One of our members Aimee Dunne sent us the wonderful article detailing her thoughts on the business of wedding planning, we hope you like it.

As a wedding planner I come across many wedding blogs; most of which I read for inspiration and to keep up with trends. However, I recently came across The Business of Being Creative blog and while it isn’t filled with pretty pictures of cakes and dresses, it inspires me in a different way. The blog is written by Sean Low and offers practical business advice for those in the business of being creative.

I recently read a post on Competition which I thought was particularly thought provoking and worth sharing. Most of us in the wedding industry are here because we want to be creative, be it wedding planners like myself, to florists, lighting, or stationery companies. This is great, and it is often the main reason we have set up our own businesses, but at the same time we are faced with the challenge that we are running a business and we need to balance this with our passion and love of what we do.

The blog post on Competition talks about how we are faced with looking at our business competitors whilst also maintaining our creativity. There are many other wedding planners out there, and as I’m relatively new to the industry I have to admit I do find myself comparing my business to others; sometimes this is good and sometimes it is nothing but a distraction. I come from a banking background, many years spent studying business and working in the City, and by nature I know I need to understand and learn from my competition. This is particularly true when first setting a business up and learning about the industry and what is ‘typical’ practice and ‘expected’ by clients. However, this article talks about the fact that competition will always be there and if we all strive to be like our competitors, albeit just better than them, then we are losing what makes us individual. I love this and whole heartedly agree. I set my business up out of a passion; I offer something individual that only I can offer, that’s why I called my business by my name!

Of course I need to learn from competition and be aware of the industry and that’s why I love being a member of the UKAWP as we have a Code of Business Practice and planners learn from each other; but I should never forget what makes me individual and that what I’m selling to my clients is what only I offer. Yes, I would like to be an an orange; not another apple among all the other apples!