Whether you’re just starting out in the wedding business or consider yourself a seasoned wedding pro, this online guide will help you learn the basics or just brush up on best practices and marketing strategies. Topics covered include pricing, setting up for business, creating a business website and more.
While your relationship with many clients may naturally conclude after the wedding day has ended, there will always be the possibility for repeat work from those clients in the form of holiday parties, baby showers, anniversary events, etc. Additionally, clients will go out of their way to refer vendors who have gone above and beyond Read more
In addition to writing good copy and adhering to the principles of good web design (both of which may already put you ahead of the competition when it comes to search engine rankings), keeping in mind the following best practices should help give your website an additional edge when it comes to ranking in the Read more
Whether you or someone else designs your website, keep the following ten rules in mind to make sure that your website is as effective as it can possibly be. These simple rules can ultimately build trust with your visitors and lead to more potential leads from your wedding business website.
Now that we’ve looked at the various options for starting a business website, this section will focus on the nitty-gritty of actually building your site, step by step. The first stage in web design (even if you decide to hire someone else to design your site for you) surprisingly doesn’t involve a computer at all. Read more
Your company’s website is one of the most powerful marketing tools you have at your side – and clients not only appreciate being able to find you online, they expect it! If you have previous experience creating websites, that’s great. If not, have no fear – there are a number of inexpensive options today for Read more
Ah, the dreaded two words… selling yourself. Some people are born with a natural ability to sell, but many of us are not. Even if you know that you are good at what you do and have something great to offer, how do you convince a potential client of this? Fortunately, it’s easier than you Read more
Once you’ve decided on a legal structure for your wedding business and have brainstormed about your vision for the business, it’s time to get down to the nuts and bolts of setting up shop and creating a professional look for yourself. The following ten items should be top priority as you get set up but you certainly don’t Read more
There are a number of traditional print advertising options for wedding businesses, and each can serve to help get more leads to your company (albeit some more effectively than others.) Below are some of the more common types of print advertising for local vendors, and the pros and cons of each.
If you are just starting out as a wedding vendor or have recently moved to a new area, it may be very beneficial to contact catering managers at area hotels and leave them some promotional materials or a business card. Also consider contacting churches and other places of worship that hold weddings, historic estates, function Read more
While many of the wedding business topics presented on this site can be implemented over time, you MUST be sure to protect yourself on every single job with a signed contract. Anything that’s discussed or promised by phone should be documented in this signed agreement. All times, locations, services to be performed, total price and clauses regarding Read more
While payment procedures will vary depending on your area of business, here are some points to consider or keep in mind regarding the wedding industry. First, it is not at all unusual to require a non-refundable deposit. Once a client books your services with a deposit, you are essentially reserving their wedding date/time and must Read more
No matter what type of service or product you provide, at some point you will need to decide how you will handle accepting payments from clients, whether by cash/checks, credit cards or both. Most brides and grooms will expect to have the option to pay you using either method, so it’s in your best interest Read more
Setting up a pricing structure for your services is often difficult for self-employed professionals. At first, you might be tempted to charge right around whatever the going rate is for similar services in your area. But if you do that without regard to your actual costs of doing business, you may be doing yourself a Read more
Depending on where you live and the type of service that you offer, you may need to obtain some basic legal and business documents in order to conduct your business legally. If you have never been self-employed or set up a business before, you might want to consider hiring a lawyer for an hour or Read more
What are you selling? A service? A product? This may be an obvious question to many, but be sure that you have a clear answer. If someone at a party asks you what you do, what would your response be? (You will be asked this at some point!) Now, even more importantly, how are you Read more
Ever attend a wedding and wonder what it might be like to be the photographer, the wedding planner, etc.? Do you have a creative talent that you either went to school for or one that just comes naturally to you? Are you looking for a new career path that aligns more closely with your passion? Read more