Hire an (unqualified) Wedding Planner?

I think I’ve seen short certificate programs in event planning or wedding planning specifically if you’re interested in a shorter period of time in classes.

I didn’t ask my DOC if she had any training or certifications so I personally don’t care. I go off of reviews

Get hands on experience with event planning and organization. You don't need a degree. With a handful of positive reviews under your belt, you should be good to go. That's what people tend to look for rather than formal education.

For wedding planners you need a legit certificate showing your offical. However it depends if this person have showed you what he or she has done innthe pass as far as weddings

Personally I wouldn't even think to look at if someone had a certification in wedding planning - I'd look to the reviews as that will tell me what I need to know. Some people are just super organized and can multitask and put together an event with multiple parts. I don't think you need to go to school for that necessarily.

You don't need a certification or anything. You need to start with experience. If you have friends/family getting married, offer to be their planner/day of coordinator. That way you get the experience/online reviews. From there, join things like your local chamber of commerce and get on their event planning boards. This is a great place to start networking but come prepared with a business name/business cards. When I was in event planning in Arizona, my company was part of something called NACE: They're an event/catering organization for pro's in the industry. There are meetings every few months and teams who put those meetings on as a way to showcase their capabilities. Once you're in those, it's all networking. Once you have some reviews/work examples, you can start doing venue open houses, reaching out to venues to be a part of their preferred vendor lists, even attending bridal shows and setting up a booth.

I would say go for it . Personally I value experience over degrees, because I learn from experience as well. I would always request to see previous work and ask questions on different scenarios and go from there.

I don't think you need a certification or anything to be a wedding planner. I'm sure they offer some type of certification for it, but I don't think many care about that. As long as you're organized, know what you're doing, and can handle the stress of helping a couple plan a wedding, I think you'd be fine. My husband and I didn't hire a wedding planner b/c we didn't want one and didn't need one b/c I'm crazy organized as well, lol. But, if we did, I wouldn't care if they have a certification as long as they knew how to do the job.

I wouldn't hire a coordinator or planner without any experience. I'm contemplating going into the field as a part time job with my mother (who would be full time). But our actual business wouldn't start for 2+ years. I've contacted planners that would be okay with us shadowing them (for free on our part) for weddings next wedding season, we've signed up for a wedding planning conference, my mother is going to floral arrangement courses, and I'm doing some online wedding planning courses. I also have a bachelors in business. Once our certification is done, and we have started our business with the state and purchased insurance, then we will start looking for clients. I think brides with a 20k+ budget seek out certified coordinators with training and experience. Our venue required our DOC have insurance and have a specific state certification.