The work
As a wedding planner, your work might include:
- meeting couples to discuss their requirements and budget
- coming up with creative ideas and themes
- advising on wedding customs (etiquette)
- preparing proposals and quotations for the work
- agreeing prices with suppliers such as florists, photographers, caterers and venues
- booking and confirming suppliers, and making sure that they are paid on time
- keeping detailed records to make sure that costs stay within budget
- researching new products, services and suppliers
- keeping lists of suppliers and contacts
- dealing with paperwork, phone calls, emails and letters
- being at the venue on the day of the wedding to make sure that everything goes to plan.
If you were self-employed, you would also spend time doing your accounts and promoting your business.
Although you can use your creativity in this job, much of the work involves organisation and administration, particularly as you may be planning several weddings at once.
Hours
You are likely to work long hours, particularly during peak wedding season. Meetings with couples often take place in the evening and at weekends, and you might work 12-hour days or longer on the day of the ceremony.
You could be based at an office or work from home, but you would also spend time travelling to see clients, suppliers and venues.
Income
Starting salaries with wedding/event planning companies are around £16,000 to £20,000 a year. With experience, this can reach £25,000 to £40,000 a year.
Self-employed earnings will depend on your fees and the amount of weddings you organise. You could charge a fixed fee, an hourly rate, or a percentage of the total wedding cost.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
Entry requirements
You could have a variety of backgrounds for starting as a wedding planner. Especially useful backgrounds are in event organising, hospitality and catering, project management, marketing or public relations. Many people choose to become professional wedding planners after organising their own wedding.
Another way could be to start as an administrator or assistant in a wedding planning or event management company, possibly through temporary work (temping). You could then progress to organising events as your experience grows.
There is no standard qualification for becoming a wedding planner, although qualifications in a related area like event organising or hospitality management may help you. These include:
- Level 2 Certificate in Event Planning
- Level 3 Certificate in the Principles of Event Management.
You may find it useful to take a short course in wedding planning. These are offered by several private training companies. See the Training and Development section for more details. You should check courses carefully to make sure that they meet your needs. Ideally, you should also get some work experience with a local wedding planner.
Another way of getting experience is to organise weddings, parties and other events for friends and people you know. You could also contact local charities and volunteer to organise events such as fun days, charity balls or fashion shows. This would help you build practical experience, give you evidence that you can show to potential employers or clients, and help you build a reputation in your local area.
Training and development
You would develop your skills on the job as your experience grows.
Several private training organisations offer home study courses, and the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners (UKAWP) offers a two-day, classroom-based course with an optional work placement afterwards.
Most courses cover areas including:
- running a business
- pricing and budgeting
- negotiation skills
- advertising, marketing and PR
- themes and design
- marriage and civil partnership laws
- wedding etiquette.
You could join an industry organisation such as the UKAWP or the National Association of Professional Wedding Services (NAPWS). This would help your professional reputation and increase your opportunities for networking, training and marketing. See the UKAWP and NAPWS websites for details.
Skills and knowledge
To become a wedding planner, you will need to have:
- excellent organisation and 'multi-tasking' abilities
- good communication and 'people' skills
- good customer focus skills
- problem-solving skills and the ability to deal with the unexpected
- excellent attention to detail
- the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
- sales and negotiation skills
- the ability to manage a budget
- administration and IT skills
- the ability to work as part of a team and also on your own initiative
- enthusiasm, motivation and an outgoing, approachable personality
- a confident and determined manner.
More information
UK Alliance of Wedding Planners (UKAWP) 
7 Churchfield Road
Coggeshall
Essex
CO6 1QE
www.ukawp.com
National Association of Professional Wedding Services (NAPWS)
Tel: 020 8090 1921
www.theweddingassociation.co.uk
People 1st
2nd Floor
Armstrong House
38 Market Square
Uxbridge
Middlesex
UB8 1LH
Tel: 01895 817 000
www.uksp.co.uk/ (careers information)
www.people1st.co.uk
Opportunities
You are mostly likely to be self-employed, although there are opportunities to work for larger wedding planning consultancies, event management companies or hotels.
Jobs with hotels or event management companies may be advertised in the local and national press, in hospitality trade publications and on employers’ own websites.
If you are self-employed, opportunities will depend on the strength of your marketing and reputation.
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
Related industry information
Industry summary
The hospitality services industry is represented by People 1st, the Sector Skills Council for hospitality, passenger transport, travel and tourism. The hospitality, travel and tourism sector incorporates the following industries: contract food service providers, events, gambling, holiday parks, hospitality services, hostels, hotels, membership clubs, pubs, bars and nightclubs, restaurants, self-catering accommodation, tourist services, and visitor attractions. The sector accounts for a workforce of 2.1 million, most of which are based within the restaurants, hospitality services, and pubs, bars and nightclubs industries. The roles within the sector are extremely diverse and include managers, technical staff, front-of-house staff, back-of-house staff, and non-core staff.
The hospitality services industry provides support to a number of other industries, ranging from hotels and restaurants to educational establishments and oil rigs. The industry provides food and drink, and increasingly provides ‘facilities management’, which means services like housekeeping services, linen and security. Hospitality service providers include: travel; business; retail; education; health care; remote and offshore locations; corporate hospitality and executive dining; government and local authority provision; plus leisure venues and events (such as concerts, regattas, sporting events, weddings and parties). The industry overlaps with the food and service management industry, which is an external service provider. Hospitality services are managed ‘in‐house’ by, for example, a retailer or local authority.
Key facts:
- There are 195,200 people working in the hospitality services industry.
- 12% of the workforce has an NVQ Level 4 or above qualification.
- The majority of the workforce has a NVQ Level 2 qualification (32%).
- 9% of the workforce has no qualifications.
- 49% of the workforce is employed full‐time.
[N.B. Data derived from Labour Force Survey, 2009.]
Jobs in the industry range from: food and beverage manager, kitchen assistant, chef, bar person, waiting staff, assistant bar manager, general manager, assistant head housekeeper, housekeeper, cleaner, conference and banqueting manager, crew member, floor manager, porter, receptionist.
National and regional data
East Midlands – There are approximately 17,400 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 49% work full‐time
- 67% of the workforce is female
- 95% of the workforce is white
- 17% of the workforce is 40‐44 years
- 32% of the workforce has an NVQ level 2 qualification
East of England – There are approximately 17,500 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- Workforce is evenly split between those working full‐time and those working part‐time
- 74% of the workforce is female
- 97% of the workforce is white
- The majority of the workforce is aged 16‐29 years (41%)
- 37% of the workforce has an NVQ level 2 qualification
London – There are approximately 22,000 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 48% work full‐time
- Workforce is evenly split between men and women
- 58% of the workforce is white
- 16% of the workforce is 30‐34 years
- 25% of the workforce has an NVQ level 1 and entry level qualification
North East – There are approximately 7,000 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 48% work full‐time
- 69% of the workforce is female
- 23% of the workforce is 50‐54 years
- 40% of the workforce has an NVQ level 3 qualification
North West – There are approximately 19,200 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 40% work full‐time
- 58% of the workforce is female
- 17% of the workforce is 20‐24 years
- 40% of the workforce has an NVQ level 2 qualification
South East – There are approximately 32,400 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 48% work full‐time
- Workforce is evenly split between men and women
- 93% of the workforce is white
- 22% of the workforce is 20‐24 years
- 34% of the workforce has an NVQ level 3 qualification
South West – There are approximately 19,600 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 52% work full‐time
- 68% of the workforce is female
- 95% of the workforce is white
- 19% of the workforce is 16‐19 years
- 34% of the workforce has an NVQ level 2 qualification
West Midlands – There are approximately 17,800 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 56% work full‐time
- 58% of the workforce is female
- 94% of the workforce is white
- 15% of the workforce is 20‐24 years
- 39% of the workforce has an NVQ level 3 qualification
Yorkshire and the Humber – There are approximately 16,000 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 43% work full‐time
- 75% of the workforce is female
- 96% of the workforce is white
- 19% of the workforce is 20‐24 years
- 35% of the workforce has an NVQ level 3 qualification
Northern Ireland – There are approximately 4,095 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 58% work full‐time
- 53% of the workforce is male
- 23% of the workforce is 45‐49 years
- 35% of the workforce has no qualifications
Scotland – There are approximately 14,454 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 59% work full‐time
- 70% of the workforce is female
- 27% of the workforce is 16‐24 years
- 30% of the workforce has an NVQ level 2 qualification
Wales – There are approximately 7,898 people working in the hospitality services industry in this region, of which:
- 51% work full‐time
- 65% of the workforce is female
- 27% of the workforce is 40‐44 years
- 38% of the workforce has an NVQ level 2 qualification
[N.B. Data derived from Labour Force Survey, 2009.]
Career paths
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