Attempt #1 to extend my Freelance work to potential brides. HELP?!
Here is a collection of thoughts to get myself jump started
1. Create your own work space. Whether it is in your home or it is in a rented commercial space. You need to have a work venue for you to accommodate your clients. This would project a professional image of you even as a freelance wedding planner. You need to have a phone and internet connection so that you can communicate with your clients in either of these methods.
Check: my apartment will suffice for now until I get my feet under me a little bit. I have established a branding logo, ordered business cards, phone and internet connection, etc.
2. Establish your contacts to other services. Though you are your own boss, but this does not mean that you can handle everything that needs to be done and provided during the wedding day of your client. Consider these as your essential contacts: caterers, candle makers, bakers, florists, image stylists, chapels, coordinators, rental car providers and priests or pastors.
3. Make an accurate record of what the couple wish for. Your clients are the main people you need to please when planning out their wedding. You help them in visualizing their big day with your ideas and suggestions. Just in case, changes are being made at the whims of the couple, be ready to pull off your other options or plans.
Check: I have itemized lists of everything in my life. I mean everything. Date books, appointment planners, calendars. Hopefully this blog and inspire with picture and clever ideas and suggestions, along with my Pinterest!
4. If Plan A doesn’t work, go for Plans B or C. If there are unexpected glitches along the way in preparing the wedding or even during the big day, be sure to have a back-up plan that would also be equally pleasing as the first one.
Check: Understood. I have planned at least 40 weddings since I have started in this industry. I learned very quickly that sometime I have to fly by the seed of my designer pants 🙂
5. Patience is a virtue. As a professional wedding planner, you need to have large amount of patience to any unexpected changes or unfavorable situations that would disrupt your original plan for the couple. It is necessary that you should maintain your composure all the time so that you can fully concentrate on what needs to be done immediately as solution to certain problems. Remember, everything about this event lies in your hands.
Check: Exactly. It takes a special type of person to work closely with the bride, mother of the bride, and everyone else for their big day. I know I have acquired this through my various planning activities in the past 5 years.
6. Be on guard all the time with your expenditures. As the manager of this affair, you need to be alert all the time of the expenses that will be incurred for reserving the wedding reception venue or ordering the wedding cake. You need to coordinate on this matter with the couple so that they would also be aware of this and that you would be able to stick to the couple’s budget.
In process: Still establishing – something I am looking into. I am a beginner, but I still want to be competitive.
7. Handle post-wedding needs really well. Just because the wedding banquet ends doesn’t mean that your work also ends there. Nope! You still take charge of the pictures and the videos and you need to return things that need to be returned.
8. Develop your skills: Successful wedding planners have a number of traits in common. They are usually creative people with excellent interpersonal skills who love to plan events. While most of these traits come naturally to many wedding planners, an important skill that some need to develop is organizational ability. To help you stay organized, you can create timeline schedules and checklists, and use organizational tools such as a day planner or binder to keep track of all the wedding details and paperwork.
Check. 
9. Develop relationships with vendors: Vendors are suppliers of any product or service related to weddings, such as limousine companies, musicians, photographers, party supply companies, invitation printers, etc. Vendors can be a valued partner in planning a successful wedding and a great networking ally. Conduct informational meetings to learn about their services, and what discounts they can offer you as a wedding planner. Before recommending a site for a wedding ceremony or reception, visit and inspect the premises. Take notes on the condition, size, cleanliness and capacity of each venue so you can guide your clients in making suitable choices. Always follow up with vendors after the wedding with a thank you note or to discuss any changes you want for future.
In process: I am working on putting my preferred vendor list together!
10. Get clients: One of the best ways to get clients is through your relationships with vendors. Supply business cards and brochures to the bridal shops, caterers, florists, photographers and other vendors you work with, and ask them to recommend your services to their customers who are getting married. Other ways to market your services include advertising, networking, participating in bridal shows, or even organizing your own bridal show.
In process: It is currently January 23rd. Let’s set a goal to be underway by the Pittsburgh Bridal Showcase on March 18th.
11. Consult with clients: Once you start getting calls from brides and grooms, arrange a client consultation meeting. The purpose of this initial consultation is to learn as much as possible about the couple and what they want, so you can show them how hiring you will help them achieve the wedding of their dreams. Be prepared to ask questions to find out what type of wedding they want, their budget, number of guests, etc. At this meeting you will discuss your fees, which might be an hourly rate such as $50 per hour or a flat fee. Explain how you can help them have the worry-free wedding of their dreams.
That’s how demanding from the start up to the end of the wedding day your work as a professional wedding planner is. It may be a taxing job, but seeing the couple’s smiles and their appreciation of the dedication you put forth to make their wedding day the most beautiful event in their lives is the most rewarding part of being a freelance wedding planner.
Information compliments of www.freelancefacts.com
itsanotherwedding 
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