Having a wedding planner?

I wouldn't have one as its a wasted expense. I diddnt need someone to plan my day, I did it perfectly fine myself and that's with working full time and not being able to do anything at the weekends due to the kids.

Sorry- it's not for me.

Yeah I use to be a venue decorator at my old work place its so much fun I use to spend hours decorating the rooms, the only thing is that most venues supply them for free but I hope your friend gets somewhere with her business everyone has to start somewhere.

I've done the whloe d.i.y wedding my self so I understand why brides do it so much fun and money saving.

I've done some research on wedding planners and some charge stupid amounts of money £60 for 2 hours of there time I wouldn't dare

charge that much and 1500 to do the whloe wedding its crazy! Well hopefully I can be a cheaper alternative.

Thanks for your reply

If you were able to secure me better rates with suppliers due to your repeat business with them then I may consider it. In much the same way a tour operator gets a better deal at hotel and flight packages than Joe Public may get booking directly because of volume, that is the only reason I can see for needing one. If it's just an additional cost on top of what I can source myself by typing "venue" into google then I wouldn't bother. Like Mini, I'm doing ok with planning, working full-time and raising 3 children.

My OH is a wedding planner/coordinator/event manager, he works full time in a venue where he was able to build up a portfolio and make lots of contacts so now also takes on private clients but he works at the high end of the wedding market where there is more of a demand for wedding planners.

I feel you need to think about a business plan to ensure the business is viable, you seem to think that wedding planners charge over the odds but you need to be able to earn a living.

Even charging £1500 per wedding you would need to at least 20 weddings per year (and many of those would usually be in the peak season) at that price which would earn you £30,000 before tax and expenses, leaving you with a take home possibly under £25,000 a year. If you charged less than that you may not be able to sustain a living on it.

I agree with Funky, you do tend to find that 'planners' are usually needed for high end weddings.

OH and I happily did everything our selves and we are have just done it all again for friends of ours.

WSS. I think it's a wasted experience too and wouldn't have one. It's also (as far as I know) quite competitive and slow moving.

Thanks for the replys.

I was talking to my SIL about this the other day. I'd love to be a wedding/party planner. I'm helping my friends plan/decorate their wedding for next year and also had a brainstorm about a family party for 2015.

However, I think that there are a lot of ladies who plan their wedding and then think "I'd love to do this for a living", when majority of brides and grooms wouldn't want/afford a wedding planner. Like Funky says, it's more the high end clients who genuinely don't have the time or inclination to plan. I'd imagine it's a hard market to break into.

See I don't work now I'm a full time mum as my h2b has a good job and he's wage covers us but with my little one about to start nursery I'm just looking for something to do and if I make abit of extra money as well is just a bonus as I just want to start somewhere.

I wouldn't use one, I've loved the planning so far and (if you're not going massively over the top of course), I really don't see it as being time consuming - I work full-time and until recently was also studying a distance learning diploma, and I've still managed to do everything that's required up to this point.

Just to make you aware Zoe, a friend's flatmate used to be what's called a wedding planner - she was the planner for a specific venue, employed by that hotel. She hated it, it was very much a sales job - being pushy and trying to sell as much wedding related stuff as possible to brides! If you could afford to do it freelance then I'm sure it would be different, but for it to be a full-time career, I imagine you would have to be employed by a certain venue.

I agree with everyone that it's definitely a top end of the market occupation if you want to make any sort of reasonable wage out of it. I've had lots of wedding planners/venue decorators/co-ordinators contact me over the years to ask for discounts so they can recommend me to their clients etc.

Over the 10 years I've been on line with my business, I've never had one of them contact me with a client. Two reasons why I think... why would people want to pay extra than they need when all they have to do is contact me direct as most planners get a price from a supplier and stick 20% on top. Secondly, most venues offer co-ordinator service for free and those who don't will happily let the couple in the night before to do it.

The other point is, contrary to belief, people in the wedding business work to very tight profit margins due to rising costs and wouldn't want to or couldn't afford to offer discounts. When you break things down, £60 for two hours may actually be 4 hours work (or longer) bearing in mind you have to get where you're going and return. On top of that is your petrol and running costs. You may also need to have the use of a spare vehicle just in case yours won't start or you break down. Add to this the insurance premiums for this type of work, your advertising costs, your telephone costs, your stationery costs, tax and NI if you go over a certain limit and you can see that the £60 for two hours is quite a reasonable cost really!

I'm certainly not trying to put you off but it does need lots and lots of research into the top end of the market and a sound business plan to ensure you make a profit.

Wonder if wedding planning is anything like the film with J-Lo??? ?