to offer this service, you are only responsible for providing recommendations to the bride- and groom-to-be. 

Suppliers, Vendors, and Contractors Your Business Will Use 

By identifying contractors and future suppliers you will regularly use, you will build a reference list to help you make estimates for services, fees, and contracts.

Turnaround Times and Delivery Methods for Each Wedding 

Often, your investors will be actual clients too, and by having methods to plan the turnaround times for each project, you can explain how you intend to meet deadlines, schedule deliveries, and set milestones for your clients and investors.

Your Target Market 

Every business needs to know their target market. 

While you should consider the profile of your bride and groom, and whether you want to help all couples or those in a certain income bracket, you should also check out your competitors. 

Knowing what your competitors are doing well and where there are gaps can help you set your wedding planning business apart.  

Your Marketing Strategy

Identify what methods you will use to find clients. This is your marketing approach. 

Investigate different marketing verticals such as traditional advertisements and digital alternatives like social media and search engine marketing. 

With the right keywords in your website or blog, you can attract clients through Google search. 

Be sure to have the information ready to answer client questions. A price list, commission rates, and a list of services will come in handy. Lead the industry with blogs that predict wedding trends and showcase your work. 

Generate social oomph with resources such as Pinterest , TikTok, and Twitter. Attend conventions as a vendor or speaker and be noticed. 

Financial Aspects of Your Business

Become financially responsible, balancing your bank statements, accurately reporting your expenses and income, and showing you can manage your cash flow effectively. 

These all boost investor confidence and help clients trust you to manage their wedding budgets too. 

The Executive Summary 

With a business plan, just like with a wedding, presentation is everything. 

The executive summary is the icing on the wedding business cake . This is where you draw everything together, presenting a succinct and coherent business statement, vision, goals, and mission statement. 

You need to prove you know exactly what you want for your wedding coordination business and that you know how to overcome challenges to get there. 

Entirely based on your executive summary, investors may decide to invest or not, and this is often the first impression your business plan will make. 

An executive summary is also a great way for you to touch base with your original business intentions, keep yourself on track, and keep pushing for success.  

Final Thoughts on How to Become a Wedding Planner

Your wedding coordinator business plan is one important aspect in your journey of how to become a wedding planner. 

Use the document as a roadmap to show you where you are and where you want to be, with detailed planning, issue spotting, and solution finding.    

Annette Corrie

Our ‘Certificate of Professional Wedding Planning Course’ is here to help you through the process, by providing a step-by-step guide to getting started and becoming successful in your new career. This course will help you gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence you need to oversee all the details of a wedding. This course will help you prepare a successful and magnificent event!

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Wedding Planning Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Entertainment Industry » Event Planning

Are you about starting a wedding planning company? If YES, here is a complete sample wedding planning business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a wedding planning company .

We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample wedding planning service marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for wedding planning companies. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Wedding planning is a business that anyone with the necessary soft skills (i.e. organizing skills) can venture into. Wedding planning requires that you take off the burden of planning a wedding off the shoulders of your clients. Therefore, you would need an eye for details in addition to the eye you have got.

Confused? Do not be, that was on a lighter note. Now, the truth is that you would need to be extremely detailed. You do not want to come across your clients as one who leaves some kills important details out. If you do not possess this skill now, you may consider building it up.

Starting a wedding planning company is not too expensive except for the money required to rent and furnish an office space. The key to a successful wedding event is to ensure that all that is listed in your wedding event planning checklists is ticked.

As a matter of fact, if you undergo wedding cum event planning training, you are going to be taught how to draft event planning checklists for various events and key components that must be listed in your checklists.

One good thing about wedding planning is that most often than not, weddings are done during weekends and if you are lucky not to be working during weekends, you can successfully test run a wedding planning business. The truth is that, most of the basic skills needed to effectively run a wedding planning business are some of the soft skills you are likely going to acquire in your workplace.

If you are truly convinced that starting a wedding planning company is the right business for you to do, then you need to write your own business plan. Below is a sample wedding planning company business plan template that will help you successfully write yours with little or no stress;

A Sample Wedding Planning Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

Wedding planners organize and design marriage ceremonies and receptions. A wedding planner ensures that they work with the stipulated budget of their clients and ensure that they deliver a successful wedding event as agreed. In some cases, it is the responsibility of the wedding planner to draw – up a budget for the client once they get a brief of the nature of the wedding event to be hosted.

A close study of happenings in the Wedding Planners industry in the united states shows that the industry has experienced remarkable growth and this is due to stronger economic conditions. It is normal that with increase in disposable incomes, there will be encouragement for more couples to marry, and to spend more on wedding planning or services related to their weddings.

So also, increased internet usage has made wedding planners more accessible to clients, decreasing the industry’s marketing costs and boosting profit margins.

These trends will offset the impact on the industry of changing social norms that have led couples to postpone marriage longer. No doubt, as the economy continues to strengthen, the growth in the wedding planners industry is expected to accelerate.

The Wedding Planners Industry is indeed a large industry and pretty much active in countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Holland, Nigeria, Switzerland, Australia and Canada et al.

Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 39,643 registered and licensed wedding planning company scattered all across the United States responsible for employing about 41,714 and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $1 billion annually.

The industry is projected to grow at -1.9 percent annual growth within 2011 and 2016. It is important to state that there is no establishment in this industry that has a lion market share.

A recent report published by IBISWORLD shows that the Wedding Planners industry is highly fragmented and largely distributed proportionally with population in the United States. The report stated that in 2015, the Southeast held the most industry establishments of any region, at 29.7 percent of the total. New England and the Rocky Mountains are expected to hold the least, at 4.4 percent each.

The Southeast region is expected to have 29.7 percent of industry establishments. This region also includes the state with the most establishments, Florida, which has an estimated 13.7 percent of industry establishments. The report further stated that States like Florida are population destination wedding locations.

Locations such as Disney World are very popular for weddings, which is why the number of establishment outpaces the proportion of population located in the region.

Lastly, one thing is certain about starting a wedding planner company, if you are able to conduct your market research and feasibility studies, you are more likely not going to struggle to secure clients because there are always individuals (bachelors and spinsters) who would want to hire your services when they are about getting married. Just ensure that the business is properly located and you have the right business network.

2. Executive Summary

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is a standard and licensed professional wedding planning company that will be based in Panama City – Florida. We have been able to secure a standard and well – positioned office facility in a business district in the heart of the city.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC will handle all aspect of wedding planning such as wedding coordination, wedding shower / Bachelor’s eve, manage client’s time constraints, manage client’s budget, day-of-coordination services, conceptualization and design, full coordination services, and month of direction et al.

We are aware that to run a standard wedding planner company can be demanding which is why we are well trained, licensed and equipped to perform excellently well.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is a client-focused and result driven wedding planner company that provides broad-based services at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients.  We will offer a standard wedding planner services to all to our clients at local, state, national, and international level.

We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass our clients’ expectations whenever they contract their wedding planning to us.

Our client’s best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professionals who are well experienced in the Wedding Planners industry cum event planning industry.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients.

Our plan is to position the business to become the leading brand in the professional wedding planners’ line of business in the whole of Panama City – Florida, and also to be amongst the top 20 professional wedding planner companies in the United States of America within the first 10 years of launching the business.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely come to pass because we have done our market research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that Panama City – Florida is the right place to launch our wedding planner company before spreading to other parts of The United States.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is a private registered business that is owned by Mrs. Cloe Davenport and her immediate family members.

Mrs. Cloe Davenport has well over 10 years of experience working at various capacities within the wedding planners cum Event Planners industry in the United States of America.  She will work with a team of other core professionals to help build Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC to become a top brand in the Event Planners industry.

3. Our Products and Services

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is going to offer varieties of services within the scope of the Wedding Planners industry in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our wedding planner company is to favorably compete with leading players in the Wedding Planners industry both in the United States of America and in the world at large.

We are well prepared to make profits from the industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the United States to achieve our business goals, aim and ambition. Our business offerings are listed below;

• Wedding coordination
• Wedding shower / Bachelor’s eve
• Manage client’s time constraints
• Manage client’s budget
• Day-of-coordination services
• Conceptualization and design
• Full coordination services
• Month of direction
• Wedding planning consulting and advisory services

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to build a professional wedding planner company brand that will become one of the preferred choices for about to wed couples in the whole of Panama City – Florida and every other city where our services will be advertised. Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional and trusted wedding planners services that assist our clients in achieving their personal goals as it relates to their wedding event. We are going to position the business to become one of the leading brands in the wedding planner line of business in the whole of Panama City – Florida, and also to be amongst the top 20 professional wedding planner companies in the United States of America within the first 10 years of launching the business.

Our Business Structure

Normally we would have settled for two or three full – time staff members, but as part of our plan to build a standard professional wedding planner company in Panama City – Florida, we have perfected plans to get it right from the beginning which is why we are going the extra mile to ensure that we have competent, honest and hardworking employees to occupy all the available positions in our organization.

The picture of the kind of professional wedding planner company we intend building and the business goals we want to achieve is what informed the amount we are ready to pay for the best hands available in and around Panama City – Florida.

We will ensure that we only hire people that are qualified, honest, hardworking, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stakeholders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our senior management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of five years or more depending how fast we meet our set target. In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer / Principal Partner

Wedding / Event Planning Consultant

Admin and HR Manager

• Business Developer / Marketing and Sales Executive
• Customer Care Executives

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer / Principal Partner:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Organizes wedding and other events from start to finish
• Responsible for interviewing and hiring vendors, selecting and ordering materials, negotiating rates, coordinating the sequence of wedding events, following up with guests and vendors and producing full-scale events.
• Plans, designs and produces wedding events while managing all project delivery elements within time limits
• Liaises with clients to identify their needs and to ensure customer satisfaction
• Conduct market research, gather information and negotiate contracts prior to closing any deals
• Provides feedback and periodic reports to stakeholders
• Propose ideas to improve provided services and wedding event quality
• Organizes facilities and manages all wedding event’s details such as decor, catering, entertainment, transportation, location, invitee list, special guests, equipment, promotional material etc.
• Ensures compliance with insurance, legal, health and safety obligations
• Specify staff requirements and coordinate their activities
• Cooperate with marketing and PR to promote and publicize wedding event as requested by our client
• Proactively handle any arising issues and troubleshoot any emerging problems on the wedding event day
• Conducts pre- and post – wedding event evaluations and report on outcomes
• Research market, identify wedding event opportunities and generate interes
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.

Marketing Executive / Business Developers

• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with company policy
• Responsible for handling business research, marker surveys and feasibility studies for clients
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps to increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• create reports from the information concerning the financial transactions recorded by the bookkeeper
• Prepares the income statement and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper.
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the company
• Serves as internal auditor for the organization

Client Service Executive

• Welcomes guests and clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the company’s products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries
• Receives parcels / documents for the company
• Handles enquiries via e-mail and phone calls for the organization
• Distributes mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned by the line manager

6. SWOT Analysis

Going by our vision, our mission and the kind of business we want to set – up, we don’t have any other option than to follow due process. Following due process involves hiring business consultant to help us conduct SWOT analysis for our business.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC hired the services of a seasoned business consultant with bias in start – ups in the United States to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to guide us in formulating other business strategies that will help us grow our business and favorable compete in the Wedding Planners industry.

As a company, we look forward to maximizing our strength and opportunities and also to work around our weaknesses and threats. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC.

Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that are considered experts in the industry, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in the Wedding Planners industry.

Aside from the synergy that exist in our carefully selected team members and our strong online presence, Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is well positioned in a city with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of corporate and individual clients from the first day we open our doors for business.

As a new professional wedding planner company in Panama City – Florida, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance especially from top profile clients in the already saturated Wedding Planners industry; that is perhaps our major weakness.

So also, we may not have the required money to give the business the kind of publicity that we would love to give the business.

• Opportunities:

The opportunities available in the Wedding Planners industry is massive considering the number of wedding and other events that takes places on a daily basis in the United States. As a standard and licensed professional wedding planner company, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a professional wedding planner company operating in the United States of America are unfavorable government policies , the arrival of a competitor within our location of operations and global economic downturn which usually affects purchasing power.

There is hardly anything we can do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

The Wedding Planners industry is in a continuous state of evolution and as such, ground breaking strategies and ideas that are once highly successful are no longer as productive as they were in time past. Close observation of the trend in the industry reveals that the past few years have seen the rise and proliferation of social media and new tech tools.

The trend also extends to increased attention paid to engagement and new market segments, adopting eco-friendly measures and sustainability when planning wedding events, and of course increases in demands from wedding event sponsors.

Although operators in the Wedding Planners industry are increasingly investing in computers and software to engage members and market their organizations online, the industry remains highly labor intensive. The research further states that wedding planner companies rely much more heavily on labor than technology to conduct their operations.

As a matter of fact, social media has now become one of the most important tools wedding event planners leverage on to disseminate information about their wedding events, interact with attendees, solicit feedback, and create year-round engagement with their target audience.

Furthermore, new software apps and emerging technology have made it easier for wedding planners to gather all the needed data and information that will help them plan and project for the future.

In recent time, mobile event apps are becoming more popular; wedding cum event planner can now successfully market their services via social media platforms / online platforms. In the United States for example, there several vendors providing mobile apps with more wedding cum event planners patronizing the apps.

Over and above, increased internet usage has made wedding planners more accessible to clients, decreasing the industry’s marketing costs and boosting profit margins.

These trends will offset the impact on the industry of changing social norms that have led couples to postpone marriage longer. No doubt, as the economy continues to strengthen, the growth in the Wedding Planners industry is expected to accelerate.

8. Our Target Market

Even though Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC will initially serve clients within the location where our business is, but that does not in any way stop us from growing to be able to compete with the leading professional wedding planner companies in the United States.

As a standard and licensed professional wedding planner company, Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC offers a wide range of services as it relates to wedding planning hence we are well trained and equipped to services a wide range of clientele base.

Our target market cuts across people of different class and people from all walks of life, local and international clients as well.

We are coming into the industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the highly – placed people (celebrities and public figures et al) and at the same with the lowly placed people. Below is a list of the people that we have specifically design our products and services for;

• About to wed couples
• Religious organizations
• Celebrities and public figures who are still singles and are getting set to wed

Our competitive advantage

No doubt, the Wedding Planners industry is indeed a very prolific and highly competitive industry. Clients will only hire your services if they know that you can successfully help them organize their wedding events and take away the stress from them.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the Wedding Planners industry means that you should be able to deliver consistent quality service, your clients should be fell less stress or no stress at all and you should be able to meet the expectations of your clients at all times.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC might be a new professional wedding planner company in the Wedding Planners industry, but the management team and the owner of the business are considered gurus in the industry, professional who have what it takes to grow a business from scratch to become a top brand within the shortest time possible.

They are people who are core professionals; licensed and highly qualified, people that can successfully help their clients organize successful wedding events. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us. Aside from our robust experience and expertise of our team of experts, we have a very strong online presence that will enable us attract clients from any part of the world

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups wedding planner companies in the United States) in the industry.

It will enable them to be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our business aims and objectives. We will also engage freelance marketing agents on a commission level to help us market our services.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the Wedding Planners industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis. Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC will generate income by offering the following services to individual clients and for corporate organizations;

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be about to wed couples who would always need the services for professional wedding planners and also there would always be parties and events in the United States of America and as such the services of professional wedding planners cum event planners companies will always be needed.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in Panama City – Florida and of course throughout out the United States of America and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the business and our clientele base beyond Panama City to other cities in Florida and other states in the U.S.

We have been able to critically examine the professional wedding planner market space and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in Panama City – Florida.

Below are the sales projections for Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC, it is based on the location of our business and the wide range of wedding planning services that we will be offering;

• First Fiscal Year-: $150,000
• Second Fiscal Year-: $350,000
• Third Fiscal Year-: $750,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. There won’t be any major competitor offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are stiffer competitions amongst professional wedding planner companies in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best business developer to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the Wedding Planners industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the organization.

We will also ensure that our excellent job deliveries speak for us in the market place; we want to build a standard professional wedding planner business that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients (both individuals and corporate organizations).

Our goal is to grow our professional wedding planner company to become one of the top 20 professional wedding planner companies in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the Panama City – Florida, but also in other cities in the United States of America.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to corporate organizations, religious organizations, households and key stake holders in Panama City and other cities in Florida.
• Advertise our business in relevant business magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Attend relevant international and local expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver quality wedding planning services to them
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Engage direct marketing approach
• Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients
• Join local chambers of commerce and industries with the aim of networking and marketing our services

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to take the Wedding Planners industry by storm which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our company. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and events related magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Panama City – Florida
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted neighborhoods
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Contact corporate organizations and religious organizations by calling them up and informing them of Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC and the services we offer
• List our professional wedding planning firm in local directories / yellow pages
• Advertise our professional wedding planning company in our official website and employ strategies that will help us pull traffic to the site.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our schools’ logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Just like in consulting business, hourly billing for wedding planning / event management / training services is also a long – time tradition in the industry. However, for some types of professional wedding planning services flat fees make more sense because they allow clients to better predict the overall service charges.

As a result of this, Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC will charge our clients both flat fee and hourly billing as long as it favors both parties.

At Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our clients by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.  In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to our clients from time to time especially when they recommend clients to us.

We are aware that there are some clients that would need regular access to professional wedding planning consultancy and advisory services and assistance, we will offer flat rate for such services that will be tailored to take care of such clients’ needs.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via mobile money
• Payment via Point of Sales Machines (POS Machines)
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for our professional wedding planning services without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for our professional wedding planning services.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

Starting a professional wedding planner business can be cost effective; this is so because on the average, you are not expected to acquire expensive machines and equipment.

Basically, what you should be concerned about is the amount needed to secure a standard office facility in a good and busy business district, the amount needed to furniture and equip the office, the amount to purchase the required software applications, the amount needed to pay bills, promote the business and obtain the appropriate business license and certifications.

However, this is what it would cost us to start our own standard and world class professional wedding planner company in the United States of America;

• Equipping the office (computers, printers, projectors, markers, pens and pencils, furniture, telephones, filing cabinets, and electronics) will cost – $10,000
• Acquiring an office space that will accommodate the number of employees we intend employing for at least 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) will cost – $35,000.
• The budget for liability insurance, permits and license will cost – $3,500
• Business incorporating fees in the United States of America will cost – $750.
• The cost for accounting software, event planning apps, CRM software and Payroll Software – $3,000
• Other start-up expenses including stationery – $1000
• Phone and Utilities (gas, sewer, water and electric) deposits – ( $3,500 ).
• Launching an official website will cost – $500
• Amount need to pay bills and staff members for at least 2 to 3 months – $70,000
• Additional Expenditure such as Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions will cost – $5,000
• Miscellaneous – $5,000

Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need about one hundred and fifty thousand ( 150,000 ) U.S. dollars to successfully set – up a medium scale but standard professional wedding planner company in the United States of America. Please note that the salary for the payment of staff members for the first 3 months is included.

Generating Funds / Startup Capital for Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is a partnership business that will be owned by Mrs. Cloe Davenport and her immediate family members. They are the sole financial of the business which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the business to just three major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings and sale of his stocks
• Generate part of the start – up capital from friends and other extended family members
• Generate a larger chunk of the startup capital from the bank (loan facility).

N.B: We have been able to generate about $50,000 ( Personal savings $35,000 and soft loan from family members $15,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $100,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running.

We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer our professional wedding planning services a little bit cheaper than what is obtainable in the market and we are well prepared to survive on lower profit margin for a while.

Cloe Davenport Wedding Planners®, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and retraining of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing a standard office facility in a good location plus reconstruction: In progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the start – up capital from the founders: Completed
• Writing of Business Plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of Logo for the school: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the business: In Progress
• Creating awareness for the business in Smethport – Pennsylvania: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in various industries: In Progress

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Wedding Venue Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Wedding Venue Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your wedding venue business plan.

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their wedding venues.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Wedding Venue business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

LV Wedding Hall is a startup wedding venue located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company is founded by Brittany Anderson, an event planner with over 15 years of experience planning and hosting special events, parties, and wedding receptions. Brittany has a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Nevada and has been recognized by various organizations for her top notch event management expertise. Now that Brittany has established herself as a leader in the event planning industry, she is ready to open her own wedding venue.  Brittany plans on recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day to day complexities of running a wedding hall including marketing, budgeting, event planning, and scheduling. 

LV Wedding Hall will be an all-inclusive wedding and special event venue, handling everything from the food and decorations to the entertainment and logistics. LV Wedding Hall will make any wedding or special event even more special by removing the headaches involved in planning and working with each client on every detail big and small to ensure their special day is perfect. LV Wedding Hall will be the ultimate choice in Las Vegas for wedding receptions for the company’s focus on extraordinary service and attention to detail.  

Product Offering

The following are the services that LV Wedding Hall will provide:

• Wedding and event planning
• Design consultation and coordination
• Catering services 
• Booking of live entertainment
• Photography and videography services
• Rentals (decor, linens, sound system, etc.)
• Event hosting and cleanup services

Customer Focus

LV Wedding Hall will target local Las Vegas residents and tourists who are looking for a hassle-free, all-inclusive wedding hall for their wedding reception or other special events such as birthday parties, anniversary parties, and corporate events. No event is too large or too small for LV Wedding Hall. 

Management Team

LV Wedding Hall will be owned and operated by Brittany Anderson, an event planner with over 15 years of experience in planning and hosting special events such as parties, ceremonies, and wedding receptions. Brittany has a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Nevada and has been recognized by various organizations for her top notch event management expertise. Brittany is confident that her skills in communication, event management, and problem solving will help her successfully propel her new business forward to achieve a healthy profit. Brittany has recruited fellow University of Nevada graduate, Stephanie Smith to be the venue manager and run the day-to-day operations of the hall. 

Stephanie Smith has a bachelor’s degree in business and is an experienced venue coordinator.  Brittany relies strongly on Stephanie’s organizational skills and ability to supervise a large staff, coordinating people and logistics in a fast-paced environment. Stephanie has worked in the wedding venue industry for so long, she understands all aspects required in running a successful wedding hall. 

Success Factors

LV Wedding Hall will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• A friendly and knowledgeable staff available every step of the way to ensure all details big and small are handled with care. 
• Comprehensive, all-inclusive services encompassing every aspect of the event from the food to the entertainment and more, making it easy for clients to have the entire event coordinated through just one company rather than having to go through several vendors. 
• LV Wedding Hall offers the best pricing in town. With multiple packages and a la carte services to choose from, their pricing structure is the most cost effective compared to the competition.

Financial Highlights

LV Wedding Hall is seeking $500,000 in debt financing to launch its wedding venue business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing and renovating the hall and purchasing equipment. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and initial online marketing campaign. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Wedding hall build-out: $100,000
• Equipment, supplies, and materials:  $50,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities):  $200,000
• Marketing costs: $30,000
• Working capital:  $20,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for LV Wedding Hall.

Company Overview

Who is lv wedding hall .

LV Wedding Hall is a new wedding and special event venue located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company is founded by Brittany Anderson, an experienced event planner with expertise in planning and hosting special events, parties, and wedding receptions. 

LV Wedding Hall will be an all-inclusive wedding and special event venue, handling everything from the food and decorations to the entertainment and logistics. LV Wedding Hall will make any wedding or special event even more special by removing the headaches involved in planning and working with each client on every detail big and small to ensure their special day is perfect. LV Wedding Hall will be the ultimate choice in Las Vegas for wedding receptions for the company’s focus on extraordinary service and attention to detail. 

LV Wedding Hall History

LV Wedding Hall is owned and operated by Brittany Anderson, an event planner with over 15 years of experience planning and hosting special events, parties, and wedding receptions. Brittany has a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Nevada and has been recognized by various organizations for her top notch event management expertise.

Since incorporation, LV Wedding Hall has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered LV Wedding Hall, LLC to transact business in the state of Nevada.
• Has a contract in place for a two-year lease on a 5,000 square foot facility.
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include vendors and suppliers to advise them on their upcoming wedding venue in order to start getting contracts. 
• Began recruiting a staff of event coordinators, hosts, and kitchen staff to work at LV Wedding Hall.

LV Wedding Hall Services

The following will be the services LV Wedding Hall will provide:

Industry Analysis

The wedding industry in the United States is an estimated $57B. There are approximately 330,000 wedding service providers in the United States, with over 900,000 employees. Worldwide, the wedding planning industry is booming and is expected to grow by 6% over the next six years. 

Industry trends include an increase in small customized receptions, outdoor ceremonies, and destination weddings. The industry is heavily saturated, especially in Las Vegas. For this reason, it’s important for industry operators to differentiate themselves from the competition by providing unique service offerings, locations, or better pricing. Additionally, industry operators that provide flexible and customized services have a competitive advantage over those who do not.  

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

LV Wedding Hall will target local Las Vegas residents and tourists who are looking for a hassle-free, all-inclusive wedding hall for their wedding reception or other special events such as birthdays, anniversary parties, and corporate events. No event is too large or too small for LV Wedding Hall. 

The precise demographics for Las Vegas, Nevada are:

Customer Segmentation

LV Wedding Hall will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Local couples looking to get married in town
• Tourists looking to get married in town
• People looking for a unique place for their special event such as a birthday party, anniversary party, or corporate event

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

LV Wedding Hall will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Unique Weddings, LLC

Unique Weddings, LLC is a wedding reception hall located in Las Vegas. Unique Weddings provides wedding planning services, catering, and hosting services. Unique Weddings is able to provide a wide variety of services for their clients. Their list of services includes planning, decor and event consultation, catering, party rentals, and event hosting. 

Unique Weddings, LLC’s promise is to deliver a one of a kind reception hall for its clients so their special event is a memorable experience for all guests. Unique Weddings, LLC’s team of experienced wedding planning professionals assures all receptions run smoothly, freeing the clients to enjoy their special day. 

Desert Weddings, Inc. 

Desert Weddings, Inc. is a Las Vegas, Nevada-based wedding venue that provides outstanding wedding reception services for couples looking for a desert wedding. Desert Weddings, Inc. takes the hassel out of wedding planning. They provide comprehensive wedding planning and venue services including planning, decor, consultation, catering, and live entertainment. The ownership of Desert Weddings, Inc. are former event coordinators so they understand how an event should be planned, executed, and managed. Clients can depend on their unique wedding planning processes to ensure the whole event runs smoothly. Desert Weddings, Inc. takes the stress out of the planning process and are able to provide exceptional service every step of the way.

Taylor’s Weddings, LLC

Taylor’s Weddings, LLC is a trusted Las Vegas wedding hall that provides superior service to locals and tourists looking to get married in Las Vegas and the surrounding areas. They are able to provide a one-stop shop for couples looking for an all-inclusive wedding planner. Taylor’s Weddings, LLC eases the stress of clients who are overwhelmed by the hassles and complexities that come with planning a wedding. The venue’s pricing structure is simple and straightforward. Taylor’s Weddings, LLC offers three tiers for their services – the Silver Package (venue rental, minimum services included), the Gold Package (venue rental, essential services included), and the Platinum Package (venue rental and all services included).

Competitive Advantage

LV Wedding Hall will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly qualified team of event coordinators who are ready to handle all details of the event no matter how large or small. 
• Comprehensive menu of services that allows for clients to get everything they need for their event in one place rather than having to deal with multiple vendors. 
• LV Wedding Hall offers the best pricing in town. With customizable packages and a la carte options, their pricing structure is the most cost effective compared to the competition.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

LV Wedding Hall will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Highly-qualified team of skilled employees that is able to provide a comprehensive set of wedding venue services (planning, consultation, catering, hosting, live entertainment, etc.).
• Unbeatable pricing to its clients – LV Wedding Hall’s customizable service offerings allows clients to choose the services that work best for them and their budget. 

Promotions Strategy 

The promotions strategy for LV Wedding Hall is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Brittany Anderson has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and expertise to her clients. Once Brittany advised them she was leaving her current position to open her own wedding venue business, they agreed to help spread the word of LV Wedding Hall.

Print Advertising

LV Wedding Hall will invest in professionally designed print ads to display in wedding magazines, local newspapers, and direct mailers. 

Industry Events – Expos and Conventions

LV Wedding Hall will attend industry events such as wedding and bridal expos and conventions around the county to build a solid network of industry contacts and promote the venue. 

LV Wedding Hall will utilize an in-house marketing director to design and maintain their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all their services that LV Wedding Hall is able to provide. 

SEO Marketing

The marketing director will also manage LV Wedding Hall’s online presence with SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “Las Vegas wedding venue” or “wedding venue near me”, LV Wedding Hall will be listed at the top of the search results.

Social Media Marketing

The marketing director will create LV Wedding Hall’s social media accounts and maintain an active presence on various platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter. 

The pricing of LV Wedding Hall will be on par with competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing their services. 

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for LV Wedding Hall.

Operation Functions:

• Brittany Anderson will be the owner and president of the company. She will oversee all vendor and client relationships. Brittany has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Stephanie Smith – Venue Manager who will supervise the event coordinators, manage logistics, and schedule all staff. 
• Mike Miller – Staff Accountant who will provide all client accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
• Sam Hernandez – Marketing Director who will provide all marketing campaigns and materials for LV Wedding Hall.
• Mark Johnson – Head Chef who will provide all catering services for the venue.

Milestones:

LV Wedding Hall will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

7/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease the wedding hall

7/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the LV Wedding Hall team

8/1/202X – Finalize contracts for vendors and suppliers

8/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events 

8/22/202X – Begin build out of LV Wedding Hall 

11/1/202X – LV Wedding Hall opens for business

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for LV Wedding Hall are the fees they will charge to the clients for their services and fees charged to their clients for rentals (equipment, decor, sound system, etc.). LV Wedding Hall will provide customizable packages and a la carte services as well. 

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff a wedding venue. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, fees paid to suppliers, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Events per Year: 12
• Average Fees per Event: $20,000
• Venue Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, wedding venue business plan faqs, what is a wedding venue business plan.

A wedding venue business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your wedding venue business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your wedding venue business plan using our Wedding Venue Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Wedding Venues?

There are a number of different kinds of wedding venues, some examples include: Banquet hall, Farm/Barn, and Loft/Modern Event Space.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Wedding Venue Business Plan?

Wedding venues are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Open a Wedding Venue Business?

Opening a wedding venue business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to open a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop A Wedding Venue Business Plan – The first step in opening a business is to create a detailed business plan for a wedding venue that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include market research on the wedding industry and potential target market size, information on the services you will offer, marketing strategy, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure – It’s important to select an appropriate legal entity for your wedding venue business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your wedding venue business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Wedding Venue Business – Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your wedding venue business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options – It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to open your wedding venue business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location – Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees – There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Wedding Venue Equipment & Supplies – In order to start your wedding venue business, you’ll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business – Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to open promoting and marketing your wedding venue business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising to reach your target audience.

Learn more about how to start a successful wedding venue business:

• How to Start a Wedding Venue Business

Where can I get a Wedding Venue Business Plan PDF?

You can download our wedding venue business plan PDF template here. This is a wedding venue business plan template you can use in PDF format.

Other Helpful Business Plan Templates

Photography Business Plan Template Event Venue Business Plan Template Catering Business Plan Template

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How to Become a Wedding Planner, According to the Experts

One step closer to your dream job!

Have you ever thought about becoming a wedding planner ? If you dream about helping couples craft the most special day of their lives, get a thrill every time you hear “I do” or see a bride in her wedding dress for the first time, and love organization, details, and design, then it might be the profession for you.

While it's one of the most rewarding jobs a person can have, becoming a wedding planner takes more than just good taste. "The top skills for a wedding planner in my opinion are communication, organization, creativity, and impeccable attention to detail," notes Nicole-Natassha Goulding of Chic by Nicole .

In order to share what the road to becoming a wedding planner is really like, we tapped some successful industry insiders to share what skills are needed to make it in the industry and how they got their own start in the field.

Meet the Expert

• Nicole-Natassha Goulding is the creative director and founder of full-service wedding planning company Chic by Nicole .
• Heather Hoesch and Lindsay Ferguson own LVL Weddings & Events , known for producing one-of-a-kind weddings in California, Hawaii, and Colorado. They are also co-owners of Planner Life Academy , which offers workshops and virtual training programs to prepare leaders to open their own wedding planning businesses.
• Francie Dorman is the owner of 42 North , a full-service wedding and event planning firm. She is based in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and specializes in high-luxury celebrations across New England. She also mentors young wedding planners through a sister company, Mavinhouse Events.
• Teissia Treynet is the founder and CFO of Firefly Events , a high-level event planning company with offices in New York, California, and Wyoming. She also runs The Firefly Method , a community and education platform for thousands of wedding planners and small business owners across the world.
• Michelle Rago owns Michelle Rago Destinations , a wedding and events company considered one of the best in the world. Her office is based in New York City, but she is known for organizing elaborate destination weddings in far-flung locations.

Ahead, learn about the qualifications you need to become a wedding planner, straight from the experts.

Skills and Qualifications for Wedding Planners

Like in most career fields, you need certain skills, personality traits, and qualifications to become a wedding planner. Ahead, see some of the most important ones, according to the pros.

Be a Great Leader Under Pressure

Being a wedding planner requires you to wear many hats. At any one time, you have to deal with vendors , couples, their families, and finances. Of course, there can also be a lot of drama. “Being a good leader and being able to stay calm, delegate, listen, and lead in a time of stress is your most important skill,” wedding planner Lindsay Ferguson says. 

Learn these skills by interning or shadowing with wedding planners, so you can be immersed in different situations and learn how to address the chaos. 

Having Empathy While Remaining Professional

“Anyone can learn the systems and standard operating procedures of event planning, but what makes a planner really great at their job are characteristics like problem-solving, empathy, professionalism, and high attention to detail,” shares planner Francie Dorman . “Someone who likes to feel purposeful, and strives to make others feel important and cared for are two factors for success in this unique industry.”

Being Organized and Attentive to Details

Wedding planning requires you to be uber-organized and attentive to details. After all, so many components go into the event from schedules to menus to dance playlists . “These skills or traits can be built on as you grow into your role,” explains Dorman. “They are muscles that can get stronger as they are flexed.” If you don’t have these traits naturally, consider an internship or entry-level job to help you develop them.

Getting Hands-On Experience

While you don’t technically need any certifications or degrees to become a wedding planner, getting experience from a veteran is essential. “As a wedding planner, you’re also safeguarding one of the most important times in most people’s lives so it’s imperative you know what you’re doing,” says Teissa Treynet . While getting experience in regular event planning is helpful, Ferguson notes that wedding planning is a different game. “Corporate planning or non-profit planning does not count," she says. You must seek out quality education from a reputable source and couple this with hands-on experience by working under a wedding-trained and experienced planner.”

Seeking Out Learning Opportunities

While having a pro show you the ropes is important at the beginning of your career, expect to continue that education over the years. “The best wedding planners have a ‘never stop learning’ mindset,” says Hoesch. “They read, they watch webinars and social media lives, and they collaborate and listen to wedding podcasts . They take courses, and attend workshops and conferences.” Many of these resources are available online, so you can start your education in your free time. As Rago puts it: “If I have learned anything over the last 20 years, it’s the importance of constantly learning and keeping up with what is tried-and-true.”

How Real Planners Got Their Start

For those who want to pursue this path but don’t know where to begin, we interviewed five renowned wedding planners —many of whom run courses to teach up-and-coming event organizers—on how they began their careers in the field.

Lindsay Ferguson got her start by working part-time for a wedding planner in Chicago as a young professional. “I always had a love for hospitality and customer service-focused careers,” she says. “I grew up with an entrepreneurial mom who really encouraged me to find something that I loved and was passionate about.” Meanwhile, Heather Hoesch worked for a family friend who owned the local bridal salon in high school. “She hired me to clean, hang, and steam dresses,” she recalls. In college, Hoesch worked for a catering company that primarily did weddings. “It was a crash course in weddings,” she continues. “I learned a ton about food, service, timelines, flow, logistics, guest experience, and catering to couples' needs for their special day.” Five years later, she was ready to start her own company. Ferguson and Hoesch now are co-owners of LVL Weddings & Events and of Planner Life Academy , which offers workshops and virtual training programs to prepare leaders to open their own wedding planning businesses.

Early in her career, Francie Dorman worked as an event hostess, an executive assistant, and a GM at a restaurant. “These experiences helped me build fortitude and a deep understanding of what happens in the ‘back of the house.’” Dorman explains. Her first wedding planning job was for a small, local company where she took on more responsibilities before getting clients of her own. She now is the owner of 42 North , a full-service wedding and event planning firm, and mentors young wedding planners through a sister company, Mavinhouse Events.

Teissia Treynet started a career as a development coordinator for a nonprofit in Los Angeles, where she planned large-scale, celebrity-driven events. A year later, she helped her best friend plan his wedding on the island of Holbox, Mexico, and started Firefly Events soon after. (Fun fact: She booked her first paying client off Craigslist!)

Michelle Rago attended the New York Restaurant School, worked in hotel sales, and operated a flower business for years before landing on weddings. Those experiences gave her a “more holistic approach of producing with an emphasis on design, food and beverage, and service,” she says. She now owns Michelle Rago Destinations , a wedding and events company based in New York City, and is known for organizing elaborate destination weddings in far-flung locations.

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How much does a wedding planner cost?

A wedding planner can be an absolute lifesaver for busy couples, ensuring that the planning process and actual event run smoothly. As a professional who’s been through the process before, they can also offer countless wedding planning recommendations and tips. It’s important to know wedding planning is not a one size fits all service - your wedding vision is unique and a wedding planner will customize their offering to fit your needs. Because of this and the wide range of services these professionals provide, pricing varies widely with most couples in the U.S. spending at least $1,500 on wedding planner services for their big day. Wedding planner costs also differ based on the planner’s level of expertise, among many other factors, as more experienced pros typically come with a higher price tag (and with that comes top-tier service!).

• $ 400 or less Lower range
• $ 1,500 Average cost
• $ 1,000 - $ 2,500 Most couples spend between
• $ 4,500 or more Upper range

Costs displayed are based on spend from thousands of couples who recently reported pricing for this service within their WeddingWire review. Pricing varies based on factors including, but not limited to, vendor’s experience, level of expertise, event guest count, date, and geographic region.

What services does a wedding planner's fee include?

• Correspondence: About 30 percent of a wedding planner’s time is spent communicating with you and your vendors via email and phone. Think of your planner as the “coach” of your vendor team who ensures that all of your wedding pros work together well—and frequent communication is a huge part of that.
• Venue and vendor selection: Your planner likely has a lot of connections in the wedding industry and can help you pick the right venue and vendors that can help bring your wedding vision to life. Often, your planner will attend interviews and meetings with you and your vendors, too.
• Organization: A big part of wedding planning is... paperwork? Yes, unfortunately it’s true. But wedding planners can make sure that all of your budgets, contracts, timelines, etc. are properly organized and easily accessible if needed.
• Wedding prep: There are lots of seemingly small tasks that go into creating your perfect day both before and on the day-of from creating a wedding-day timeline , assembling invitations, setting up your favor display, assisting with your seating chart , and much more.
• Day-of coordination: You might not see your wedding planner much on the day of your wedding—and that’s how it should be! Your planner will arrive long before your ceremony begins and stay well afterwards, making sure that everything runs on-time and smoothly from behind-the-scenes and any issues are handled quickly and quietly so that you and your new spouse can enjoy the day, stress-free!
• Post-wedding tasks: There will likely be several important tasks to handle after the wedding, from ensuring clean-up and breakdown occur properly to returning rental items and making sure vendors receive their tips.

What wedding events does a planner's fee cover?

How much does a day-of wedding planner cost?

How much does a partial wedding planner cost?

How much does a full wedding planner cost?

Finding a Wedding Planner

Let us be the first to admit that wedding planning is no walk in the park. After a couple has gotten engaged and the excitement of that special moment dies down, the reality sets in. And many couples have no idea where to start when planning their wedding, or what sort of undertaking it will be. That's when it's time to consider talking to a professional. Wedding planners, also know as wedding coordinators or wedding consultants, have the knowledge, organizational skills, and experience from previous events to help make your special day the best it can possibly be.

Committing to your significant other was a no brainer, but finding and booking the right wedding planner for your big day can be a little more tricky. Here are some thing to consider when beginning your wedding planner search.

Types of Wedding Planners

First things first. This may come as a bit of a shock but there is more than one type of planner. In fact, there are about seven types of wedding coordinators. Knowing the difference between these wedding professionals can make the selection process all that much easier.

Starting with a full service or all-inclusive planner . This type of wedding coordinator will be with you every step of the way during the planning process and on your big day. These planners are best for couples who may not have a lot of free time to plan a wedding or need help with small decisions like incorporating the color palette with linens and flowers. A full service wedding planner will help with everything from selecting vendors, to optimizing your budget.

You can also have a month-of-planner . As the name suggests, these consultants will come into the picture in the last few weeks or days before the wedding. They exist to be an extra set of hands during crunch time. These planners can help with any last-minute issues that pop up unexpectedly, as well as working with vendors to finalize contracts and set up for deliveries.

Another option would be a weekend wedding coordinator . This type of wedding planner is going to be a major component of making your wedding day run as smoothly as possible. However, they are not solely there for the big day, they can also help with organizing and welcoming guests as they arrive and planning wedding related events like the rehearsal dinner and morning-after brunch.

Similar to a weekend wedding coordinator, a day-of coordinator is there to make sure your wedding takes place with minimal hiccups. Many couples wish they had hired a day-of coordinator after the fact. They ease the stress of having to focus on the tiny details so your special day can be enjoyed to the fullest.

If you are planning an out of state, or out of country wedding. A destination wedding coordinator may be the best choice for you. If you and your fiancé(e) can't physically be there for planning, a professional consultant may be the way to go. These wedding planners meet with vendors, scout for venues, and understand specific regional information like weather, since that can be a huge aspect of planning any wedding.

There are also planners who work specifically with scouting venues and giving referrals . This type of planner will be able to go with you to look at venues and negotiate vendor contracts. These planners are often very well connected and can help you meet with vendors that are considered the best in the business.

If none of these options seem like the best fit for you, consider looking for wedding planners that have services à la carte . Planners are aware that not everyone wants or needs every service they provide. Creating a custom planning package can be easier on the budget and still allow for professional help.

Wedding Planner Prices

The cost of hiring a wedding planner will vary from state to state, region to region, and country to country. Full service coordinators are going to be more expensive than day-of planners. Planners in less populated areas are also likely to be less expensive and so will the cost of the entire wedding.

Local Wedding Planners

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Free Wedding Venue Business Plan PDF [2024 Template + Sample Plan]

Anthony St. Clair

10 min. read

Updated February 7, 2024

Free Download:  Sample Wedding Venue Business Plan Template

With couples nationwide ready to tie to knot after pandemic delays, the next few years could be a boom time for weddings . 2021 saw 1,934,982 weddings in the US alone , at an average cost of $27,063 per wedding. Whether you’ve been wanting to start a wedding venue as your primary business or a side hustle, writing a wedding venue business plan can help you say “I do” to your startup.

• How to write a wedding venue business plan

Like the perfect wedding speech, your business plan is just long enough to do what it needs to do, but short enough so you can get on with the good stuff. That’s why we recommend using the one-page plan format to cover all of the necessary information to build a wedding venue business.

As you plan your wedding venue business, here are a few things to keep in mind that can help you become a business newlywed on a path to success.

1. Outline the basics about your wedding venue’s location, proximity, and offerings

As a wedding venue, location is everything. Your goal is simple: Understand what will compel people to hold their special day at your special place, and what makes your location a good site logistically. 

Here are a few questions to help you nail down the value your site presents to customers:

• What sort of property is the venue? Is it urban, small town, or rural?
• Is space available for the ceremony only, or for the reception too?
• Is lodging available on-site or nearby?
• What sort of dining and refreshment options are offered in-house? Or, how easy is it for a third-party caterer to set up and run prep, service, and cleanup operations?
• Outdoor, indoor, or options for both?
• Are there other activities that can be part of the venue or your wedding package options, such as flower picking, wine tasting, or golf?
• How will people get there? What highways, airports, and/or train stations is your venue close to? How many vehicles can park on-site, and how many people can the venue legally hold?

Knowing what you don’t offer can be a strength

If you don’t offer something as part of your business, that also gives you opportunities to partner with other businesses, For example, if your services won’t include food service, form relationships with local caterers. Customers seeking wedding or other event planning may already have a caterer in mind, but many will also appreciate knowing that you have a list of partners you recommend and regularly work with.

Location informs everything about your plan and your marketing. A venue in a city might appeal to one type of wedding customer. Or, if your venue is outside a major urban area, it can be an opportunity for guests to come together while getting away from it all.

What you don’t offer can also help you hone in on your target customer (more on that in a bit). No venue can be everything to everyone. By knowing what your venue offers and what its features are, you can better craft messaging that appeals to the people most likely to want to hold their wedding at a place just like yours.

Above all, your wedding venue lean plan helps you understand what problems you solve for your customers, and how your venue will be an integral part of the memories they make on their special day. When you have a solid grasp of this in your lean plan, you can also find the right way to appeal to your customers.

• 2. Research your local wedding market and target wedding customer

An estimated 336,725 businesses operate in the $57 billion US wedding industry . Competition can be fierce. But since marriage is one of life’s major milestones for many adults, opportunity still abounds for new wedding venues and startups. You just need to identify and target the right customers.

In order to understand your target customer, you’ll need to get a sense of the broader population around you and wherever you are trying to market your venue. Here are a few questions to work through that can help you identify your ideal audience:

• Are you trying to find customers within a certain geographical radius of your venue, or are there cities or towns farther afield you want to market to as well?
• What are the demographics, business factors, and other aspects of your local area? Your target area?
• How many other wedding and event venues are in the area? Where do your services overlap, and where do they differ? How do they market and advertise their services? How can you innovate and stand out?
• Is your target customer brides and grooms themselves, or are you aiming to work more with wedding planners and consultants?
• What trends have been prevalent at weddings over the past few years? What trends are on the horizon that you need to account for in your planning?
• How do you need to reflect cultures, religions, and other preferences in your offerings?
• Who is the target customer you’d most like to work with? What problems are they trying to solve? What fears or concerns will they come to you with? What will they be looking for to have the most amazing wedding day possible?

Knowing your market and your target customer helps you understand your plan, your business, and your path to a profitable, sustainable wedding venue business. But if no one knows about your venue or why they’d want to have their wedding there, then no one will come.

• 3. Plan out promotional strategies for your wedding venue

Growing market awareness is the biggest leap in building a wedding venue business. Getting the word out through promotional, marketing, and advertising strategies educates people about your venue, discover why it’s a good fit, and how they can get started on planning their perfect day.

Word of mouth is often the best way to naturally build awareness and referrals for your venue. This doesn’t just include customers, but business partners as well. As you work toward starting operations, build relationships with other industry players, from florists to caterers, local DJs to formal wear shops. Treat your partners well when you collaborate on a wedding, and they can become your most avid promoters.

Depending on your market—online, TV, radio, and print advertising can also be important paid options to explore. Participating in wedding planning events or bridal shows is also a great option. Test different channels to see what sticks. More than likely, you’ll land on some sort of mix between traditional and digital advertising depending on your audience.

Aside from paid channels, your own in-house organic marketing efforts are also essential. Engaging on social media and/or posting to your own blog can show people what you do, why you’re an expert, how amazing your venue is, and build excitement. It also makes for great content to support your paid efforts.

• 4. Financials and pricing

Every business has startup costs, including your wedding venue. There will also be ongoing expenses to plan for, along with the ups and downs of cash flow in what can be a seasonal industry. When it comes to cash flow, how you price your wedding services, packages, and other events will be key to drawing in business and doing what you can to have a profitable venue. 

Here are financial and pricing considerations to keep in mind:

• What services and packages will you offer wedding and event customers?
• How do competitors price their weddings?
• In addition to weddings, are there other events you’ll want to develop, package, and market?
• How many full-time, part-time, and seasonal staff will you need to hire? What typical wages and benefits will you need to offer?
• Costs to renovate or build out your venue, such as design, construction, furnishings, HVAC, lighting, etc.
• Insurance for your business
• Legal expenses

Aim to forecast revenues and expenses for the first year. That way, even as you adjust along the way, you have some numbers to give you initial expectations. As you complete your first year of operations, try to plan out and broadly estimate your business finances over the next one to three years.

What this covers is the money you’ll be spending and what sort of revenue your venue will bring in. For example, how many weddings per year, at what price point, does your venue need to host in order to break even? How many to be profitable? Understanding how you’ll manage cash flow will also help you weather ups, downs, and seasonal boom times and slowdowns.

• 5. Vendors and partners

Connections with vendors, other industry players, customers, and more form the vital relationships that can help you launch a successful wedding venue.

A wedding venue is not a lone wolf operation. Understanding how many people your team will need will help build out cash needs for payroll and benefits. It can also give you insight into how you may want to structure the business legally. Whether you are opening this startup with you as the sole owner or with one or more business partners, examining entities such as limited liability companies (LLCs) or corporations can help you determine the entity that’s most beneficial to your business.

You should also build out relationships with other businesses, such as suppliers, caterers, photographers, and other complimentary businesses. A solid lineup of contacts not only can help spread the word about your venue but trusted contacts can be key to working through a last-minute problem. 

It may even be wise to partner with other wedding venues outside of your immediate area. If their bookings become maxed out, they may recommend you as a viable alternative. 

• Tips to run a successful wedding venue business

Running a successful wedding venue can take more than just setting up shop and spreading the word. Here are a few quick tips that can help you build out your plan more:

Consider offering other events and services, not just weddings

Venues suitable for weddings are usually suitable for other events or services. Diversifying your offerings can also help you weather seasonal ups and downs, and possibly provide more stable cash flow to your business. 

Are there other group events you can offer, such as holiday parties or company retreats? What other services can you add to weddings or other events? From accommodation to all-inclusive packages, the more you can diversify and expand the value and convenience of your venue, the better you can position your business for success.

Focus on personalization and care

Weddings can be stressful. While many adults get married at least once, they also want to feel like their wedding is personal and unique. When a couple feels like they are taken care of, they not only have a better wedding day but a more positive view of your venue. Look at how your business can talk up the personal touch. After the wedding, ask your customers for testimonials that can talk up how you and your staff went above and beyond to care for each and every guest.

Rent your venue for events other than weddings

Another option to diversity yet cut down your time and resource investment? Rent out the spacer weddings and other events. Your primary responsibility is to provide the venue. The people renting the space then make other arrangements for services, supplies, and more.

• Download your free sample business plan for a wedding venue

Downloading our free wedding venue business plan PDF can give you the template you need to start setting up the wedding venue business of your dreams. It’s just one of the hundreds of free sample plans that have been time-tested by our team and by thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world.

Weddings are a competitive industry, but a solid lean plan can help you start a successful venue. You’ll also be able to examine your shop idea from different angles, identify potential challenges, and build a stronger business than you could otherwise.

Your wedding venue could be your perfect partner. Use your free wedding venue plan to help you tie the business knot today.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Anthony St. Clair is a business copywriter, author of the Rucksack Universe travel fantasy series, and a craft beer writer specializing in Oregon. Learn more at anthonystclair.com.

Table of Contents

• 1. Outline the basics about your wedding venue’s location, proximity, and offerings

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My fiancé and I are planning our wedding, but he's unemployed, and we're in debt. We've had to get creative.

• Last October, my fiancé was laid off and he has been unemployed ever since, so we are now in debt.
• We decided to keep planning our wedding, so I've used my tax refund to pay for deposits. 
• We are eloping in the mountains and trying to remind ourselves it isn't about the wedding. 

When my fiancé, Collin, was unexpectedly laid off last October, he told me it would likely delay his marriage proposal. We had already picked out a ring, and he had bought the center diamond, but he was hoping to save a little more money before buying the ring itself.

The night before Thanksgiving, we were sitting on the couch when I casually said, "You know, you could always borrow one of my fashion rings until we can purchase the real one."

We agreed it felt silly to wait on a major purchase to promise our futures to one another since the ring was just a symbol anyway. I lined up all the rings I owned on the bathroom counter and let him pick one out.

It was around 11:30 p.m. when he said, "Want to go to the beach?"

What I thought would be a promise ring situation ended with him getting down on one knee in the dark on an empty South Carolina beach after midnight and asking me to be his wife. (Spoiler: I said yes.)

He slipped a sapphire ring I had bought on sale from Kohl's onto my finger to a choir of crashing waves.

To me, his proposal was more romantic than any surprise candlelit picnic where my family and friends jumped out from behind the bushes. Instead, it was just us and our shadows in the moonlight because he simply couldn't wait to make me his wife.

Related stories

But planning the actual wedding while in debt has been anything but romantic.

Planning a wedding while in debt isn't easy

Fast-forward to the present day and Collin is still having trouble finding a new job despite vigorously searching and applying for 40 hours a week. His unemployment eligibility has run out, and we're barely scraping by to cover rent and other bills.

As a result, we spent months feeling on hold with any and all wedding planning efforts, including setting a date. We needed a deposit for our vendors to lock in a date, which we didn't have.

Still, we don't believe our financial situation should delay us starting this next chapter of our lives. We've continued finding creative ways to move forward despite debt.

For example, I used my tax refund money to put a deposit down with a wedding photographer, which allowed us to set a date in September. We also worked with her to negotiate a different payment schedule due to our situation. Instead of her typical deposit of $1,500, she agreed to let us put $500 down to secure the date as long as we paid the rest of the deposit by the end of June.

To help us afford engagement photos , I joined a local photography Facebook group and responded to model calls from photographers looking to add to their portfolios. We found a photographer who heavily discounted our session because he wanted to shoot a couple in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. We couldn't be happier with the photos.

We have planned our elopement for a Monday to help avoid peak fall wedding costs. This also leaves us more time to secure vendors, as many vendors maintain availability for weekday weddings since they're less popular.

Instead of booking vendors like a local hair and makeup artist in advance, I've done the research to know which salon I want to reach out to once I have the required deposit. This will help speed up the process once we have the funds.

Since we wanted a mountain wedding, we planned our elopement location around our upcoming cross-country move so that we could drive instead of needing to purchase advance plane tickets and a rental car. We secured a furnished apartment in our new city so we could sell all of our belongings to help fund our travels. This also helped us avoid spending thousands of dollars on a moving truck.

Focusing on what matters most

The most important part of this process is ensuring we don't postpone our vows because of a temporary, short-term cash flow issue. We are willing to sacrifice the material things and finer details involved in many weddings so we can make our commitment sooner.

This lack of focus on the smaller details has also helped us plan an elopement that's entirely focused on our relationship and our love for one another.

At the end of the day, if I have to choose between marrying the guy of my dreams and having the perfect wedding bouquet, the answer is pretty obvious to me.

Kelsey Herbers is a freelance marketing writer and journalist based in Charleston, South Carolina. Connect on LinkedIn .

• Main content

WII 140 - How Lisa DiBenedetto Grew From Free Party Planning to 6-Figure Weddings Wedding Industry Insider

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Hear how Lisa started her wedding planning business, learned from her mistakes, and turned it into a thriving company rooted in kindness & service.  Want more from Wedding Industry Insider? Check it out!

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