TRAINING SYLLABUS

TOPICS

• Introduction to the world of wedding (& special event) planning
• Important & essential skills
• Examining weddings, events and special events
• Wedding Planner, Events Planner & Special Events Planner – fundamentally the same
• WOTS up analysis
• Introduction to setting up your business
• How to succeed as a wedding planner… and how to fail!
• Pros and cons of working for yourself
• How to become a wedding planner
• Finding jobs as a wedding planner
• A day in the life of a wedding planner
• Establishing yourself in the industry
• Modern marriage in the UK – an analysis
• Recent marriage statistics
• The average cost of a wedding

TOPICS

• Working from home
• Setting up your office
• Hardware & wedding planning software
• Managing your time efficiently
• Choosing a great business name
• Insurance
• Moonlighting as a wedding planner
• Getting work experience

TOPICS

• Getting organised
• Managing potential client enquiries
• Essential & supplementary questions to ask a potential client
• How long does it take to plan a wedding?
• How much should I charge?
• Drawing up a contract
• On The Day schedule – a running order for the wedding day
• Full coordination services – the tasks involved

TOPICS

• Useful marriage resources
• Who can get married?
• Who cannot get married?
• Getting engaged
• Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements
• Where can a marriage take place
• How to marry
• Civil marriage ceremonies
• Civil ceremony fees
• Times and dates you can get married
• Licenced venues / Approved premises
• Religious marriage ceremonies – England, Wales & N. Ireland
• Church of England & Church in Wales
• Cost of wedding ceremony
• Catholic Church
• Jewish marriages
• Muslim, Hindu & Sikh marriages
• Non-conformist marriages
• Religious marriage ceremonies – N. Ireland
• Marrying outside England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Marrying in England or Wales if one partner lives elsewhere
• Overseas recognition of United Kingdom marriages
• Marriages by proxy
• Polygamous marriages
• Marriages which are not valid
• Remarriage/second marriage
• Statutory declaration & contractual words
• Blessing ceremonies
• Forced marriages
• Marriage certificates
• Marriage in Scotland
• Register offices – database
• Marriage in Scotland
• Getting married overseas
• Changing names

TOPICS

• Styling and design – creating and maintaining a vision
• Types of wedding venues
• Levels of formality
• Client venue questionnaire – questions to ask the client
• Assessing the clients venue requirements
• Important venue search considerations
• Essential questions to ask a venue
• Venue information request
• Sample venue questionnaire – email
• Shortlisting venues
• Viewing venues
• Formal client venue presentations and proposals
• Venue contracts, terms and conditions
• Sample venue contract
• Importance of venue and catering commissions
• Wedding planning databases
• Sourcing churches, synagogues, mosques and temples
• Marquees
• Overseas venues (accompanies Weddings Abroad unit)

TOPICS

• Importance of the wedding breakfast
• Recommended caterers (+ other recommended suppliers lists)
• Guide to sourcing suppliers – How to source a first class caterer / or pretty much any other supplier for that matter!
• Introduction to wedding catering – your preliminary considerations
• Wedding catering 101
• Questions to ask a caterer
• Formats
• Themes
• Drinks
• Corkage – let’s do the maths
• Bottle counts
• The food tasting

TOPICS

• History & traditions
• Modern styles and designs
• Flavours, icings, fillings and colours
• Bespoke designs
• Alternative wedding cakes
• Meetings, tastings and questions to ask
• Transporting, setting up and cutting the cake
• Serving and storing

TOPICS

• Popular styles of wedding floristry
• Vintage roses
• Bridal bouquets
• Alternative bridal bouquets
• Importance of matching the bouquet with the dress
• Main floral requirements and considerations
• Selecting a florist
• Questions to ask a florist
• Coordinating the floral arrangements on the day
• Review of the most romantic wedding flowers
• Flowers by season
• Popular wedding flowers
• Sample florist’s quotation

TOPICS

• Main types of wedding photography
• Additional genres of wedding photography
• Identifying & shortlisting photographers
• Top tips for assessing a photographer
• Questions to ask a photographer
• Traditional shots
• Contemporary shots
• Contemporary wedding photographic techniques

TOPICS

• Brief history of wedding videography
• Introduction to modern wedding videography / cinematography
• Videographer, cinematographer or film maker?
• Modern styles of wedding videography / cinematography
• How many cameras and operatives to use
• Advice on selecting a videographer/cinematographer
• Essential questions to ask
• Additional considerations
• HD or 4K?
• Importance of sound
• Contemporary ways to film a wedding – steadicams/drones/time-lapse

TOPICS

CEREMONY MUSIC

• Ceremony music – achieving the right balance
• Factors to consider

RELIGIOUS WEDDINGS

• Church ceremony music
• Prelude, Processional, Signing of the Register & Recessional
• Hymns
• Order of Service

CIVIL WEDDINGS

• A guide to civil ceremony music
• Prelude, Processional, Signing of the Register & Recessional

IDEAL CLASSICAL SOUND COMBINATIONS

• Wake up! It doesn’t have to be a string quartet

RECEPTION MUSIC

• Live music
• Drinks reception music
• Music during dinner
• Evening music
• Live band or DJ?
• Typical musicians fees
• DJs – Factors to consider
• Live bands – Factors to consider
• Sourcing musicians
• Sound & licencing considerations & the Live Music Act 2012
• Important points
• Questions to ask a DJ
• Standard DJ quotation – what to look for
• DJ’s sound & lighting
• The First Dance
• Popular first dance songs

TOPICS

• Popular entertainment options
• When to entertain
• Alternative entertainment ideas
• Wedding entertainment guide
• Wedding entertainment costs
• Entertaining children

TOPICS

WEDDING STYLES

• Popular wedding styles and themes
• Alternative styles and themes
• Designing & researching a wedding theme
• Developing a wedding theme
• Wedding theme ideas

COLOUR SCHEMES

• Colour scheme combinations
• Developing a colour scheme
• Forecasting future colour trends
• Pantone’s Spring 2018 top 12 colours – London Fashion Week
• Top colour schemes
• Top colour combinations
• Applying a colour scheme to a wedding

THE VENUE

• Interior design guide
• Venue styling and design ideas and tips

MOOD BOARDS

• Importance of moodboards
• Creating and developing moodboards for inspiration
• Sources of inspiration
• Mood board design software

TOPICS

STYLING, DESIGN & DECOR

• Sensory stimulation
• Factors to consider when decorating a wedding venue
• Maximising space
• Wedding design concepts and principles
• Primary and secondary focal points
• Additional styling considerations
• Essential design and styling tips
• Specialist event design and hire companies

LIGHTING & SPECIAL EFFECTS

• Principal lighting considerations
• Wedding lighting 101
• Lighting options & special effects
• Top lighting tips

TOPICS

WEDDING STATIONERY

• Managing a wedding stationer
• Steps to take when sourcing stationery
• Types of wedding stationery
• Stationery timeline
• Tips for choosing stationery
• Wording the invitations
• Invitation inserts
• Sending invitations
• Cutting costs
• Wedding stationery FAQs

GUEST INFORMATION

• Essential & useful guest information
• Personal wedding websites
• Sample guest information pages

THE GUEST LIST

• Managing the guest list

GIFT LIST

• Should you include one?
• Traditional gift lists
• Alternative gift lists
• Setting up a gift list

TOPICS

• Selecting the wedding dress – factors to considerations
• Wedding dress silhouettes
• Matching body shape with wedding dress style
• Wedding dress trends
• Wedding dress terminology
• Agony and ecstasy of choosing a wedding dress
• 120 leading wedding dress designers
• Trains
• Veils
• Shopping for the perfect dress
• Tracking down a specific dress
• Dress designer database

TOPICS

• Guide to organising transportation for the Wedding Party and guests
• Forms of bridal transport
• Tips for selecting the right service
• Styles and types of wedding transportation
• Questions to ask a car company
• Sample transportation questionnaire
• Booking the transportation
• Delegating responsibility

TOPICS

• History of the wedding ring
• Factors to consider
• Popular metals
• Wedding and engagement ring customs
• Ordering the rings
• Diamonds
• Engagement rings
• The Best man’s role

TOPICS

• Groom’s attire
• Tie knots
• Ultimate bridal emergency kit
• Emergency top tips
• Children’s requirements
• The engagement
• Bride & groom gift ideas

TOPICS

• Guidelines & top tips for planning a hen/stag event
• Stag & hen party specialists
• Popular destinations
• Popular stag activities
• Popular hen party ideas
• Alternative stag and hen activities
• Useful resources

TOPICS

• How to choose a honeymoon specialist
• Honeymoon destinations and best times to travel
• Honeymoon checklist – essential items easily forgotten and useful ones seldom considered
• Top tips to ensure a safe and hassle-free honeymoon
• Negotiating prices and attaining upgrades

TOPICS

• Why get married abroad?
• Popular overseas wedding destinations
• Factors to consider when planning a destination wedding
• Importance of using a local wedding planner or rep
• Guide to finding the best local wedding venues, services and suppliers
• Overseas destinations offering the best (& worst!) value for money in 2018
• Legal requirements for destination weddings
• Guide to getting married in Italy
• Factors for the client to consider
• Celebrity wedding destinations
• Destination wedding top tips

TOPICS

• Bride and Groom
• Mother of the Bride
• Mother of the Groom
• Chief Bridesmaid & Best Man
• Bridesmaids & Ushers
• Flower Girl & Ring Bearer
• Father of the Bride

TOPICS

• Newspaper announcements
• Financing the wedding
• Managing the guest list
• Children
• Wording the invitations
• Traditional English wedding format
• At the Ceremony
• At the Reception
• Toastmaster
• Seating plan
• Top table
• Receiving line & seating order
• Speeches and toasts
• Cake cutting
• First dance
• Bouquet toss
• Bride and groom depart

TOPICS

• Physical analysis and mental visualisation
• The importance of a wedding walk-through
• Tasks to undertake during the final week
• Rehearsals
• The day before
• Wet weather plans
• The Wedding Day
• Order of events
• On the day itinerary
• Speeches, toasts and cutting the cake
• Managing delays
• Back up plans
• Post wedding tasks and analysis

TOPICS

PREPARING FOR THE MEETING

• Preparing for a client consultation
• Meeting locations
• Undertaking a formal client meeting
• Importance of communication skills
• Tips on how to communicate with a potential client

QUESTIONS TO ASK

• Essential questions to ask at consultation
• Comprehensive Client Consultation questionnaire
• Comprehensive Venue Search questionnaire
• Client character assessment
• How and when to ask about the budget
• Incompatible clients
• Assessing your performance at the meeting

DRAWING UP A QUOTE

• Wedding planning quotation

FULL COORDINATION SERVICES

• Full coordination services – your typical tasks and services

TOPICS

• Establishing a budget
• Managing the client’s budget
• Useful software and files to use
• Breaking down the budget – How much does that cost?
• Negotiating, cutting costs and keeping people happy!
• The art of negotiating
• Importance of asserting yourself

TOPICS

• How to get your first few clients
• Printed materials: Brochures, leaflets, posters, business cards and advertisements
• 42 top marketing tips for wedding planners
• The importance of your website
• Search Engine Optimisation
• Modern marketing techniques and the value of social media
• 130 top wedding blogs and websites for advertising

TOPICS

• Setting up a new business
• Legal status options
• The business plan
• Fees and charging for your services
• Important accounting, tax and banking considerations
• Legal issues and insurance
• The contractual agreement

TOPICS

• Wedding traditions, superstitions and customs

TOPICS

THE WEDDING PLANNER’S GO-TO FILES

• Comprehensive Database of First Class Wedding Venues, Services & Suppliers At Your Finger Tips

SECTION ONE

• A selection of essential wedding venues, services and supplier resources

SECTION TWO

• Venues – England & Wales
• Venues – UK
• Venues – London
• Bridal Dress Designers
• Bridal Dress Stores – London
• Photographers
• Videographers & Cinematographers
• Caterers
• Cake Designers
• Florists – London
• Stationery – Letterpress
• Stationery – General Wedding
• Transportation
• Bands, Musicians, Entertainers and Entertainment Agencies
• Grooms Attire
• Bridesmaids Dresses