{Planning Redefined} Engaging & Honest Training For The Modern Wedding Planner, steelasophical

November 25, 2017

{Planning Redefined} Engaging & Honest Training For The Modern Wedding Planner, steelasophical

The wedding industry has come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years. The creativity and freedom we see on a daily basis is not only really inspiring, but totally heart warming too. We all know that everyone loves a good wedding – but an impeccably planned wedding that truly reflects the couple getting married? That’s even better!

And while lots of areas of the industry are truly at the forefront of business, wedding planning training hasn’t quite caught up. That is until now. Because now we have Planning Redefined. Set up by experienced and highly respected planners, Katrina Otter and Lisa Johnson of Carmela Weddings, this training workshop is refreshingly honest, full of practical advice and SO MUCH FUN. I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural workshop at the beginning of the month, here’s what happened…

{WATCH THE FILM}

Over my years at RMW, I’ve attended lots of industry workshops, all of which have been great – but Planning Redefined is hands down the best I’ve ever been on. Kat and Lisa had thought of absolutely everything. Business basics, goal setting, building your brand, common pitfalls and nightmare client scenarios. All of this was covered with a refreshing dose of honesty. There was zero sugar coating – I know first hand what the perception of working in the wedding industry is, it’s all rose petals and Prosecco apparently. Well that’s simply not true, there is a huge amount of hard work and dedication involved. All of the suppliers who helped create this workshop are absolute proof of that.

Kat and Lisa both run highly successful wedding planning companies but their perspectives and approaches are quite different – which made for a very balanced presentation. The guest speakers all brought something totally new to the table as well, pretty much every thing you’d ever want or need to know about being a wedding planner was covered, in a fun, conversational way. The gorgeous Karen from Smashing The Glass spoke about submitting to blogs (something close to my heart, of course) and finding your niche.

As well as business advice and tools, the ladies also set up an emergency bouquet tutorial with the lovely Emma (Emma Soulsby flowers). Fen from Mon Annie showed us how to resolve a cake nightmare (as well as providing delicious treats for the three days – that lady can BAKE let me tell you), Mix & Twist held a cocktail making masterclass and we were wowed with entertainment from Lemon Entertainment (Lucy has some seriously great acts on her books, her magician blew my mind).

The final day was a styling workshop with RMW fave The Wedding Stylist and the gorgeous Always Andri. Jam packed with beautiful props, a corner of Perseverance Works was transformed into a crumbling Provencal chateau (you’ll see the results of that in January).

Everyone came away from the course feeling confident enough to either make their first steps to becoming a wedding planner, or take their planning business to the next level. The networking opportunities were also great and Kat and Lisa have a Facebook group so that attendees can connect with both existing planners AND each other, ask questions and share successes. Which is SO important when you run your own business.

If you’re reading this and dreaming of becoming a wedding planner then I’d highly recommend attending a Planning Redefined course. It’s the new way of training for wedding planners and I’m really looking forward to seeing some amazingly creative and super efficient planners emerge over the next few months and years. This is exciting for everyone, for brides and for the industry, as it just helps to shape a more creative, professional and stylish wedding scene for all of us!

If you’d like to attend a course, then you can get in touch with Kat and Lisa via the Planning Redefined website.