How to Plan Weddings When You Are Balancing it With a Job
A lot of wedding planners have had the experience of balancing their couples with a corporate job. And, whether that is because you are just starting out and aren’t ready to take the leap into business ownership or you just want to plan a few weddings a year on the side, balancing a full time (or even part time) job with client work can be a challenge if you don’t have a plan. So today, we wanted to share some advice to help you plan weddings when you have another job.
Be Clear About Your Availability
It is always important to be clear about your schedule (hello, boundaries), but it is imperative if you are working with clients while you are also working another job. The reason being that couples often contact you wanting or expecting a quick response—and that can be hard to deliver on if you are scheduled with calls or work for the day. So, in addition to explicitly telling your clients what your work hours and response times are, you should consider including office hours in your email signature and contracts. You might also think about planning all of your in-person meetings with clients further in advance since most tastings and mockups are done during the week since vendors have events on the weekends.
Pro-tip: Keep the messaging around your limited availability positive by saying things like, “Here are the hours I am available,” instead of “I am only (or not) available.”
Have a Repeatable Process
Templating your planning process is one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself (even if you are a full time wedding planner!) but know that the way you might need to build your templates will likely look different from a lot of the general advice you read. Where a full time planner might choose to communicate something via email, you might choose to do it via video-call since working in more face time is good for you. In addition to being an opportunity to build your relationship, calls tend to be a more efficient use of your time since they allow you to cover a lot more ground. Whatever process you develop for yourself, be sure to document it so you can create a consistent client experience!
Build a List of Great Assistants
The other big favor you can do for yourself is build out a list of people who you can trust will do an amazing job on wedding day. Ask for recommendations from other vendors, attend networking events or even mentor someone to be your number two. Having this list will save you from scrambling to book people when you are already pressed for time.
If You Find Yourself Needing to go Back to Work
In the past few months, a lot of plans were put on hold and some planners found themselves needing to find other work to pay the bills. This is not a failure and you are not alone! We recently spoke with one of our graduates about her experience and wanted to share her words:
“The hardest challenge for me personally was not being in the wedding trenches as much. Knowing that couples have put a stop on wedding planning all together was so heartbreaking. So, not being able to be in it with them has been tough.
I am lucky in that I have complete autonomy with my schedule, so I can reply and do what I need to when I need to. But, there are definitely days where it is hard and I feel like my available time has been more scare lately.
It is extremely humbling to have had plans to go full time with my wedding planning business this year and then have to make the touch decision to go back to my corporate job.”
You always should do what you need to. And, if you are someone who is looking for work, here are a few tips to help you get that paying job while still having time to work on your planning business.
Try and find a position that allows you to work remotely since that often means you have more flexibility in your day
Look for work in a service industry if you need to supplement your income (serving, bartending, being a nanny) since they tend to have for non-traditional or flexible work hours. Also, working in a service industry helps you refine your customer service skills
Consider seasonal work that falls outside of what would be your busy wedding season so you are still available for wedding and event weekends
