Wedding planning is great fun, quite stressful, pretty tiring, inspiring and exciting.  Today, Lindsey Hunter of Get Knotted Weddings is sharing her adventure of becoming a wedding planner and what it takes to make a wedding planning career a success.

I had no idea that I would end up in the world of wedding planning.  When I moved to Scotland with my family for a lifestyle change, I just fell into it.  I was looking for a little part time job, and was offered a wedding planning position for a local hotel.

I think a lot of people are drawn to wedding planning as they think it is a glamorous and romantic job.  It is most certainly both of those things, but a lot of hard work and application is also required.

After 2 years of working with a local hotel, I left to start my own business.  The passion I have for weddings inspired the break out into the big wide world of owning my own business, however, the experience I gained from the hotel was invaluable.

I’ve had various heart stopping moments, especially at the beginning and have made mistakes like anyone, but it has all been useful.  In fact, you never stop learning and coming across new situations that need dealing with. Over the years I’ve had generators that have broke down, candelabras that have fallen over and set fire to a marquee carpet, a pig that joined a cocktail reception and an owl that was delivering wedding rings that flew off in the wrong direction when it was spooked by the photographer.  However, it all goes into the ‘experience’ bank.

Answering the mountain of emails and inquiries that come in every day requires strong administration skills.  I do my best to answer everything as quickly as possible. However, when you are busy with planning work, it is difficult to find time to sit and answer every email.  When I am very busy, I set an auto-response on my email account to explain I will reply to emails as soon as possible to ensure that clients and potential clients know I will be responding shortly.

A good and comprehensive website is very important, especially when you are selling yourself as a service.  I have been really involved with the development of my website to make sure it is user friendly and gives visitors the answers they are looking for.  I also consistently update my blog, Facebook and Twitter, as these are crucial for attracting new clients.  I believe that customers want to be kept up-to-date with what is going on with your business.  This shows that I am a real person, not a big organization, so they can guarantee a personal approach to their wedding planning.

Wedding planning is a wonderful career, however, I have found over the years that it has been advantageous to expand my business into other areas of the wedding industry; planning on its own is not enough for me.  I trained in floral design and now also offer a range of props and decor for hire at weddings and events.  These services, along with venue styling and making brooch bouquets work hand in hand, combining excellently with wedding planning.  Other wedding planners I know have done the same.  Some have started online wedding magazines, some plan bridal shows and even sell other wedding related products. Don’t be afraid to be creative and industrious.

Wedding planning is not a 9-5 job.  I’m often at my desk until at least 7pm each weekday.  When I am not out meeting clients on site, I am organizing styled photo shoots for venues, coming up with ideas for styling decor and props for clients, sorting out flower orders and working on client events. It’s full on and a big responsibility, but I love it.

You need to have stamina and enthusiasm in bucket loads and if you set up your own business in this industry, you have to get used to working most weekends!  Remember, if wedding planning is your passion – go for it and consider adding other services or businesses to make your business work for you.

This is a guest post from Lindsey Hunter from Get Knotted Weddings. Lindsey is a professional wedding planner in Scotland.