But part of the fun in wedding planning, at least for me, is actually dealing with the bride. Seeing her dress, helping her pick the colors, food, decorations is something that most interests me. Five years ago I was planning my wedding and I used all the resources I found online to save a lot of money planning a wedding on a budget. At the time my husband and I had just bought our first house and were a year away from our wedding. Don’t worry I’m getting to the point! A few weeks ago we decided to move and sell our house. Luckily I’ve made a living online, with the help of The Keyword Academy and a certain Make Money Online blog, and can move my business with no problems. So anyway…on Tuesday we went to sign the papers for the sale of our house. It turns out the people buying it are a year from getting married as well. It was so exciting to say that a) I help plan weddings for a living online and b) I can help you check out my websites. I came away from that meeting thinking a few things about working online.

When it came down to it, what I really wanted to do was really get involved in the wedding planning. I wanted to be hands on, not just online. Then again I love writing online. And I guess in some ways you can have it all because in the day of computers, a wedding planner can’t compete if they can’t compete online. So if you’re going to be a wedding planner in the real world, you’re going to need to know about being a wedding planner online as well as offline.



Being a wedding planner isn’t just about knowing what dresses are in fashion and what colors go well together. Actually, wedding planners hire stylists for that role. Being a wedding planner is about knowing which stylist to call! Not only the stylist though, the caterer, the event centers, the seamstresses, dress shops, how to measure and on and on. There is a reason that people take classes in how to be a wedding planner, it’s because there is a lot to know.

A bride needs to know how to set up a seating chart, what caterers are available, what event centers cost, how to budget for the dress, food and everything else. By the way, I say bride because let’s face it, the only males in my life interested in wedding stuff are getting married to the other males in my life. So a wedding planner has to know all of those things. They have to know how much a bride would pay on average for a 50 seat caterer, how much a cake goes for in terms of slices (did you know, for instance, that a cake maker doesn’t charge for how many tiers or inches the cake is? They charge by how many slices are dealt out).

A wedding planner needs to know the best event centers, what days are booked, who to call to book. They know the flower shops, the type of flowers that are in season locally. They’re on the in with decorators and party rental places. A wedding planner, in short (too late, I know), has to know every possible thing about wedding planning.

In the States, a wedding planner doesn’t need any special licensing, but there is an association of certified professional wedding planners. Is it important to become certified through them? I can’t answer that. I know you don’t need to, but it may help you deal with some event centers and hotels.

The bottom line is you can go out and put up a sign in your front yard that says “Wedding Planner”, but eventually you’re going to have to start planning a wedding. Eventually, it’s going to become pretty clear you have no idea what you’re talking about and then you’ll lose future business. One thing is certain, a wedding planner’s business is 50% word of mouth. Today, in the world of the Google phones, it’s about 40% online and maybe 10% advertising in print.

Want to be a great wedding planner? Start by reading some books. From there shmooze the local hotels, event centers, caterers, florists, dress designers, wedding boutiques and on and on. You’ll need a hefty list of great referrals and a good spot on Google’s search. You can learn how to be on Google’s hotlist by going to Courtney Tuttle’s Keyword Academy and learning how to do search engine optimization and build a popular blog. You can also visit Grizz’s Make Money blog where he can even tell you how to get a double listing.

Making money planning a wedding is about referrals. Commissions is what I’m talking about. You send bride A to florist B and you get a percentage of the sale. Now couples often pay a flat fee to the planner, but that isn’t where money is made. Money is made through advertising inside your offices, websites and through referrals. The flat fee might pay the rent, but it won’t make you a lot of money.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave them here.

In May I was at the end of my ropes, trying to get a job in a failing market. In desperation I clicked a link from a news website which was written about a guy making money blogging. It occurred to me that I love to write, if he can do it I can do it. So off I went to Problogger. For days I read through his fluff and visited numerous websites. Almost every one of them were selling something. Here I was looking for desperate ways to make money and there they were flouting crappy, products designed to take huge chunks of money I didn’t have. Good thing I was broke because it meant I had to keep reading. Eventually, thank goodness, I came across a link for making money online for beginners and that is how I came to be making money planning weddings. If you clicked that link, I probably will never see you again, if you’re serious about making money that is, but if you’re still reading make sure you go back after this article and read his whole site, including comments. Once you’ve read it, you can begin wedding planning for money, yes even if you don’t know much about it.

Step 1: Research Research Research!

I’ve been planning my wedding since the womb, so that was my research. I actually saved $15,000 being my own wedding planner and that is what I teach inside this site. How to save money, I mean, not wedding planning for cash. This is actually the first article, I think of many, about making money doing it.

Start-up wedding planners make crap for cash and they work like maniacs. Even if they’re moderately successful after many years, 90% of them won’t make above $50,000 a year. I’m aiming for that a month. Is it possible to make that a month doing it online? Yes, it is. For one thing there is very little overhead online, for another you open the market up to the world, not just locally. In order to make that kind of money, you’ll have to learn what to sell clients and that is why research is important.

Wedding planners get rich by selling vendors. They don’t just take a fee from the couple, they take a fee from all the vendors they recommend and sell. Florists, caterers, event centers, decorators, wedding singers and on and on. Each of those gives a percentage to the planner for recommending their product. Does that sound too mercenary to you? Then click out of here, because that is exactly how you make money planning a wedding.

You need to research products, hopefully the most profitable ones, and sell them to couples getting married. You can be ethical about it and at the same time be profitable. You can find hundreds of vendors all over the Internet and almost all of them have affiliate links. You can sell what you believe in, or you can sell what makes you the most money, either way you’ll have to sell to get rich being a wedding planner. Research the products, but also research why the couple needs the products. You’d be surprised at exactly how much etiquette is involved with weddings. And each area of the wedding has hundreds of aspects.

So pick up a few books on wedding planning, or read a few websites, find out what brides and grooms need, and then sign p for affiliate programs to get a commission of the sale. You can’t sell a product if you don’t know why they need it. Internet Marketing is all about learning how to sell properly. It doesn’t mean you have to tout what you don’t believe in!

Step 2: Set Up Your Sites Properly

There are good ways and bad ways to set up a site. Calling your site Miss Know it All and talking about losing weight, won’t get you traffic on losing weight. Especially when you run around putting your name in the link. Yes, that was me before I found my gurus. I probably rank really well for “miss know it all” online, congratulations me! Who searches for that? Noone. So name your site, posts and categories properly.

There are hundreds of other ways to build it properly, but those aren’t my secrets to give away. That honor belongs to Courtney & Mark over at The Keyword Academy.

Step 3: Get Targeted Traffic

In online business, as in any business, you’ll want to learn how to get traffic to your business. In the online world, being sent via search engines is the single best and most profitable way to get clients. You can rely on hope that your articles will be amazing and generate so much love that magical angels will announce you with beating wings and song to customers around the globe or you can learn how to make your website profitable and find the correct terms that drive traffic to your site. Grizz, the above mentioned guru, teaches some of that, but you’ll want to visit The Keyword Academy to really learn great stuff. It costs $1, and it’s how I’ve become even more profitable.

Let’s face it, bloggers and news articles like to say : build it and they will come. But folks, that was a movie, you can build it alright, but no one is comin’ without some serious work.

Step 4: Find the Right Targeted Words

Finding certain keywords is a, forgive the pun, key factor in this business. You’re not going to make any money targeting the word ‘wedding’, Why? Because sites like theknot.com, which rank for everything wedding related, have been around for years. But they can’t target everything. Learning what to target is something The Academy teaches. Again, it’s not my secret to give.

Step 5: Write a Lot

Content content content. The more you write, the more you’ll come across words that people are looking for in your niche. I write about weddings because I know about weddings. I give hundreds of tips on this site, and it gets traffic. It’s not getting traffic because I’m a magical genius with writing, it gets it because I write long posts about weddings. The more you write, the more people will find you.

So that is in essence how you can make money planning a wedding. Learn it, build it, sell it and drive to it, and they will come.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Making Money Planning a Wedding Offline. Now I have to go research that =P

Meanwhile if you want to learn about planning a wedding on a budget, you can read more throughout this site.

If you’re wanting a few good reviews of products that work for making money online, and boy there are a few doozies out there, take a look at some of the people who really know what they’re talking about:

You can start your wedding planning online business really easily by reading a guide to quickly learn how to make money writing on Hubpages. I use this service and just about anyone that markets online, uses this service. It’s a great way to make money, test your content and get a quick following before making your main site.

You can also find some great information about making money online by reading numerous people’s posts on the subject. It’s essential to read everything from trusted sources, and not randomly choose a site. Choose wrong and you’ll spend hundreds on a bunch of crap you don’t need and won’t make you any money. So spend some time and really learn how to make money online!

While you’re reading online, you’re going to come across a lot of products, it’ll be overwhelming! Before you buy, read about the products from trusted sources. There are a lot of hyped products that may or may not be great, trust people that have real experience in the business. If you’re listening to a guy that you found by clicking an ad, he’s probably not as reliable as someone who you found in the search engines. You really can’t make money in this business without being found in the search. Trust a guy that knows. Right now there’s a lot of hullabaloo in the making money online area, so before you go about wedding planning online, read some great Keyword Elite 2.0 reviews by the most trusted man in the business. He’s put together a bunch of different reviews, something really important to guide beginners into the right area. Really research what you’re buying before pulling out your credit card

At the top of your list are the items which you’ve deemed most important, which means they are the last parts of your checklist to be trimmed. Even if you are within budget for your wedding, there are always ways to trim the budget.

As part of my wedding planning I made certain decisions which seemed to be beyond reach of a budget of $10,000. For instance my Calla Lily theme. One of the most expensive wedding flowers available, and out of season during my wedding in July. My dress was shipped from New York to the small town in Sweden where I live. We bought, not rented, my husband’s tuxedo, also from New York. We had an outdoor wedding in a remote area with a rented tent. We had nearly 55 guests and 45 of them from out of town. We rented cabins and a special hotel for my parents. We had flower centerpieces and table centerpieces. We had chair decorations and table decorations. Everything I wanted for my wedding. The point, as you may be wondering about now, is that you can manage the wedding of your dreams within your budget or even less. I got exactly what I wanted and so can you, if you’re willing to put in the work!

You can view my wedding pictures here for our wedding pictures.

Ceremony
Location fee

officiant fee

marriage license

musician’s fees

ring pillows

Reception
Reception Site

Food

Drinks

Rentals

Cake

Favors

Clothing
Dress

Headpiece/veil

lingerie

hosiery

shoes

accessories

jewelry

hair and makeup

Groom’s Tuxedo or Suit

shoes

ties/ashcrofts

cumberbuns

cuff links or studs

suspenders

Rings
His and her rings

engraving

Flowers
Ceremony

bride’s bouquet

maid-of-honor

bridesmaid bouquets

corsages

boutonnières

centerpieces

flower-girl basket

Music
Ceremony Musicians

Band and/or DJ

cocktail hour musicians

sound system rental

Photography
Photographer

Videographer

albums

additional prints

disposable cameras

Transportation
Transportation for wedding party.

Stationery
Invitations

response cards

thank you notes

postage

calligraphy

guest book

Gifts
Bridesmaid

groomsmen

parents

giftsfor out-of-town guests.

Extra costs:

Before/during wedding:

Flowers for flower girl baskets

Wedding night hotel suite

Tips for staff at hotel

room service

Rehearsal dinner if not paid for by family

Extra clothes for reception or after reception

taxis, if not driving, to and from venues

Honeymoon

Hotel suite

Flights

Food on flights or in airports

Taxi to hotel/s

Food costs (3 meals a day and snacks)

Alcohol

hotels the night before

Tips for hotels, drivers, maids

Taxis

Special outings (ex diving school, horseback riding, musicals etc)

The best way to start planning for your wedding is with a budget. While many sites offer a list of wedding budget information, I have yet to find one which helps keep a bride and groom to their budget. When planning your wedding it is essential to keep as close to your budget as possible, not only to avoid stress, but also to avoid eventual arguments stemming from the cost.

1. Make a list of wedding expenses and order them from most important to least important.

Begin your budget planning with a list of the expected wedding expenses and use this list to order expenses from most important to least important. This is a crucial step in your budget to make decisions on trimming expenses.

1. Write down the actual costs of the most important items on your list.

There are a few guidelines to the percentage of a wedding budget each itemization will cost. For instance most brides spend approximately 10% of their budget on attire (dress, tux, shoes etc), however, by ordering your list from most important to least important you may effectively alter any “normal” budgets. The most important part of my wedding was my dress and jewelry and my husband’s tuxedo. Our total budget was $10,000 and my dress alone was $1200 dollars, quite a bit above 10%. Ten percent will be a good base start if you are unsure of certain other aspects, but if you have your heart set on certain parts of your wedding, its best to use actual numbers. I wasn’t prepared to get married without that particular dress, so when planning my wedding I included the cost of my dress first. When planning a wedding make sure you write down the cost of anything which you know isn’t negotiable irregardless of price. Research the items so you can find them for the least cost.

1. Find out and include the list of costs over which you have no control.

There are certain things which a bride and groom have no control. The marriage license, for instance, is issued by the city or state and is a fixed cost. Unless they are at the bottom of your list , this part of your budget list will include the officiants fee, location fees etc. Remember if these are unimportant than they are not a fixed cost.

1. Set a number of guests and stick to it! Try and approximate the maximum for each food plate.

This is very important in your budget. Whatever your guest list will determine the cost of nearly 50% of your wedding. Anyone, outside of the bride and groom, that wishes to include certain guests needs to include funds for the wedding. This includes parents. If they want to invite your twice removed Cousin Mac from Nova Scotia whom you haven’t seen or heard from since the age of 3 months then they will pay those expenses ie; catering cost etc. Food costs are very malleable, depending on how much work you’re willing to outsource or DIY.

1. Copy 1-4 on another sheet and add additional expected costs.

A second sheet which lists all the expenses of the first sheet should now include what you want for the rest of the wedding. If you wanted certain flowers or bouquets for example. This second list will include the cost of the least important items on your list. Research the cost of each item and highlight the least important. These will be the variable costs.

1. Total the second list and prepare to discuss the budget costs.

Approach your relatives with the total wedding costs and subtract their contributions. Once you know what your relatives are able to contribute you can decide, if needed, how to pay for the rest of the wedding.

7. Make a list of possible items your friends might be able to help pay.

While it may be crass to expect your friends to pay for anything on your wedding day, there may be expenses which friends wish to contribute. A dinner on your honeymoon, your hotel suite on your wedding night, a special outing on your honeymoon, the champagne for the toasts. There is no easy way to ask people for money, however having your friends read this site might help =). They may be planning these parts already but wanted to surprise you. Note to all friends: best not to surprise too much as it might end up being paid for twice!

8. Be sure to include the costs of important events surrounding your wedding day.

I read so many articles prior to my wedding my head was spinning. During the first 4 months of planning I had a set cost which I realized wasn’t really the cost. I hadn’t included the honeymoon or wedding night hotel room, the rehearsal dinner, flowers for the flower girl basket and so on and so on. When planning your budget close your eyes and picture your wedding from the bachelorette/bachelor parties to the rehearsal dinner, the day of and the weeks after. You’ll find hundreds of things which most budgets do not list.

There are hundreds of ways to trim the budget costs when planning a wedding. In future articles I will detail how to save money on your wedding, or where to get money to pay for the extra costs.

Incidentally, many brides spend a significant amount of time in wedding planning and most have to live within significant budgetary constraints, when they plan their weddings. You can even find useful financial planning spreadsheets on the web to assist in keeping track of wedding expenses and staying within your budget. Since the wedding is just the beginning of a long life together as a couple, financial planning doesn’t stop with the wedding ceremony. Instead it is just the beginning of being financially responsible and preparing for a home, a growing family, and responsible lifelong personal financial management. You might want to take a look at financial budgeting software to start learning more about home financial planning, investment savings accounts, and how to keep your personal information safe. ”