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Create a Niche or Specialty for your Wedding Planning Business

Indian Wedding Couple

Don’t fall into the trap that so many wedding planning business owners do of thinking that you can serve all brides well.

If you want to be successful in any business—weddings or otherwise—identify your niche or specialty and go after a select group of clients…your target bride.

Don’t panic!  This does NOT mean you can’t plan weddings for clients outside of your target group!

Instead, it means that you won’t have to divert your marketing energy and dollars beyond the brides that are in your core audience.

Many successful businesses have carved out niches by doing something better, faster (think Jiffy Lube) or just being bigger (think Amazon.com) than their competition. There’s no reason that you shouldn’t do the same for your wedding planning business.

Find your Wedding Speciality

As a wedding planner you can also set yourself apart from other planners (i.e. your competition) by creating your own niche. Possibilities for a wedding planning niche include:

  • Encore weddings – 2nd or 3rd weddings
  • Same-sex unions and weddings
  • Serving price conscious brides
  • Planning High-end weddings – wedding budgets upward of $50,000
  • Celebrity weddings
  • Theme Weddings
  • All-inclusive wedding planning
  • Weddings in a hurry (I once read about a planner, in Florida, whose specialty was planning local weddings in a week!)
  • Destination weddings—focus on one particular destination or area
  • Ethnic weddings

AndOwn It!

Once you decide on a niche for your wedding business, own it!

Find out all you can about your specialty and the brides that your specialized wedding planning services will attract. Open your eyes to her demands and desires and do all that you can for her. Become the expert so that you’re ready when that email or phone call comes in.

Specializing = Your Ideal Client

Let’s say Brenda Bride just got engaged and wants to do something different for her big day. She has known from a very young age that a ‘typical wedding’ with the big poofy dress and formal tuxedo for her groom just wasn’t for her. And, now that the time to plan her big day has arrived, she wants her nuptials to reflect her personal style and she decides to have a 1930s wedding (love that!).

Now, let’s imagine that you are a wedding planner who specializes in vintage weddings. You know all about incorporating vintage details from the Art Nouveau elegance of the 1910s; to the Audrey Hepburn-era of the 1950s. You’re familiar with all the necessary vintage wedding elements like invitations, music, menu and more.

Now, how excited do you think Brenda Bride (and others like her) will be to speak to YOU, the vintage wedding planner? And, just imagine how interesting you’ll be to the local media!

Do you get the idea?

With a niche for your wedding business, you will instantly know who your target bride is and then you can make her happy—very happy—instead of trying to make a lot of different types of brides moderately satisfied (which is what the majority of wedding planners are doing now!).

HAPPY PLANNING!

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Comments on Create a Niche or Specialty for your Wedding Planning Business

This Post Has 14 Comments
    1. I’m a new event planner just getting started.Thank you for the article. I needed that.

  1. Debbie,
    You gave me an idea to research to see if it would be a niche for my wedding and event center. I am just starting out and getting my papers back from the state of Texas.

  2. I have a question. I just finished my wedding planning certification but I haven’t started planning any weddings. I’ve done floral designs for weddings and special events, designed sets for plays, and all things crafty. But how do I get clients to trust me without any actual planning experience? Also, I’ve decided on theme weddings as my niche. Any suggestion will be appreciated. Thanks

  3. Lisa, congrats on completing your planning certification! Without any actual wedding planning under your belt, it can sometimes be a little tricky. But worry not! 🙂

    Don’t discredit any events you may have planned in the past (e.g. family events, volunteer work, the sets you’ve designed etc.). Try to get a few letters of thanks from anyone you helped–whether or not you were compensated.

    Begin to position yourself as an expert. Add a few wedding planning articles to your website, for starters. Think of a few topics that you’re passionate about when it comes to weddings and include the info as tips.

    As you meet with local wedding vendors, ask if they need an extra hand with any of their upcoming events. That’s hands-on experience for you and the start of a great working relationship which will lead to them sending potential clients your way.

    Great move on selecting a niche. This will definitely help you to remain focused as you market your wedding business.

    Keep going! You’re on the right track. 🙂

  4. Lisa, I have another suggestion for getting clients with no (or not much) planning experience… I offered to help the daughter of a friend at a substantial discount (ok, fine, I did it for free) but it started my portfolio. From there, word of mouth spread and my business was kick started into high gear. Just thought I would chime in…

    HAPPY PLANNING!!!!

  5. Hey Debbie! Great article! I just started my business a couple months ago and I really love to target theme weddings (vintage, crafty, eclectic, and whimsical). I didn’t know if this was a real “niche” but after reading this article it just solidified that I’m heading in the right direction. Thanks for your great input!

  6. Debbie,

    I am contemplating starting a Wedding Planning business and I am so glad that I came across your site!! It is full of invaluable advice and information!

    Thanks,
    Scarlett

    1. Hello Scarlett,

      Thanks for taking the time to write. Really glad to know that you’re finding the info helpful. If you haven’t discovered it already, http://ConfettiRadio.com is another resource that you may find helpful for growing your wedding planner business.

      Again, thanks. 🙂

      –Debbie

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