How to become a wedding consultant

Alice Tuffery, writer

Published at 25/11/2018, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

How to become a wedding consultant — Photo © wedding-consultant.jpg

Working as a wedding consultant is a fantastic way to become part of a rewarding industry and to be your own boss. If you want to make your mark on this competitive industry, here’s what you’ll need to become a wedding consultant.

There’s no denying that the wedding industry has suffered during the pandemic. 74% of wedding businesses reported losses of at least 76% of their usual turnover. On top of that, 220,000 weddings were postponed—that’s 80% of the 2019 total [FT].

While the last 18 months have been disappointing for couples and worrying for the industry generally, wedding businesses are on course to enjoy record levels of demand over the next 12 months. At its peak, the wedding industry was turning over a whopping £14.7 billion, so there is every reason to be optimistic that this sector can grow again.

What does a wedding consultant do?

As a wedding consultant, you’ll be hard at work helping couples generate ideas, organising the special day, and negotiating prices with suppliers. You can also expect to be helping with decorations, themes, catering, managing the event on the day, and lending a hand in any way you can.

There are a number of skills that will prove useful for you as a wedding consultant, and these include:

Organisational skills
Time management
Working to a specific budget
Good communication skills
Creativity

Ultimately, you’ll be the go-to person for all questions and enquiries that people may have for you. Whether you play a more hands-on role in the wedding, or take a more relaxed stance will be up to you and your clients, but you’ll be playing an important role in helping people plan their special day.

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How do you become a wedding consultant?

If you’re looking to get started as a wedding consultant, there are a couple of things that you should look to do before you get started. Here are three things to consider if you’re looking to become a wedding consultant.

1. Get qualified

Getting some qualifications in this sector could really make the difference. Many people will pick their wedding consultant on the basis of previous experience and, although this isn’t always necessary, having some kinds of qualifications and experience will definitely stand you in good stead.

Having a qualification in wedding planning, or in the wider world of events will certainly help you stand out from some of your competitors, and this could make all the difference between adding new customers and missing out on them.

2. Training

Whether you get training on top of your qualifications, or as part of your franchise agreement, every franchise will have a slightly different way of working and operating. As such, it’s important that you’re confident in your business’s way of working, as well as some of the new ways in which your industry is evolving.

Considering the ongoing pandemic, more and more businesses are looking to work with safety protocols in mind, and this is no different with the weddings industry. Couples and businesses have had to get used to working in new ways in recent months, so make sure you’re aware of any new health and safety training.

3. Research

Research every part of the sector you can. Research locations, business options, franchises, franchise competitors, and everything else. It’s important to know as much as you possibly can before looking to step into this sector, as it can be very competitive.

If you have any contacts within the industry, be sure to speak to them beforehand for advice. They might be willing to look at your business plan, or help you with contacts within the industry. There is plenty of research to be done before setting up shop.

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Franchise opportunities in the wedding industry

Going it alone as a wedding consultant can be difficult. However, there are franchises operating in this sector who offer significant competitive benefits over independent traders. So, if going it alone doesn’t quite sound like the right thing for you, you could consider operating as a franchise.

While we don’t currently have any franchise opportunities for wedding consultants, there are a number of opportunities for individuals working within the wedding sector.

For example, if you're looking to work in the marquee industry, you could consider operating as a Party Tent Company franchisee. The company is the UK’s only marquee hire franchise and provides marquees for weddings, birthday parties, garden parties, village fetes, trade shows and smaller corporate events.

Following your minimum investment of £12,000, you’ll receive training on everything you need to succeed. You won’t need any prior experience in this sector, just the desire to do well in business and to succeed. In two years, your revenue will be around £150,000.

Alternatively, Venture Studios is the UK’s leading portrait photography business and is regularly called upon for wedding photography needs.

You don’t need specific photographic or studio experience, but it's important that you have the ability, passion, passion and determination needed to lead your business. After a minimum investment of £35,000, you can look forward to a potential revenue of around £444,000 in 2 years time.

Invest in the wedding industry and enjoy working with less risk

The wedding industry is a competitive industry, making working as an independent consultant a difficult task. If you’ve decided that working as a franchise is the right option for you, you will be able to reap the rewards of this sector, with much less risk.

If working as a consultant isn’t quite the right option for you, you can see more about some of the advantages of running a food catering franchise. Or, if you’d like to see a full list of available franchise opportunities, check out our UK franchise directory, where you’ll be able to pick, choose and filter between the right sectors for you.