It might seem an obvious question and the answer could well be, I’m a wedding planner, what other kind?

Of course, we all have the same job title but “wedding planner” can mean so many different things and, with over 8 years in the industry and being in the fortunate position of training so many new entrants to the sector, I see so many individuals with a totally different approach to planning.  And it’s what makes our field so special, dynamic and forward thinking.

My big thing is the organiser versus creative. I talk about this a lot on our UKAWP training courses, as we go through the mix of business and logistical topics. Many students worry that they aren’t as creative as some of the planners they see (or blogs that they follow) and others have bags of design ideas but worry about how they will stay motivated when self employed and organise to get everything done. Of course none of us are perfect and we all have our strengths and then our not so good bits. As a wedding planner we need to know a lot about an incredible range of topics  (anyone who’s done our Step by Step training course will tell you that) yet not be an expert in any of them. In the same way we can’t all be fabulously creative and innovating at every turn, nor organised in an OCD-like manner – I say play to your strengths.

And you should find that your client base selects you on your strengths. If you are genuine in what you put out there marketing wise you will get back by way of clients what you specialise in and generally like best.  It’s really important to keep your branding and image consistent and reflective of you; so if you’re an organiser type of wedding planner, there is no need to absolutely fill your blog with mood boards every week; that probably isn’t your thing; you’d be better off imparting your knowledge in budgeting or timetable planning or similar. On the other hand,  if you’re passionate about styling and design and really want to push that side of things, then this is a fabulous way to show your talents and we know some very successful wedding planners who have built their profile from zero to hero on the basis of sharing their passion.

My forte definitely lies in carefully managing a project, being super organised, working to sometimes tight timeframes, with logistical issues and often with clients from overseas or those who are incredibly time short; I help them with their wedding look and design but for many of them, that is the slightly less important factor, than getting everyone there, laying on a great fun party, and keeping themselves sane in the process!  For another wedding planner, a big part of their work will be about the styling and design and the focus of their efforts will go in that direction. And that’s also why we don’t always get every job; couples are often very perceptive and will just “get a feel” for who will suit them best.

So keep on being you, whatever you is great at.