Bridal Consulting Course Outline

The role of the bridal consultant; basics of a successful bridal consulting business; your professional image; gathering resources for wedding planning; working with brides and mothers at the first interview; setting appropriate fees.

The engagement; making the announcement; selecting a wedding style; formulating the budget; listing wedding plans and costs; compiling the guest list; choosing the right invitations; tracking responses.

Popular wedding customs and traditions; contemporary symbolism; rituals and traditions around the world; ethnic customs; receiving gifts; accepted etiquette; using a bridal registry.

Selecting the right site for different kinds of ceremonies; the challenge of double weddings; how to personalize the ceremony and make it special for each couple; what you should know about the way different religions celebrate marriage; conducting a wedding rehearsal.

How to be more productive and efficient as a student now—and in your career later.

Apportioning the wedding costs among the bride: groom: and parents; approaches to distributing financial obligations; unexpected expenses; what to specify in contracts with vendors; insurance concerns.

How to shop for and find the perfect wedding dress; selecting bridal accessories; choosing the right attire for the maid of honor, best man, and other attendants; appropriate outfits for mothers, fathers, and siblings; proper attire for wedding guests.

Planning the engagement party; the who, what, when, how, and where of bridal and wedding showers; requirements for the bridesmaids' luncheon; the bachelor party; the rehearsal dinner; ideas for the main event—the wedding reception; selecting the right facility; renting equipment.

Choosing a menu; how to select a caterer; food service concerns; understanding catering contracts, terms, and conditions; the steps involved in ordering and serving the wedding cake; the groom's cake; coordinating reception details; popular reception traditions.

Rules for the ceremony's music; choosing and contracting with the musicians; musical selections for the wedding ceremony and reception; selecting a qualified florist; floral trends and tips; bridal bouquet options.

Choosing a photographer; drawing up a fair contract; engagement pictures; how to have a successful bridal portrait sitting; candid vs. formal shots; the wedding album; capturing weddings on video; verifying references; what it should cost.

Determining the appropriate honeymoon site and style; planning the honeymoon; creating a reasonable budget; legal requirements for traveling to foreign destinations; wedding transportation vendors.

Handling weddings with complicated family circumstances; understanding common familial emotions and pressures; managing stress; couples with socioeconomic disparities; pre-nuptial agreements.

Your new bridal consulting business: start-up essentials; legal requirements; record-keeping and taxes; managing your money; a reality-based management plan.

Tips for effective advertising and promotion; marketing strategies; analyzing your competition; measuring advertising effectiveness.

Tables, forms, and schedules to use in business.

Practical guide to recommended wedding vendors and suppliers.