Work From Home As A Bridal Consultant

As the song says, "love makes the world go 'round," which means there should be plenty of people who will need your services, right? In theory, yes. But you'll be much more successful if you study the demographics of the area you wish to do business in, then tailor your services to a specific group within that market.

Starting a Bridal Consultant home business can take a lot of the burdens off the bride and groom's shoulders for their big day. A bridal consultant plan the rehearsal dinner, sets up the meetings with the florists, cake decorators, bridal gown purchasing and fitting, creates the budget for the wedding, sets up bridal registries at the stores chosen by the bride and groom, oversees the decorating of the church for the bridal occasion and floral and cake deliveries, and much more.

The main thing a Bridal Consultant needs to remember is the bride and groom are the clients. Your job as her bridal consultant is to find ways to save them money, time, make them happy, and make their wedding day as eventful as possible.

You would need to have superb people and time management skills to be able to deal with people and meet deadlines. You will also need to be diplomatic and be a great negotiator during the wedding planning process. You will not only be dealing with the bride and groom, but you will be in close contact with the families of the wedding party, bridesmaids, groomsmen, candle lighters, ring bearer, flower girl, parking attendants, ushers, guest book host, pianist and soloist, and parties of the reception.

As a Bridal Consultant, when it comes to dealing with the outside vendors for additional wedding items, you will need to have a great working relationship with a wide variety of caterers, florists, wedding dress shops, photographers, travel agencies, limousine rental services, hair salons, and makeup artists for the bride and bridesmaids. You will also want to be able to find wedding decorators for any extra decorating for larger weddings.

Below is a detailed Business Description to help you start:

Start-up cost: $1,000–$3,500 / #150,000+

Potential earnings: $25,000–$60,000 / #4,000,000+ (depending on volume and location)

Typical fees: $35–$45 / #6000+ per hour (more in larger metropolitan areas)

Advertising: Bridal magazines (many areas have their own local versions), Blog Ads, bridal salons, newspapers, Web site with some general wedding planning checklists or tips

Qualifications: An eye for detail and a cool head

Equipments needed: Mobile phone, Computer with Internet connection.

Staff required: Sometimes

Hidden costs: Keep accurate records of the time you spend with each client, or you could short-change yourself.

What You Do: Wedding planning can easily turn any reasonable family into a temporary war zone—and that’s where a  bridal consultant comes into the picture. With most families spending anywhere from $10,000–$15,000+ / #1.5m +  on the wedding extravaganza itself, what’s a few extra dollars to take the headache out of the blessed event’s planning? Your rates would or should be around the fee of $1,000 /#150,000 for the entire wedding, so it is easy to see how you could earn a sizeable amount of money in a short period of time. But don’t think you won’t work hard for it. As a bridal consultant, you will handle every minute detail, from the number of guests to invite to what kind of champagne to buy. You are essentially in the hotbed of the action, with total responsibility for every aspect of the wedding.

What You Need

You will need to develop a strong word-of-mouth network. Try forging reciprocal referral arrangements with florists, bridal shops, and hair salons to build a good reputation. Also, since this is a people- and image-oriented business, you will need to make sure you look like you’re worth it. Dress professionally and carry yourself with poise and an air of diplomacy. 

The bulk of your start-up costs will be in producing business cards and brochures in addition to placing Blog Ads and bridal magazine ads (count on forking over at least $1,000/#150,000 for those items). You should also consider building a Blog site or a Web site that offers some general tips, preparation checklists, and an online photo gallery of some of your best-produced weddings.

In this business, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words! Once you build a name for yourself, you may need additional staff to help you manage several weddings at once. 

You may also seek out partnerships with related services so that all of the responsibility doesn’t fall on you.
For instance, what if you become sick the weekend of the “big day”? Your job is to be prepared for everything—and to assure your client that all will be fine no matter what.

Keys to Success

The flash and excitement of impending nuptials can be intoxicating, as can the power involved in directing wedding parties to perform their best. Be careful not to offend people or step on their toes. Listen to what your customers tell you they want, and have the good sense to make them think all of the good ideas were theirs. While such ego-suppression is hard to accomplish in a high-profile job like this one, remember that the customer is always king (or queen).