Certified Wedding Planner (300 hours)

Course Overview/Description

Course Overview

The Certified Wedding Planning Program is perfect for the individual looking to get started as a professional wedding planner right away. This comprehensive program covers everything an aspiring wedding planner needs to know to get started in the business, from contracts to etiquette, flowers, music, day of services, marketing, business practices, trade secrets and industry specific applications. Whether you plan on working part-time, planning only a few weddings a year, or a full-time career, this program will provide all the tools necessary to work as a professional wedding planner or start your wedding planning business.

The assignments are geared towards starting a business in the industry. Therefore, most assignments are tools that will be utilized in your business such as contracts, business packages, profiling templates for new clients and tools for designing a signature wedding such as fabric boards, design displays and presentation tools. Textbooks include templates and many examples for you to utilize in order to develop your own, such as contracts and service packages. There are also over 50 documents in the on-line library you can download as templates for your bridal clients.

This program covers many areas, such as Budgeting, Project Management, Vendors & Contracts, Wedding Etiquette, Wedding Customs and Traditions from over 15 different cultures worldwide, Wedding Gown Styles & Veils including the seasons top designers and videos of the most recent Truck (Fashion) Shows, Wedding Event Planning, Writing your Business Plan, Signature Wedding Design, Invitations, Public Relations, Wedding Music Selections, Sales & Marketing, Pre and Post Wedding Parties, How to expand your business, Relationship Education as well as Production and Operations Management.

To address the demands of the industry this program is created for real-world application including experiential learning. This includes role-playing, vignettes and other ways to practice for actual business objectives or work settings in the day-to-day of wedding planning.

Certified Wedding Planner students can email instructors as often as they need to during the course and schedule phone meetings to discuss assignments if needed. Online students also have access to other students in the course through the course online message boards. Here, students find additional resources, support and networking with others in their area and throughout the WORLD. Many online students utilize this network even after graduation.

Career Overview
A certified wedding planner is trained in all aspects of the wedding and social event industry. From conception, contracts and ceremony details to industry formulas for wedding design and delivery, a Certified Professional Wedding Planner can make any wedding budget seem endless.

Because the wedding planner plays such an integral role in the planning of a couple's most important day, there is much to learn in the way of planning, budgets, working with vendors, contracts, revenue channels, not to mention keeping up with the latest trends in bridal fashion, color choices and wedding design.

Some typical tasks for a Certified Wedding Planner (CWP) include:

1. Receiving, making and documenting telephone calls to clients and vendors.
2. Scheduling appointments with vendors for clients.
3. Helping a client to unveil her personal style or wedding day vision.
4. Designing inspiration boards for new client meetings.
5. Assist a client with her wedding gown/attire selection.
6. Budget Tracking and project planning.
7. Site visits with clients for venue selection.
8. Troubleshooting and solution solving.
9. Managing and delegating task as well as tracking progress.
10. Collecting payments and performing collection activities.

Wedding planners are in demand as more and more sophisticated brides discover they can not be the bride and the wedding planner on the day of their wedding. With popular shows like Whose Wedding is it Anyway?, Race to the Alter, Married Away, Big Day and Bridezilla, the profession is growing at an increased rate year after year. Many professional planners run their own company while many others work for wedding businesses offering wedding planning services.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the Certified Wedding Planner program, students will:
• Understand the role of a professional wedding planner.
• Gain a basic understanding of the wedding industry.
• Create business contracts, pricing, packages and presentation tools.
• Identify the formula/method to structure and set-up a wedding planning business and operations.
• Be proficient in skills such as budget planning, vendor selection and wedding design.
• Be familiar with industry specific terminology, communication, telephone techniques, organization and project management.
• Have knowledge of vendor contracts and what to look for.
• Be familiar with wedding design elements, fabrics and styles.
• Understand how to market as an expert in the industry to gain PR attention.
• Understand online marketing and how it applies to a wedding planners business.
• Have knowledge of different wedding traditions and cultures and how to implement a couple’s ethnic background into the celebration.
• Have knowledge of traditional and non-traditional etiquette.
• Understand the Event Planning Process necessary to design and deliver a successful wedding/social event.
• Understand the Six Stages of Event Experience and ways to implement them.
• Be fully prepared to take on his/her first bridal client.

Course Outline

This comprehensive course has been streamlined into online videos to enhance the learning experience, and help our students to move through the course more quickly.

I. Introduction - Video Library
i. Wedding Industry Overview
ii. Wedding history
iii. Engagement purpose
iv. Current statistics
v. Engagement Process as it leads to the wedding day

II. Your role as a wedding planner
i. Setting expectations for all involved
ii. Budget Management
iii. Wedding Etiquette
iv. Planning, Coordinating and Directing

III. Business Structure
i. Fee for services, Pricing, Packages, Proposals, Project Plan Budgeting
ii. Market place evaluation
iii. Small business start-up cost
iv. Business Location set-up
v. Home Office
vi. SOHO Solutions
vii. Office Set-up

IV. Documentation
i. Training materials
ii. Design boards
iii. Fabric boards
iv. Manuals
v. Design Project

V. Templates - over 40 editable documents for your business
i. Pricing Packages, Contracts
ii. Client hand-outs
iii. Ceremony Structure, Customs, Traditions
iv. Many, many more

VI. Vendor Selection
i. Vendor Interviews
ii. Vendor contracts
iii. Vendor partnerships and negotiation
iv. Vendor marketing
v. Vendor booking

VII. Contracts
i. Contract Law
ii. Creating Your Contracts
iii. Contract Templates
iv. Bridal Client Contracts
v. Vendor partnership
vi. Traditional Wedding Planner packages

VIII. How to work with a prospective bride
i. Profiling
ii. Training
iii. Role playing
iv. Making the sale
v. Educating the bridal client
1. bridal registry
2. setting expectations
3. wedding day vision vs. reality
vi. Traditional vs. non-traditional wedding ceremonies
vii. Wedding party delegation

IX. Over 15 different Ethnic Wedding Customs & Traditions Worldwide

X. The Wedding Gown
i. Gown styles
ii. Veil styles
iii. Body Types do's & don'ts
iv. Top 50 wedding dress designers

XI. Destination Weddings

XII. Music - How to write a musical score
i. Popular Wedding Ceremony Music Selections
1. Processional
2. Recessional

XIII. Signature Weddings - How to create a signature wedding each and every time
i. Rehearsal Procedures
ii. D4 Analysis - Wedding Design
iii. A6 Production - Event Experience
iv. Event Project Management

XIV. Business marketing practices, industry associations, networking

XV. Bridal Shows
i. Research
ii. Checklist
iii. Booking the bride
iv. How to work a booth
v. Post show activities

XVI. Online Marketing strategies
i. Designing Your Website
ii. Marketing Your Website

XVII. Industry terms
i. Traditional
ii. Trendy

XVIII. Public Relations
i. Becoming an expert in your field in your local market
ii. Writing a Press Release
iii. Writing Your Bio
iv. Negotiating promotions

XIX. Organization
i. CRM (Client Relations Management)
ii. Industry Software
iii. Expanding your business offerings and adding additional revenue streams

XX. Certification - what does it mean and how it sets you apart.

XXI. How relationship education can be incorporated into your business

XXII. Philanthropy

XXIII. Final Exam

Prerequisites/Audience

There are no prequisites for this course.

The intended audience is anybody who is interested in becoming a full- or part-time wedding planner.

PC Requirements/Materials Included

This course is compatible with the Windows Vista operating system.

Students will require a computer with Internet access.

The following textbooks will be provided:


• How to Start a Wedding Planning Business


• How to Start a Wedding Planning Business Certification Workbook
  
• Manual of Wedding Planning Templates, Resources and Industry Guides

Instructor Bio

The Wedding Planning Institute was founded with the sole purpose of providing aspiring wedding planners with the best possible education. For over 10 years, the Institute has been dedicated to the highest standards, offering wedding planning certification, business fundamentals, continuing education classes and seminars.

WPI's career counselors work closely with students to understand their needs, and to design educational career paths that provide the experience, engagement and competency needed to achieve the student's objectives. Our core online instructors hold a Masters Degree in Education and have combined experience of over 150 years in the wedding industry from various specialties and backgrounds.

The Wedding Planning Institute is available to students who are interested in receiving the industry's premier education in the business of planning weddings and social events. WPI's program has been accepted by many Colleges and Universities around the United States as the appropriate curriculum and business training for wedding professionals.

Graduates of The Wedding Planning Institute are the top performers in the industry, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How do I register?
Click on the register button at the top of the page and follow the directions. It is important that you type all your information in the boxes, then print it out to sign.  Payment and sending instructions are in the bottom right corner of the form.

2. How much do the courses cost?
The fee is in the pink box at the top of the page.

3. Can I register for courses if I live outside the United States?
Yes you can!

4. Do I ever have go to the school I register with?
All of our courses are delivered entirely online, so you never have to go to a class or travel to the school.

5. How long does it take to complete a course?
All of our courses are self-paced and open enrollment. You can start and finish the course at your own pace. When you register for a course, you are given 180 days (6 months) to complete the course. If you need more time, extensions are available.

6. Do I have to buy additional materials?
All materials are included. The cost of materials is covered by your tuition. GES ships all materials via UPS ground service upon registration.

7. Can I get financial aid?
GES courses are non-credit courses, so they do not qualify for federal aid. In some states, vocational rehab or workforce development boards will pay for qualified students to take our courses.

• GES provides a loan opportunity for students. Simply go to www.collegeloanapplication.com to apply for an easier qualifying loan at a slightly higher rate. Click here for more information on this loan program.

8. What happens when I complete the course?
Upon successful completion of the course, you will be awarded a certificate of completion from the school with which you registered. You must obtain a final passing grade of 70% or greater to be awarded a certificate.

9. Am I guaranteed a job?
GES courses will provide you with the skills you need to obtain an entry-level position in most cases. We do not provide direct job placement services, but our instructors will help you build your resume and are available to give advice on finding your first job. Instructors will also be available to use as a professional reference upon completion of the course. Potential students should always do research on the job market in their area before registering.

10. Who will be my instructor?
Each student is paired with a facilitator for one-on-one interaction. The facilitator will be available (via email or phone) to answer any questions you may have and to provide feedback on your performance. All of our facilitators are successful working professionals in the fields in which they teach.

11. What do I have to have in order to take an online course, and what are the system requirements?
In order to take our online courses, you must have access to a computer and the Internet (a normal dial-up connection is fine). You can access the course contents from any Web-enabled computer. There are no necessary plug-ins. You do not have to use the same computer to log-in to the course every time. We recommend that you have a word-processing program (Microsoft Word is best) and the latest version of Internet Explorer.

12. Can this course be taken on a Mac?
Yes

13. How can I get more information on the course?
All of the information we have is available online under our course catalog (www.gatlineducation.com). If you have questions that are not answered online, please feel free to email us at courseinfo@gatlineducation.com or call 817-870-2870. We will answer your questions promptly.

14. When can I start the course?
Our courses are all open enrollment. You can register and start the course as soon as you are ready.

15. Will the Certified Wedding Planner Program give me the skills I need?
CWP graduates are better trained and earn a higher income than the average wedding planner. This is the most comprehensive certification program available.

16. What kind of income can I expect to earn as a Certified Wedding Planner?
Run the numbers. Depending on where you live, the population, your performance and offerings, and how many weddings are taking place annually, will determine your earnings potential. Also, whether you plan on working full or part-time will be a major factor.

To calculate your income potential you will need to factor in the following: Contact your local marriage license office to confirm how many marriages are applied for annually. This will give you a true estimate of how much potential business is available in your area. (If there are 5,000 marriage licenses applied for annually, then there are potentially 5,000 clients in your market.) What is the average cost of a wedding in your local area? The national average is just over $22,000, but if you live in a larger market, say Manhattan, NY, a budget of $40,000 would be average. For a smaller market like Raleigh, NC $12-15,000 would be average. Will you be working full or part-time? Ask yourself how many weddings you plan on working on an annual basis. Do you plan on working one wedding per month or one wedding per weekend (52 weddings per year)? Calculate your income. The national average is $22,000, but we'll use $20,000 for our example. Take 10% of $20,000 = $2,000. That percentage is what you can anticipate to earn off of each client…$2,000. Now, how much are you looking to earn annually and divide it by $2,000. If you are looking to earn $30,000 per year, then you will need to book 15 weddings for the year. $30,000 divided by $2,000 = 15. If you are interested in earning $60,000 or more annually you will definitely need to work full-time, and average about 30 - 50 weddings per year. Miscellaneous factors in calculating income. The above is just a guideline. Depending on what you plan on offering in your business, just wedding planning, day of services, your performance, package prices, offering other products/services such as invitations, wedding products (The Wedding Planning Game, planner books etc.), and your marketing efforts, will ultimately determine your income and earnings. The Certification Wedding Planner program will walk you through the process, step-by-step to show you how to figure out what you can earn and how to structure your business model and increase revenue. The program is structured to help the student with all of the above so that they are prepared to start driving revenue right away.

17. How many weddings and brides does a typical wedding planner work with in a given month or year?
This will ultimately depend on the wedding planner. An individual's work and personal schedule will determine how many clients a wedding planner can handle. Also a planner that is better educated will be more efficient.

18. What is a typical day like for a wedding consultant?
A day in the life of a wedding consultant can be an exciting and rewarding one, but it is also hard work. For a wedding planner, their day will be a combination of phone calls, emails and meetings with brides and/or vendors plus research, and of course planning and designing that special day for clients. The needs of each bride will dictate the day’s events. A large part of the consultant’s job will involve communicating with vendors and researching for your clients. The wedding planner will also be over-seeing day-of-services, and will be there to support the bride on her wedding day. Wedding planners should expect to include evening and weekend hours into their business schedule.

19. What exactly is the Certified Wedding Planner responsible for in working with a bride?
In the initial meeting with the bride a wedding planner will be asking questions and learning more about what the bride would like for her wedding day. Once this information has been gathered, the consultant will then start researching and talking to vendors to see who is available on that date, and will start booking vendors for the couple. If the bride needs a consultant to attend the wedding that day, the consultant will handle all necessary arrangements.

It is the responsibility of the wedding planner to help the bride design her ideal wedding, to guide her in the right direction, and to always look out for her best interest. Ultimately, the bridal couple will dictate what they would like for a wedding planner to help with.

20. What is the difference between a wedding or bridal consultant, wedding planner and a wedding director?
Wedding or Bridal Consultant - Works in partnership with the couple and guides them through the process of wedding decisions. Couples working with a consultant are very much in control of their wedding plans, but can rest assured they have professional guidance and assistance when needed. This allows the couple to enjoy the wedding planning process, making it as fun and stress-free as possible.

Wedding Planner - Generally a person who can take charge and plan the details of a wedding from start to finish. The couple is still involved, but most of the leg work is left to the planner - the couple can trust the professional to make their arrangements for them.

Wedding Director - Coordinates the details, vendors and itinerary on your wedding day. All concerns are placed on the shoulders of the wedding director the day of your wedding. The couple doesn't need to get caught up in the small details and can enjoy their guests and the day's events.