If you’re someone who loves making other people happy, has fine attention to detail and is super-organised, then a career in events could be right up your street. A job as an event organiser, or a wedding or party planner is highly rewarding – but can also be extremely stressful – comparable with a swan, graceful and tranquil on the surface whilst you are flapping under the water level.

There are a number of different ways for you to get into a career in events, parties, and weddings – often a degree or other qualification will help, but some people can also get into the industry just with the right experience.

Although there is no ‘correct’ way to get into the industry, there are some things which can help you to forge your career in events.

Remember Why You’re There
According to wedding professionals at Woodhall Manor, event planners work as an “expert team [who] will work closely with you to ensure that all those little details that make your dream day perfect” happen.

This is the key. You are essentially there to take the stress away from your client, pay close attention to all of the little details and ensure the event goes off without a hitch. By always keeping this in mind you will be well on your way to a great career.

What Kind of Event Planner?
If you are thinking about a career in event planning you have a few options which are all slightly different in terms of how you go about it:

• You can work for a specific venue as their in-house event planner,
• You can work for an events company who organise and plan events for their portfolio of clients,
• You can work for a specific event organiser,
• You can set up as your own events company and be self-employed.

If you are thinking about setting up your own events company, you will need to remember that your job won’t only be about organising events. You will also have to run a company – this could include aspects such as:

• Marketing and finding your own work
• Negotiating prices
• Invoicing and tax returns
• Employment and everything that comes with it

Qualifications Needed for Events Management
As said before, you don’t necessarily need qualifications to have a successful career in events management. However, an undergraduate degree in events management – or a subject related to it – would certainly help you to develop the skills which you would need to be successful in the field.

You can also go on to study a post-graduate degree if you wish, and there are also college courses available which would give you some of the skills that would be useful.

It can also be useful to get some work experience in event planning and management as this will help to give you an idea of the reality behind the career. Just like that swan, it can often look calm and graceful on the surface…

Personal Skills
Central to a successful career in events management are some important personal skills. The job rests on communication – on your ability to understand what people want – and deliver it, as well as explain why certain aspects might not be possible.

You should also have good attention to detail and a flair for knowing what people want – often before they even do!

You should be good a negotiating with suppliers, keeping within budget, be adaptable, creative – and being a perfectionist also helps!

In addition to communication, you should be customer-focused but also strong enough to be honest with them – that their wild ideas might not be possible with the budget that they have given you, for example! You will also need to be able to direct and co-ordinate people (without getting their backs up), be flexible and patient.

Networking
If you are looking for a career in events, wedding or party planning it is useful for you to build up your contacts and network. This could mean building a portfolio of clients who come back to you time and time again or recommend you to their friends, or it could mean getting contacts of reliable and trustworthy suppliers, waiters or designers, for example.

A career in events planning is one that can be highly rewarding when you see your event pass off smoothly – and seeing your happy customers thrilled with the event that you have organised. However, it isn’t all glamour and niceties, there is also a lot of hard work that is required. It can mean late nights and early starts, nights away from home and dealing with last-minute catastrophes.

This is the kind of work that certain people thrive on, and if this sounds like you then you have the potential to have a long and successful career in events planning.