Wedding Planning as a Career: What You Should Know Before Deciding
You may consider yourself a party planner extraordinaire, creating lavish
celebrations on shoestring budgets. As a result, you might be wondering
whether a career in wedding planning is right for you. There are certain
fundamental things you should consider before branching out into this
particular business. If you do a little research and planning ahead of
time, you can avoid costly mistakes later on.
The Role of a Wedding Planner
To begin with, it is highly important that you understand the true role of
a wedding planner. According to the African Wedding Guide, the role of a
wedding consultant is multi-faceted. It involves serving as a facilitator,
mediator, money manager, and a dream maker. At times, you might even have
to act as a quasi-therapist for your nervous clients.
Skills Required
There are certain skills that are essential to the job of a wedding
planner. For instance, he or she must be able to present a calm demeanor
at ALL times (even when the minister is an hour late!) As a wedding
planner, you’ll be faced with your share of challenges, and it is
important that you maintain cool composure under fire. It is also
important that you enjoy working with people, because that will be your
ultimate responsibility. In addition, you must be able to serve as a good
spokesperson. In essence, you will represent the interests of the bride
and the groom. It also helps to be an effective negotiator, so that you
can get the best possible product at the lowest possible price.
You should be skillful at organization. You’ll have to handle a number of
details, from the arrangement of flowers to paying the wedding band.
Therefore, you must be able to effectively multi-task. Moreover, you’ll be
operating your own business, so you need to have some understanding of the
laws which govern your enterprise. It also helps to have superb decorating
skills, since you may be decorating both the church or other wedding venue
and the reception hall. A general knowledge of
wedding reception etiquette may
also come in handy, as you are the one the couple will come to with
questions. Still, recognize the fact that, even if your skills are not up
to par now, they can be improved over time.
Ways to Learn: Certification and Apprenticeship
There are steps you can take to speed up your learning process. First,
there are companies that offer certification for wedding planners and
consultants. These certification courses typically include course
materials, tests and quizzes, and regular checking in with the main
office. Second, you can approach wedding planners and
wedding package companies for volunteer or apprenticeship
opportunities. When doing this, keep in mind, these individuals are in
business to provide a great service and to make money. If they sense that
you only want to work with them to learn how they do what they do, and
then leave, it is unlikely that they will be interested in working with
you. Most business owners will want to train and invest time in someone
who will be around for some time to help them grow their company.
Whether you decide to teach yourself, or, participate in a wedding planner
course, know that there is training involved, and, once you have educated
yourself, you have a wonderful and rewarding career ahead of you.
Article by:
Michelle O’Connor, San
Diego Weddings
THE TOP 5 MOST ELEGANT LAS VEGAS HOTEL WEDDING
LOCATIONS
Las Vegas is your city if you’re all set for major
excitement, first-rate dining and extraordinary entertainment. Vegas is
also a natural choice for a destination wedding, it’s one of the 10 most
popular
honeymoon spots on earth, and, for lovebirds pressed for time, it’s
perfect for a “mini-moon.” Hotels and casinos, replicating everything from
the Eiffel Tower and the Great Pyramid to the Big Apple, have altered the
city into a microcosm of the world’s great tourist spots. Here are a few
of the city’s best places to get married:
-
Four Seasons Las Vegas.
This resort acknowledges that your wedding day is one of the most
important days of your life. Guests may opt to have their rites and/or
reception in a well-appointed suite for more intimate weddings: The
Presidential Suite, on the hotel’s top floors with dramatic views, the
180 degree Strip View Suite for thrilling panoramas of the Las Vegas
Strip, the Sunrise/Sunset Suite, set against the natural landscape, and
the Las Vegas Strip Suite for a glittering Las Vegas affair.
-
The Venetian.
The Venetian offers a range of
affordable wedding packages and ceremony sites to make your day
exceptional. The aim is to make your wedding experience and stay at the
Venetian memorable. This is where your dream Las Vegas wedding unites
with storybook charm and old world Italy.
-
Caesar’s Palace.
The dedicated wedding coordinators at Caesar’s Palace are specially
trained to make your dreams come true. The resort has an assortment of
unique locations to celebrate your love. Your coordinator can help you
choose a site to match your ceremony, whether you decide on the privacy
and flexibility of an elegant ballroom or the ambience of your favorite
Caesar’s Palace restaurant.
-
The Flamingo.
Walk beneath the shelter of date palm trees to the Flamingo’s six
romantic wedding sites situated on their fifteen-acre pool complex. You
may choose between the graceful indoor chapel sited on the garden’s
northwest corner or one of several outdoor locations.
-
Paris Las Vegas.
The elegant appeal of a
Paris Las Vegas wedding is sure to make your special day utterly
perfect, whether you say “I do” in one of the gracefully decorated
wedding chapels or from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Article by:
Michelle O’Connor,
Las Vegas Specialty Weddings
Unique and Unusual Wedding Ring Options - Break Out of the Ordinary!
Article
by: Adam O’Connor,
Bridal Jewelry Pro
Rings that display Celtic knot work are becoming ever
more popular choices for wedding bands. As it has no beginning or end, the
round shape of the wedding ring is a sign of never-ending love and
fidelity. The continuous strand of the Celtic knot is also a sign of
perpetuity and is a striking complement to the symbolism of the ring
itself. The crossing of the strands of the knot stands for how our lives
are intertwined.
Spirals, Triskeles, and Triquetas, Shield Knots and
Sun Symbols are all types of Irish wedding rings. However, most popular by
far is the Irish Claddagh. Different traditions give different meanings to
the Claddagh, depending on how it is worn. The tale of the Claddagh starts
when buccaneers captured a fisherman Richard Joyce and other crewmembers
shortly before Joyce was to be married. They sold Joyce to an Algerian
goldsmith, and it was there that Joyce made the first Claddagh, named for
the village where his fiancée still waited for him.
Two German mineralogists discovered the cubic form of
zirconium oxide in 1937, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that Soviet
scientists learned how to grow this mineral in the laboratory. It was then
that jewelry designers first took notice of Cubic Zirconia. Swarovski &
Co., a world-renowned Austrian producer of leaded crystal, began producing
Cubic Zirconia in mass quantities, and that is when the substance really
took off. Even trained gemologists find it difficult to tell the
difference between Cubic Zirconia and real diamonds with the naked eye.
Any ring that can be made with near-colorless
diamonds can also be made with yellow diamonds. It may be harder owing to
the uncommonness of yellow diamonds, and the greater problem of finding
matching stones, but it can be done, with great results.
Fancy colored diamonds are very effective when used together with
white diamonds. Solitaire rings remain a favorite for fancy colored
diamonds.
Wedding rings are a sign of union. This custom of
making public the union between a man and a woman is a tradition that goes
way back to the ancient Egyptians. Rushes growing on the banks of the Nile
were braided around the finger. Although this tradition goes back
thousands of years the wearing of men’s wedding bands is much newer – this
custom only started after the Second World War.
Wedding rings are perhaps the most significant piece
of jewelry you and your intended spouse will exchange during your lives,
regardless of their design. Although a lot of brides and grooms prefer to
have matching rings, it is not essential. Because it’s the hardest type of
gold, and it maintains its luster better over time, 14-karat is most
commonly used for wedding bands. What Should I Buy
The Bride For Her Shower? Can I Just Buy Her A Gift From The Bridal
Registry?
Article
by: Adam O’Connor,
Bridal Shower Pro
As brides become older and more independent, the
traditional purpose of a bridal shower, which was helping the bride “set
up house,” has become less important, and the emphasis has switched to
camaraderie and girl-talk. Present day shower trends differ from region to
region, and among different social groups, but they seem to be changing
fast in many areas and circles.
Stuffy and conventional are the only adjectives that
come to mind as a description of traditional bridal showers. The bride
received everything she would need to become a good wife. By contrast,
bridal showers nowadays are about today’s bride. You can feel comfortable
giving her a set of racy lingerie. Another popular choice is bubble bath,
bath salts and shower gel.
The main event at the shower will be the opening of
the gifts, so you’ll want yours to be memorable. You could get away with
giving the bride a homemade gift or a family heirloom, but if you decide
to go shopping, $25 to $75 is an acceptable price range. Registry gifts
are the easy way out, but don’t hesitate to go against the grain. The
shower invitation should clue you in to the kind of gift you should bring.
Some popular shower themes include:
§
Round-the-clock: guests are assigned an hour of the
day on the invite and challenged to bring a
gift suitable to that hour
§
Kitchen: doodads, dish towels, spice rack,
containers, trivets, cookware – all the domestic essentials will be
appreciated
§
Entertainment: guests bring gifts for hobbies or
entertainment, including theater, movie or sports tickets, videos or
sporting equipment
§
Gourmet: bring gift certificates for fine dining,
recipe books, a subscription to a cooking journal, kitchen appliances,
table and glassware, espresso maker, or a gift certificate to food
preparation classes
§
Handyman: bring a hammer, nails, buckets of paint,
and whatever is needed to improve the couple’s house or apartment
§
Bar: stock the couple’s bar with glassware, tongs,
ice bucket, corkscrew, napkins with ridiculous messages, wine rack, fine
wines or boutique beers
§
Thanks for the memories: bring old photographs of the
bride from her early days and adolescent years and compose an ode or
letter to her recalling the times you’ve spent together and good wishes
for the future
§
Lingerie: pajamas, slippers, down pillow, linens,
robe, bath bubbles, perfumes, slips, teddies, or any kind of lingerie or
related items
§
Holiday: red, white and blue linens and glassware or
barbecue gear for the Fourth of July, homemade Christmas decorations and
stockings, decorated papier mache eggs and moss-covered garlands for
Easter, confetti, candles and paper hats for New Year’s Eve
§
Gardening: gifts relating to the garden are perfect
if the couple enjoys planting and taking care of flowers and vegetables
Room
of the house:
you will be assigned a room of the house to shop for |
