“Why do You Want to Plan Weddings for a Living?”
The answer to this question fueled a lively discussion during this month's live wedding planner chat session.  So, do you plan weddings because you:

* Simply love weddings?
* Want to help people? (hear this one a lot)
* Hope that the income from planning weddings will replace your current job?

The Real Deal When it Comes to Planning Weddings
Whatever your reason, just know that a considerable amount of your time as a professional wedding planner is spent behind the scenes. Pulling together a great wedding is so much more than the end result–the decor, the gorgeous wedding party, the fantastic photos…
And then, don't forget, that many of us are juggling our wedding business with another full-time venture: a day job and/or a family PLUS evenings and weekends are when we do what we do.
The truth is planning weddings for a living isn't the ideal business model (and does such a thing even exist?).  As an owner-operator, it takes time to develop your local reputation and with very little (read: no) repeat business, marketing what you do is a constant.
So, take some time to research the ins and outs of what being a professional wedding planner is really  all about and know that wedding planner certification courses don't always paint the true picture.
Personally, I'm a HUGE fan of limited hand-holding when it comes to my professional involvement with weddings.  Day-of wedding coordination and officiating both fall into this category. It's been my experience that engaged couples are in need of one of these services before they consider a full-service wedding planner.
Learn how you can make money on weekends performing wedding ceremonies as a wedding officiant.
Volunteer your time with local wedding vendors so that you can see firsthand what it's like to work a wedding. This type of experience is priceless! And as an added bonus, assuming that you stick with planning weddings, the wedding vendor that you're helping is probably going to send you more business. (Nice, right?)
Coming Up: Same-Sex Weddings
Do you believe that wedding vendors who do not want to work with same-sex couples planning a wedding should get out of the wedding business?
As a business owner, this is an important question for you to consider PLUS it's the topic for our next live broadcast.
Please, call the Listener Talkback Line to share your thoughts and leave your feedback for playback during our upcoming live event:  +...