On 15 and 16 October I trained an inspiring group of ladies all looking to enter the wedding planning industry. Although I’m the tutor I always learn or reaffirm something from every course which is wonderful.

 It was fantastic to welcome back 3 UKAWP students who had done our Business Practicalities course previously and are ready to launch after completing this Step by Step training. It was also really great to welcome new students onto the course and what struck me most was the diversity of talent we have entering the wedding planning industry. One student comes from an interior design background, another is an event florist, another an experienced wedding photographer. Now you may well ask, why are these ladies wanting to enter wedding planning too? Everyone has a different focus, motivation and plan but mostly these ladies love the wedding industry they have already seen, recognise that they have talents for the planning and design side and want to tap into them. And good for them.

 Although many of our UKAWP member wedding planners focus full time on planning, that doesn’t suit everyone and in these days of flexibility how marvellous that many are choosing to combine multiple and often complementary talents to make a working lifestyle that suits them. We don’t all have to follow the 9-5 plan.

 A few planners we know who do this marvelously are:

 Liz from  Simply Elegant who is a balloon artist as well as running her planning business

Melanie from Cranberry Blue Weddings who offers a bespoke table plan design service.

 Both of the ladies above were contributors to our successful The Wedding Sanctuary bridal event which will return in autumn 2012.

 Then there is Helen from Bespoken Dreams who is a clever wordsmith and offers a “We Heart PR” service to those in the industry seeking to improve their PR presence so do have a look if you need help on that side of things.

 And then we know a range of planners who whilst they don’t formally practice other careers, have very useful backgrounds in law, finance, marketing, PR and design. We really are rather a diverse and talented bunch if we say so ourselves!

 Do you combine wedding planning with another business pursuit? Or do you find that wedding planning is more than enough of a day job?