Certified Wedding Planner GES 204 » 300 hours

Upon successful completion of the Certified Wedding Planner program, you will:

• Have a portfolio of business contracts, pricing information, packages, and presentation tools.
• Understand the process for setting up a legal wedding planning business and be knowledgeable about business structure; licenses; insurances; and major local, state, and federal laws and regulations that affect business, as well as the procedural requirements necessary for compliance.
• Be proficient in prospecting for and contracting with wedding planning clients.
• Understand how to use marketing, publishing, and public relations to promote and increase your business.
• Understand how to develop service packages that give you a competitive edge in your local market.
• Be proficient in skills such as budget planning, vendor selection, and wedding design.
• Have knowledge of how to read and understand existing vendor contracts and create new ones.
• Be familiar with wedding design elements, fabrics, and styles, and traditional and non-traditional etiquette.
• Be familiar with various wedding traditions and cultures and how to incorporate a client’s ethnic or cultural background into the celebration.
• Understand the six stages of an event experience and ways to implement them.
• Develop your skills using wedding and event planning software, tools, and resources.
• Be able to develop and successfully implement a wedding day timeline.
• Be able to use the event planning process to design and deliver a successful wedding or social event.
• Know how to develop your preferred local industry vendor network.
• Be able to successfully work with a bridal client to plan, design, and deliver her dream wedding.