Ad Revenue 2008

I want to start a wedding planning business but there are so many courses out there. Some of them are crap while others are good and I want to seprate the good ones and the bad ones

You might want to check out this: http://www.weddingsbeautiful.com/
They offer certifications as well as a certain promotion in their magazine and partner sites. Below is an excerpt from their website:

"We have offered a home study training and professional certification program for wedding planners, wedding coordinators, and bridal consultants since 1954. The leading experts on weddings worldwide are trained by Weddings Beautiful. Business plans, etiquette, protocol, traditions, religious and military weddings are all covered in the training.

You can earn the professional title, “Certified Wedding Specialist”, by completing the 18 assignments online or by workbook. Planning and coordinating weddings is perhaps the fastest growing professional service in the wedding industry as more and more brides are working, or attending college, and do not have the time required to coordinate the many details. The course was first offered in 1954 as a part of the National Bridal Service, America’s first national association of bridal consultants and wedding related businesses. Our purpose is to provide professional training and recognition to individuals that have or desire to have a successful wedding planning and coordinating business. You can take the course online or by workbook. To enroll, click on Home Study Enrollment. Our members are also featured on www.NationalBridal.com and in full page ads in one or more of the national bridal magazines."

Hope that helps, good luck in your business!

I am trying to get my fiancee involved with our wedding, but everytime I bring it up he tells me that I am doing to much for the wedding. He keeps telling me that I don’t need to start planning now. That I should wait a few more months to start planning the wedding. But our wedding is less then 10 months away. I am also having to find hotel rooms for our families but he wont give me all the names of the people that are going to be there. So I don’t know how many rooms to book. I need some major help. Please help me anyone!!!

If he’s not interested in planning the wedding, that’s not a big deal. A lot of men who can’t see any point to the planning for a wedding are still enthusiastic about the marriage. My guy honestly didn’t want any part at all in the wedding plans, but fourteen years later, we’re still more than happily married. He just didn’t care whether we had a big wedding, a small one, a formal or informal one. The process didn’t matter whereas the result did.

Unless the unwillingness to take part in wedding planning is part of a larger pattern of ignoring your needs and wishes, it’s not the horrible sign that some people think it is.

That said, you do need to get certain information from him and the sooner the better.

When I was getting married, my brother called me one day a month or so before the wedding and said if my beloved didn’t get in touch with him and tell him what to wear soon, he was going to show up in a kimono and a top hat! I told him that was fine with me, and then informed my beloved he was getting in touch with his groomsmen and telling them what to wear or they would show up in whatever they liked and It would be his fault because I didn’t care that much.

He called them all and worked it out with them the next day.

In this case, I’d give your guy a deadline by which he needs to get the names and addresses of his friends and relatives to you. Let him know that if he doesn’t come through, you’ll get the list from his mother, at which point she gets the choice of who is invited from his side. Then follow through.

If he has a specific deadline and clear consequences, that may well light a bit of a fire under him. Just be prepared to follow through on any consequences you set.

And yes, I’d have kind of enjoyed seeing my brother in a kimono and top hat. I’m funny that way. But he looked very handsome in his formal suit.

Congratulations!

Register at theknot.com and set up your wedding webpage so everyone can get the information easily. You don’t need a wedding planner if you have the time to do it yourself.

The first step is to start working on the major details: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. I’d make lists for the following in a notebook that you buy specifically for wedding stuff (the $0.30 will help you so much in the long run). In it I would include:

Who: Who is going to be in your wedding party?, who are you going to invite?, who is going to officiate? Who is going to pay?

What: What is the theme? What level of formality? What is a must and what can you live without? What is your budget?

Where: Where is the ceremony? Where is the reception? Where is your honeymoon?

When: What date? What time?

Why: Why do you want to get married? This is the premarital counseling stuff which I highly recommend. Don’t get so excited about your wedding that you forget about your marriage.

From there you can figure out which vendors you can afford and what is most important to you. If you ever need vendors, the phonebook and theknot.com are great resources.

Congratulations again and Good Luck!

I am trying to make a budget…
in terms of place… whats the cheapest locations you have found. (such as b & b versus hotel versus another place)

food….

DJ (they tend to be a little pricey so is there an alternative?)

decorations… (something cheap but that still looks good)

anything else i am missing for the reception?

o and does anyone know of a place where i can get a wedding checklist kind of thing.

the colors i am planning is black, white, and a deep red

please any kind of advice or opinion is greatly appreciated!

thank you thank you sooo much
this is for about 50-75 people

the knot.com is the best website it will help you set a budget and know how much to spend on what & you can browse local stuff. also as an alternative to a dj try playing your i pod or music on a laptop

Im helping my friend plan her wedding. I need this site to have a checklist of things to do, color inspirations/ideas, and foods/cake.

She wants to have her wedding outdoors like a local flower garden, or a forest/nature trail. PLEASE HELP!!

i will award points too.

www.theknot.com

It is a bride heavan. Everything you need is on The Knot. You can make your own website AND they’ll give you great ideas for any wedding theeme. I am using The Knot for my wedding and LOVE it. Almost all of my friends have used The Knot when getting married. It’s very cool.

Is there anywhere online I can go to find great and free planning materials etc?

Jeeze…maybe not the best business idea for you then, huh?

I’m helping my mother plan her wedding and we good until we get to her reception and I don’t know what kinda table decerations to use. please help i’ts a pretty formal wedding

I like low centerpieces with flowers and candles. It always looks classy and elegant and fresh flowers always take peoples breath away.

Choose a theme first (e.g what type of wedding you would like) then take things from there! make everything fit with the theme and colours. the dress, cake, decorations etc. also decided if you want a traditional wedding.

The party is at a private home. I expect to have about 30 t0 40 people. I am going to play the original wedding video at least the first 10 minutes of the actual ceramony
Oh I should also mention that this is my second marriage. The age group that are invited are middle aged to older to ancient. The bride and groom are no spring chickens either.

10 years is a lot, so bring out all the crazy pictures and make a slide show or something.

get a picture of you two made. that shows that after all these years you are still very much in love.

you and other half could write something to each other and read it out loud — if you want to.

and of course — dress nice..

My Fiancé and I are trying to plan for a June 2009 Wedding in Michigan, but we are lost, completely lost. Does anyone have any advice on site locations, vendor’s, Dj’s, photographers, or wedding planners that service Southeast Michigan?

If you did plan your own wedding, are there any resources that you would recommend such as books, planning guides and websites?

We greatly appreciate any advice, even personal opinions ranging from color choices to reception music. I estimate we will have around 200 guests, mostly family, and we hope to keep our budget under $30,000.

Thanks in advance!

Oh my gosh! I can understand why you would be so lost. There are a ton of places and options! The first step is to pick a general location (East side like Warren or Sterling Heights? West side like Troy or Rochester?) then narrow it down from there.

My best advice is to actually go to the locations you’re thinking about. Walk around them, ask for a food tasting. Even better, ask if you can come to the location when an event is going on and see how they handle things in a real situation.

As for DJs and Photographers, ask for references and samples of their work. Most places will let you come to a reception to "audition" a DJ.

Make a list of things you absolutely must have, things you definitely don’t want, and things that are negotiable. Knowing what you want and don’t want will go a long way in being able to stick to budget. It will also help those you hire serve you better. For example, if a hall offers something you don’t want, ask them if they will take something off the price if you don’t have it. Maybe you can get a lower price if you don’t do the package deal with the 11 x 14" photo? It never hurts to ask. Discuss and bargain when you can with options. The worst they can do is say no.

Good luck!