When I have a mentoring appointment with a new wedding planner, I will ask him or her to email  information to me about their background and experience and to send me links to their website, blog, Facebook account and anything else they may be doing for marketing. I like to get a clear picture of who they are before we start meeting.

Almost everyone shares with me information about skills and experience they have, in addition to their wedding planning skills, that are very valuable “extras” to have as a wedding and event planner.

But none of the information is mentioned in their marketing materials!

Instead, they just have lists of their available services. But these lists don’t make them stand out.

Brides don’t know how talented they are and they end up not getting all of  the clients they deserve.

Are you also guilty of hiding some of your valuable skills and knowledge, thinking they aren’t directly about wedding and event planning, so they don’t matter?

For example, have you worked in catering or the restaurant business?

Then you know how to help a bride select a menu that will appeal to her guests while fitting within her budget.

Have you worked in financial services?

Most likely you know how to create a realistic budget and help a bride stick to it.

Have you been voluntarily counseling newly engaged couples at your place of worship?

Then you’ll be able to help couples not only plan their weddings with your planning skills, but also navigate successfully through the emotional highs and lows that often come during the months before a wedding.

Think about the knowledge, experience, and skills that you acquired when working in a job, or as a volunteer, that you can use as a wedding planner.  Then tell brides how they can benefit from what you know.

When they know the benefits, they will understand how valuable you are and realize how much they need you to be their wedding planner.

Planning a wedding for a bride who always wanted to be a popstar? Celebrity wedding planner David Tutera did just that recently on his television show, “My Fair Wedding.”

The bride and her fiance had met in Motown, Detroit, Michigan. They loved Motown music and wanted to feel like pop star royalty on their wedding day (think Diana Ross and Michael Jackson).

Tip – Selecting a theme that has a meaningful connection to the bride and groom is a great way to personalize a wedding.

The bride had gathered a mix of gold, silver, and pink items and a Michael Jackson silver-sequined glove to use as decorations at her wedding.

Tip – Stay away from party store items when carrying out any theme. 

As usual, David took over, replacing not only the dresses of the bride and bridesmaids but also the venue and decor.

He changed the venue to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the very first Academy Awards celebration. The ceremony was held in the lobby of the hotel.

Tip – Think creatively and don’t forget to check spaces in the hotel besides the traditional ballrooms. However, if you do select a public area, make sure it can be made private for the wedding.

He chose gold, platinum, and white as the colors for the wedding.

Rows of gold chairs alternated with chairs covered with platinum chair-back covers. In keeping with the color scheme, the stage was covered with white fabric.

The flowers were white with gold and platinum accents. 

Different designs alternated throughout the tables.

All designs followed the gold, platinum, and white color scheme.

Tip – Alternating table designs will make the room look interesting, but stick to the same colors and basic styles or the room will look like it was decorated for different weddings, not one. 

David had a fabulous mirrored dance floor custom created just for this wedding.

Tip – Don’t think that there are only wood dance floors. If you need to rent a dance floor, ask the rental company if they can provide floors that can be covered with a custom design or made of other materials.

You can lean more about the vendors who helped dsign this wedding on the WEtv website.

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Here’s another idea from one of the vendors at the San Francisco Wedding Fair.

Photobooths were one of the top trends for weddings in 2011 and will still be a popular attraction at many weddings this year. But what will guest do when they are waiting for their turn?

One photobooth company at the fair, Photo Booth US, also rents out games. While your bride doesn’t necessarily want carnival and arcade games at her reception, unless these things would work with her wedding theme, a fortune telling machine, in which she customized the messages, might be fun amusement for guests waiting in line for a photobooth opportunity or a cocktail.

You can find this machine and others like it at party, prop, and game rental companies.

Today I’m continuing with wedding ideas from the San Francisco Wedding Fair.

The Chandon booth had some ideas you can share with champagne loving brides.

They used their petite 187 ml bottles of sparkling wine and attached elegant name cards to them with white satin ribbons. They are place card holders and wedding favors in one. (See photo above.)

The booth also showed how you can have a couple can use a magnum bottle of champagne in lieu of a guest book. Just provide gold-colored permanent link pens that can write on glass, you can find these at craft stores, and have guests sign the bottle. The bride and groom can drink from it on their honeymoon and on wedding anniversaries.

If your bride is looking for a colorful signature cocktail, the Chandon website has recipes using champagne along with ingredients such as fruit juices and nectars to give it color and different flavors.

Keep your eyes open when you attend or exhibit in bridal shows and wedding fairs and you can get ideas for your business and your brides. 

When you attend wedding fairs and bridal shows you can pick up many ideas, not only for planning weddings but also for planning your own booth when you are an exhibitor at a fair or show in the future.

When you become an exhibitor, your main goals will be to attract potential clients to your booth, sign up them up for appointments, and collect contact information so you can market your services to brides after the show is over.

The San Francisco Zoo had a fun way to accomplish these goals at the San Francisco Wedding Fair. They asked brides to provide their contact information for an opportunity to spin their prize wheel (you can rent one at a party rental store or prop house). The wheel had small prizes, such as a nail file and a plush toy, in addition to bigger prizes such as 15% off venue rental and a free ceremony. Because every bride who provided their information would win something, more brides were interested in providing contact inforamtion than booths that offered only one prize. Now the zoo has grown their list of brides they can market to in the future.

The other side of the exhibit booth was a large screen featuring a slide show of photographs of weddings that had been held at the zoo and two staff members who were talking to attendees about the benefits of their venue.

Take a cue from this busy booth and find a creative way to attract brides and have them willingly provide their contact information to you. (Be sure they know you’ll be sending them emails or you’ll be considered a spammer.)

Absolutely do not think you can get clients by renting an exhibit booth and sitting or standing behind a table with a stack of brochures and a small laptop with photos from your weddings. You will not attract many brides this way. Get out from behind the table and engage with attendees. Set up your space in a way that shows off your style. If you need a centerpiece, ask a florist to provide a striking arrangement in exchange for placing a sign in your booth. If you want to show a video or slide presentation on a screen, use a large one that will draw attention from across the aisle.

And you can get more help with exhibiting with my downloadable Action Guide, Exhibiting at Bridal Shows and Wedding Expos. It includes the information you need to market your services successfully and an exhibit-day checklist so you’re prepared on the day of the event.

One of my favorite bridal shows takes place every year at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. It’s the San Francisco Wedding Fair, and it’s a great place to see the latest wedding ideas for high-end weddings and get inspired by some of the top wedding vendors in the San Francisco Bay Area. I”ll share some ideas and show some of the booths this week.

Floral and event designer Floramor Studios had a room with tabletop displays inspired today’s top female singers.

Above and below are photos of the table inspired by Katy Perry, fun and pink, with centerpieces of glass jars filled with candy.

The tabletop inspired by Fergie featured a centerpiece of a glass dome with stelleto heels.

The Jennifer Lopez table was silver and white.

with a stunning crystal beaded candelabra.

Beyonce inspired an elegant table of copper and white.

The Britney Spears table was both sexy and romantic, with it’s mirrored table and candelabra of crystals and pale rink roses.

And Lady Gaga inspired a huge single flower as a centerpiece and deep, rich-colored linens.

Where might you and your brides find inspiration?

When you are starting to work as a wedding planner, you’ll want to be ready to help brides plan their dream weddings. The February issue of Brides magazine published results of their survey in which they asked readers to give them a portrait of their dream weddings.

Here is where brides said they wanted to get married along with my tips on what you should know about the sites:

1) Gardens

A garden wedding can help a bride save money on her floral budget but you can also work with a florist to bring in additional tress and flowers to make the setting seem more opulent. There are public gardens available in most cities but also check private estates that rent out their homes for events. The ceremony can be held in the garden and the reception in the home.

2) Beaches

Not every wedding planner has the ability to plan a wedding at local a beach but if you do, scout locations that give the best views and are easily accessible for guests and, most importantly, make sure you have a Plan B. Wind, rain, and heat can pose challenges during any outdoor weddings but especially at a beach weddings where there may not be nearby shelters.

3) Tents

Once a tent meant a plain white structure. Today you can find everything from clear tents that make guests feel like they are outdoors to luxury tents that work for weddings with exotic themes and come complete with hanging chandeliers and matching furniture.

4) Wineries

Like a garden wedding, wineries can provide natural decor for the event. It’s not just large wineries that offer event facilities, small private vineyards often open their property for events on a limited basis so do some research to find them.

5) Museums

Think beyond art museums and find ones that specialize such as auto, technology, maritime, and railroad museums. Even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum can host weddings. So, think outside the box to give your brides their dream wedding locations.

Successful entrepreneur and owner the basketball team the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, recently posted an article with his rules for startups. I thought 5 of them applied particularly well to the wedding planning business so here they are along with my comments on how they apply:

1) Don’t start a business unless it’s an obsession and something you love

Today there are many celebrity wedding planners on reality television and it has made many people believe it might be a fun. It is but it is also hard work so unless you have a real passion for planning weddings and working with brides, don’t do it. If this is your dream, take steps to begin your business right away.

2) Know how your company will make money

Before you begin your business, you should have a plan that outlines who your specific target market will be (not just “brides,” think about who they are, what they do, what their budgets are, and what type of weddings they want), the services and products you are going to offer to them that will be of benefit to them, and how you will market to them. 

3) Know your core competencies and be great at them

The services that you offer should be the ones in which you can do the best, that is how you will be unique and that is what brides will pay you to do. If you want to offer other services, partner with people who are good in those areas.

4) As far as technology goes, go with what you know

It’s important that you are able to communicate with your clients, potential clients, vendor partners, and complete your office work. This doesn’t mean you have to make a large investment in the latest expensive electronic gadgets to impress people. Use what you have and know how to use first, before you make any huge investments.

5) Don’t invest in a lot of giveaways with your logo

I’ve spoken to new wedding planners who have given away expensive tote bags and other items to brides at bridal shows, hoping to stand out and look like a big company. Save those for your clients. While promotional items can be a way of keeping your name in front of brides, there are other, more effective and less expensive, ways to market.

You can get more of his startup tips on the Entrepreneur website.

You probably back up your computer everyday because you don’t want to lose information about your wedding planning business, the weddings that you plan, or your brides.

But have you backed up your website? Do you regularly back up your blog? How about your Facebook profile?

You spend a great of time and energy writing content and posting photos online to market yourself, so you need to make sure you have copies of your sites. If a site comes down because of an error made by your web host, your site gets hacked or hit by malware, or, like me, you try to add a plugin to your blog and you crash it, you need to be able to get up and running as soon as possible!

To back up your website you can download a free copy of FileZilla and download all the files to the hard drive on your computer. If you can’t do this yourself, your web host can tell you how to back up your site or ask your webmaster to help you. (I always call my webmaster, Toolie, she has helped me out of many jams.) 

Regarding your blog, if you are on Blogger, you can go into “Settings” and “Export your blog” and download a copy to your computer.

If you have a Wordpress self-hosted site, there are many plugins you can install that will automatically back up your files according to your schedule.

For Facebook, you can request a download by going to Account then Account Settings using the top right menu.

Scroll down to Download a copyof your Facebook data and click on it. On next page, read the information on the page and click on the Start My Archive button.

Facebook will send a download link to the email address associated with your account. You click on the link, enter your Facebook password, and click on the Download button to download a zip file that has all of your Facebook profile information.

You can also use a service such as Backupify that allows you up to back up three social media accounts for free.

Don’t risk losing your hard work, make and keep updated versions of all of your online information.

Most brides, whether they on a small wedding budget or a large one, love to find ways to save money. As a wedding planner, you should be able to give them tips on how they can do this. Last month I wrote a post with 5 ideas for cutting wedding costs. The Winter 2012 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine has more tips that you can use and share with your brides.

Here are 5 more ideas on how to cut costs:

1) Select a venue that is “all-inclusive”

Rather than choosing a site that requires the bride to bring in all of the items needed to set up her ceremony and reception, choose a place that has just about everything she needs. This means she doesn’t have to rent tables, chairs, china, flatware, linens, a stage, dance floor, and a sound system.

2) Don’t splurge on the tablecloths

Guests have more contact with the napkins. Rent the best ones the bride can afford.

3) Have a lunch or brunch instead of a dinner

These meals are usually less expensive and not all guests will want to drink a lot of alcoholic beverages during the day.

4) Rent high-quality stemware for serving wine

Stemware made of high quality crystal or thin glass enhances the experience of drinking wine so the bride can serve a less expensive brand at her reception.

5) Expensive flowers should only be used in the bridal bouquet

If you bride has her heart set on a type of flower that is very expensive, suggest she use it only in her own bouquet. This will keep her costs low while still giving her the blooms she loves. A florist can help select flowers that are in season and locally grown, and therefore less expensive, for her attendants and for the decor.

There are more cost cutting tips in the magazine, including ideas on how your brides can save money on their wedding dresses, accessories, hair, and makeup.