By Tonia Adleta, PBC™, Aribella Events - Frank J. Andonoplas, MWP™, Frank Event Design - Alan Berg, www.AlanBerg.com - Donnie Brown, Donnie Brown Weddings and Events -Merryl Brown, CWP™, Merryl Brown Events - Mark Kingsdorf, MBC™, Mission Inn Resorts - Carmen Mesa, MBC™, Carmen Mesa Weddings and Events, Inc. -Shelby Tuck-Horton, MBC™, Exquisite Expressions and EventsQ: “What steps should a person take to get started in the destination wedding business?”- Anonymous A: “Having book and class training is great, but it’s not a substitute for actually planning destination weddings. Start networking with other destination wedding planners, and offer to help them, even if it’s for free, to learn the ropes.”- Alan“Number one is to educate yourself! Make professional connections in the destination where you want to plan the weddings. If it’s out of the country, visit first. Learn what is required with regards to residency prior to the ceremony, legal documents the couple will need and when, work permits that are required, what can be brought in, and what resources are available in that country.”- Carmen“For anything that I do, I like to start with research. Talk to others already providing destination-wedding services to learn more about it and if it is something that you really want to do. It would be worth the investment of time and resources to gain insight beforehand. There are also books available on destination wedding planning, as well as online seminars, classes, travel blogs, and other resources.”- ShelbyQ: “What is your favorite social media outlet and why?”- Nicole Zenner, LK Events, ChicagoA: “I have a lot of followers on Facebook. I really don’t have time to do all social media as so many do. It doesn’t seem to hurt me. One is enough for me. I have my Twitter just pick up whatever I post on Facebook.”- Frank“I like Facebook and Instagram because they both can draw traffic to your website, help build and develop relationships, personalize the business, invite engagement, and offer another place on the web where prospects and clients can find information about the company.”- Shelby“I finally succumbed to the Facebook pressure when I was laid off from my corporate job and was committing myself to full-time self-employed. It filled a gap in my social community and reconnected me on a daily basis with people who are very close in relationship but scattered around the world, so Facebook will always have a special place in my heart—personally. For business, with all of the regulations changes, I don’t use it as often as I should/could. Instagram is an absolute perfect fit for our industry, however. It’s quick, social, beautiful, and a great opportunity to showcase work and include fellow ‘friendors’ (vendor friends), with whom you collaborate often.” - ToniaQ: “How do you see wedding planning evolving in the next 10 years?”- Nicole Zenner, LK Events, ChicagoA: “That’s a great question, and one that I’m not certain how to answer. Wedding planning has really changed in the last 20 years, so I am sure it will change dramatically in the next 10. Almost every week, if not every day, someone is developing an app, a program, or service that helps with many aspects of the planning process. You can find an abundance of information about wedding planning on television, blogs, and the Internet. With all of that information, there is still a need for planners to help guide couples through the wedding planning process. So maybe, in 10 years, with information overload, there will still be a need for the personal touch, guidance, creativity, wisdom and ‘know-how’ that wedding planners offer.”- Shelby“Mobile, mobile, mobile. Any techie will tell you that the world is going mobile and global and, in many ways, is already there. I fully expect that most of the planning process (research, inspiration, checklists, etc.) will be done on mobile devices, even more so than now. The romantic and idealist in me would like to think that we keep certain elements, like the beautiful paper invitations and elegant décor—and that we will always prefer to celebrate in person—but looking at the changes over the last 10 years, that’s not a bet I would make. Who knows? Maybe all of the tech advances will drive people to hold fast to the small details and the intimacy of face-to-face experiences. Either way, there is no denying the influence that the tech industry has on society as a whole, including our celebrations.”- Tonia“For one who has been doing this for 22 years, I have seen so much change recently. I think it’s all due to the media—both social and public. There is a huge surge of new planners as the media makes this look like a ‘fun’ career, but most do not actually make it. Once people understand the truth, that the job has long hours, unimaginable stress, and that you need to spend so much money to make money, I think this trend will taper off, and the strong will remain standing. I also see a lot of other organizations coming along to assist us as an industry.” - Frank Q. “What should you do when your business has grown more than you can do on your own? What is the next step—employees, multi weddings? Is the next step worth it?”- Elisa MacKenzie, MBC™, Elegant Events, Covington, Ky.A: “At that point, you have to decide what you want your business to look like in five years. Do you want employees? Adding employees means managing employees, payroll, etc., but it also means being able to handle more business. If you have more business than you can handle, then you probably have pricing power and can raise your rates. The only ways to make more money are to do more weddings or to charge more. If you’re already maxed out, you need to either add more services, which you may not be able to handle, or charge more. I suggest at that point you charge more.”- Alan“When I first started my business, I worked alone. However, it did not take long to realize I needed help. There are several ways to build a team. I chose to have one team member who became my associate in the business. The other members of the team were either interns, students I had trained, or ABC novice members who were willing to work for the experience and learning opportunity. I also hired virtual assistants to help with the administrative tasks.”-Shelby“I don’t want to be that big. My philosophy is one weekend, one wedding. It’s how I’ve branded myself. Yes, clients pay for that luxury, but they find the peace of mind is worth it.”- Frank “I have had a full-time staff of four for several years, and I could not do what I do without them! It is only worth it to have staff if you have enough work to keep everyone very busy and if you charge enough to be profitable.”- Merryl“I was taking on only the weddings I could personally handle and planned on keeping it that way. I was referring booked dates to other planners I was friends with and soon realized they were not reciprocating and were giving the weddings to new interns who were booked as planners. I quickly realized that my assistants were much better than many of the new planners in the region so I started to grow the team. It was time.”- Mark