Wedding School – for Planners and Their Associates?

Thanks in advance for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas. I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation. Tell me what you think, and I'll reply. Promise.
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If you want to become a good wedding planner, you can attend a wedding school, read books, and sign up for a planner certification program, like the APCWC.

Many sources of training are available, including the ever-popular “school of hard knocks”, where you learn whatever you can by recovering from your mistakes.

And as you gain experience, with or without a wedding school, it’s inevitable that you’ll make a ton of mistakes.  The wedding planner’s job is extremely detail-oriented, calls for boundless imagination and vision, requires infinite patience and people-skills, and demands the relentless drive of an expert project coordinator.  There are always SO many loose ends to create and keep tied up!

All of these training methods can give you a decent grasp of the fundamentals.  But I believe you’ll receive the very best training when you assist an outstanding wedding planner.  Select a mentor or two, and learn as much as you can from working with experts.  Eventually you’ll develop your own style.

Wedding planners rely on many associates, including facilities, florists, photographers, caterers, and entertainers like me.  Regardless of how we learned our own craft, how do WE learn to work effectively with a planner?

Here’s one way:  Talk with wedding planners.  Here I’m chatting with outstanding planner Sasha Sousa at a recent reception.  Thanks for the photo, Danny Nguyen.

In my own experience, I recommend speaking with many planners, to gain a broad appreciation of the scope of their work and how your contribution fits in.  Speak with each planner you’ll work with to learn specifically what she expects from you.  And she will want to know specifically what you expect from her.  Learn her style of working and communicating, and adapt to it.  Offer to help, and be useful.

When it finally comes time to “do your thing”, do a perfect job, on time, first time.  Always be prepared to do more than she expects.

A wedding planner’s associates don’t need to attend wedding school (although it couldn’t hurt).  In my experience, speaking and working attentively with a variety of planners provides excellent training.

A formula for continual improvement:  Give each event your all, and regard each event as a dress rehearsal for the next one.

How about YOU?  Have you trained formally for whatever you do?  Was working with a mentor helpful??

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Thanks for reading this article. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here. Got one or two? I'd love to hear what you liked. Please write me a little COMMENT below. Start a conversation -- I'll reply. Promise.

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Meanwhile, the Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are ever nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.

How can I help you? Call 408-245-9120 or use Robbie@MagnoliaJazz.com. Planning a celebration? Ask about our availability.

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