Q & A - #4 - Amanda Douglas Events

Firstly, thank you to everyone who submitted a questions! We look forward to many posts where we can answer them all for you! We’ll try and answer them as they come in but we’ll be keeping each post to four questions (something to look forward to for the next post!)

So let’s get right into the Q & A (Answers from Amanda herself):

Q: How do you know who is the right wedding planner for you?

A: We believe that a lot of it comes down to personality. Of course you want a professional planner, someone with experience, organization, professionalism, and someone who is connected in the industry to help you get the dream wedding that you want but it should also be a fun process! You want to get along, click and enjoy working together!

Q: What type of direction will a planner offer to guests on the day of the wedding?

A: A planner is there for all the little details. They’ll help the ushers, greeters, or anyone else on your wedding day know what to do, make sure no guests are confused on where to go and what they should be doing either. A planner is on site for anything that comes up; a meal need that was missed, special access that might be needed and all those little things. We’ll work with the venue, your family, friends, or anyone else to make sure that everyone is enjoying the day!

Q: Won’t a wedding planner take over and want to run the whole show?

A: You’ll want your planner to run the show! A good wedding planner will have control of the day, what is happening, timing and making sure things are the way you want them to be, but will have that balance of helping you enjoy your day and not be overbearing while taking care of all the details that you’ve spent months planning. With a planner you shouldn’t even have to think about the details, and the small stuff, the only things you should be focusing on is enjoying your friends, family, the love of your life and how beautiful your day is!

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about how to become a wedding planner, or how to even know if you should pursue it, so the rest of this post is all about just that.

Q: I would like to find out what you thought about your education experience with the WPIC? I am interested in take there course, and saw your name on there site. Can you please let me know what you thought about the course and your overall experience.

A: I loved taking the WPIC course. When I took it I had already been doing event planning and work within the event industry for over 8 years, so I can only speak from where I was when I took the course. Regardless of what I already knew and what experience I already had, it was a great course to take, I learnt a lot more about etiquette and what other planners around Canada do which is always helpful info to have.

If you’re thinking of becoming a wedding planner or coordinator the course is a must. It’s a great place to start, it will get you that knowledge base that you’ll need, and even if you don’t want to start your own business it’s very well recognized so it’s a fab resume piece.

Also, if you’re wanting to be a planner or coordinator think of it this way; Would you go to a doctor that didn’t go to medical school? Would you hire a contractor that didn’t have training in his field? Then why should a couple hire you if you don’t have any formal training? I’m not saying go and get a degree, the WPIC courses are a weekend long, and reasonably priced, taking it is really a no brainer!

Q: Are there any courses that will guarantee employment in the event industry?

A: The long and the short of it is no. There is no magic bean, or certain something that you can do to guarantee a job in events (or in any field for that matter!).

Getting a job in the event industry is incredibly hard. Sorry to burst your bubble (if I did), but it’s a hard field to get into it. So many people think being a wedding planner is “So fun! You get to dress up all the time, and go to weddings! Who wouldn’t want to do that?” so there are a ton of people trying to get a job in this field. I won’t lie, I love my job, I pinch myself often that I get to do what I do, but it’s not for everyone, and it’s not glam 80% of the time.

If you aren’t incredibly organized and creative it might not be the right fit for you. By no means am I trying to discourage you from going after it! If you think you’re meant to be a wedding planner don’t let anything, or anyone get in your way. Go after it with all your heart. If it ends up not being the right fit that’s ok, you’ll have no regrets, you’ll have had a lot of great experiences, and skills you can take to your next job/career. There are tons of things that you can do to see if it’s right for you before going all in and starting your own company:

– Follow Every Last Detail and read all their wedding planning posts

– Take the WPIC courses

– Take the event design course at the Wedding and Event Institute (It’s a brilliant course, and like the WPIC courses it’s a fabulous piece for your resume too)

– Get an internship at a event planning company (there is no better way to know if a job is right for you then by trying it out)

– Read blog posts like this

– Read all the wedding books you can get your hands on, like this one

– And watch all of Alison Howard’s videos

This video (and blog post), from the WEI, is also a must watch if you’re wanting to learn more about the event world, and what it takes to be a planner.