Have you always known you wanted to become a wedding planner? Or maybe you stumbled onto a TLC TV show and just realized this dream job even exists? No matter where your journey begins, starting a side hustle as a wedding planner is INCREDIBLY EXCITING, and I am so glad your Google search led you here. Whether you’re looking to make some extra money on the weekends or dream of building a six or seven-figure wedding planning empire, you are in the right place–especially if you want to become a wedding planner on a budget.
In fact, I think we just became best friends. As someone who started their own wedding planning business many years ago (and on a whim!), I know what it’s like to become a wedding planner on a budget (but also not LOOK like you are on a budget). Today, I’m going to share 6 steps for you to kick off this exciting new side hustle on a budget!
1. Write a Wedding Planner Business Plan
If you know me at all, you knew this was coming. I’m that wild business coach that’s not going to tell you to sit there and manifest what you want, but rather, to create a strategic business plan outlining what you need to do to go out there and get it. Don’t worry – I’m not asking for 200 pages here (this isn’t shark tank), but you do need to take the time to look at your current market, research competitors, and see where YOU fit in.
Because I know this isn’t sexy, I’ve done what I can to make it easier. You can download my free wedding planner business plan template to tell you exactly what you need to include in yours (there are 12 sections!), and I will even send you periodic check-in emails to make sure you are getting it done. Sound good? Did I mention it’s free? Grab your business plan outline here.
2. Figure Out How Much It’s Going to Cost You To Become A Wedding Planner On a Budget
I know you are trying to become a wedding planner on a budget and trust me, I respect the hustle. Your next step is Identifying which costs are crucial for getting your business up and running. And guess what? I have a post that breaks down the 8 things I think are non-negotiables when you start your side hustle as a wedding planner, and how much it costs to become a wedding planner.
The truth is, you can spend as much or as little as you want to get started (that’s the beauty of starting a business in 2023), but especially when you think about starting your business as a side hustle: time is money. It’s not a bad idea to invest some funds from your 9-5 to help build your business more quickly if your end goal is to leave your 9-5. You have less time to DIY your business, so use what you DO have to your advantage.
3. Create Your Brand Identity
I have to be honest with you: your brand IS important, but too many people spend time fussing over the smallest details and not enough time taking action and putting themselves out there to book clients. You can always elevate your brand later (although a word to the wise: I’m also not the kind of business coach that will encourage you to rebrand every year… that’s just busy work, my friend!).
As you get started in your side hustle to become a wedding planner on a budget, start thinking about your logo, website design, social media presence, and other essential elements of branding.
Branding can feel overwhelming, so here are a few places to start:
- For your website, I am a BIG fan of Tonic website templates (and as a bonus: you can use the code CANDICE for 15% off!)
- I love the social media templates you can find on Creative Market.
- Looking for photos to use? While you can always find free stock photos, I do recommend investing in a subscription to something like Haute Stock or Styled Stock Society for a more cohesive feel to your branding!
Creating a brand identity that reflects who you are as a professional wedding planner is one of the first steps to starting your business. With that said, this is NOT somewhere you want to get stuck. Your business will evolve, and that’s a GOOD thing. Don’t get stuck on figuring it all out and trying to make sure everything is perfect before you even get your foot in the door.
4. Find Places to Advertise For Free Or On A Budget
You don’t really have a business until you have your first customer. When you are first starting your wedding planning business as a side hustle, you may want to focus on utilizing free marketing platforms like social media or asking friends and family for word-of-mouth referrals whenever possible. If paid advertising does fit into your budget, you may want to look into options like Google Ads or Facebook Ads but don’t feel like you have to start there.
Can I tell you a little secret? One of the ways I started to get customers when I first started to become a wedding planner on a budget was through my blog. It’s still one of the main ways new potential customers (now wedding planners like YOU) find me today! Do not overlook this KEY free marketing channel just because it offers less instant gratification than platforms like Instagram.
5. Network & Connect With Other Vendors
I can attribute networking with other vendors as one of the BIGGEST factors in my success early on in my business (did I humble brag about how I made it to 6 figures in the first two years yet? Money isn’t everything, but it sure is nice!). Get yourself out there by attending local networking events and connecting with vendors on Instagram who can help refer clients to you. Who in your area is already booking the people you are dreaming about working with?
I feel like if you are reading this you take your business seriously enough that I don’t have to mention this, but I also know what it’s like to have so much excitement over your new business that you can’t see straight. ALWAYS approach networking from a place of “What can I offer?” instead of “What can I get?”. The connections I made early on in my business were instrumental in my success early on, but they are still some of my closest friends over a decade later.
Ready to Launch Your Wedding Planning Business (and Actually Book Clients)?
If you’re serious about becoming a wedding planner but you’re overwhelmed by where to start, how much to spend, or whether you’re even doing this right, I want to invite you to my free masterclass: How to Launch a Wedding Planning Business in 60 Days — and Book Your First 5 Clients.
Inside, I’ll show you:
- The biggest mistake new planners make when launching (and what to do instead).
- The 4-step framework to go from “I have an idea” to “I just booked my first real client”
- The ONE thing you need to know that helps with services, pricing, and booking
- How to start booking clients—without a logo, portfolio, or years of experience.
- The easiest way to launch a legit planning business even if you’re starting from scratch
This free class will give you the step-by-step roadmap you wish Google could, plus the confidence to stop playing small and finally start the business you’ve been dreaming about!!
👉 Save your seat here — it’s totally free
You don’t need a fancy logo, thousands of followers, or a business degree to make this work.
You just need a plan, and I’ve got one ready for you.
Explore More Wedding Industry Resources
- How to Start a Wedding Planning Business
- What Does A Wedding Coordinator Do? Here’s Everything They’re Responsible For
- How to Start an Event Planning Business
- How to Become a Certified Wedding Planner
- Are You a Disorganized Wedding Planner? Let’s Fix That With These Organized Wedding Planner Tips!
- How to Become a Wedding Planner with No Experience
- Is Month-of Wedding Coordinator A Niche? The Truth About This Wedding Planning Service
- A Complete List of Wedding Planner Expenses
- What You Need More Than Another Wedding Planner Course
- How to go From Side Hustle to Full-time Wedding Planner
- Day of Coordination: The Pros and Cons as a Wedding Planner
- How To Get Wedding Clients When You’re Just Starting Out
- What A Business Plan Will REALLY Reveal About Your Business
- How Much Should You Charge As A Wedding Planner? Learn How To Figure Out Your Wedding Planner Pricing
- It’s Time For You To Launch Your Shit. But Here’s What’s Holding You Back
- 5 Contracts Every Wedding Planner Must Have To Be Legally Set
For More Wedding Industry Business Secrets, Follow Me on Instagram
no thoughts just boss 💅
photography @c10ike (aka my co-boss)
Nobody is coming to choose you or your business.
I said this to a student last month who had been in the business for years. Her process was dialed in. She had weddings on the books. But the work she was getting didn’t reflect what she was actually capable of, and she’d been waiting for the right client to come along and finally give her the chance to prove it.
That’s not how it works.
If you want to be booked for the work you actually want to do, you have to start showing it. Styled shoots. Venue tour reels. A post that says “manifesting this venue for my next dream couple.”
If you sit around and wait for a dream client to pick you so that you can prove what you’re capable of, you’re going to be waiting around a long time.
On the flip side…
Another client told me how she pivoted out of the $70K weddings she didn’t want by telling two prospective clients their budget was actually going to be $120K.
Both signed.
She didn’t wait for permission. She decided. She chose.
I want you to do the same.
What’s one thing you could post this week that shows the work you want to be hired for — not the work you currently have?
Last month I hosted my mastermind retreat for women in the wedding industry in a very special place: my home!
I got the guts to do this last Spring after reading a book by @oliverburkeman_ called Meditations for Mortals (a book so important I actually gifted it to all the attendees!).
There’s a phrase in the book that became my inspo for this retreat, and it’s called scruffy hospitality.
The gist: don’t wait until your house is perfect to invite people in. If you wait that long, you’ll never invite anyone in.
I knew that having the women I coach 1:1 in my home for a week to talk about business, share meals, drinks, learn, and laugh would be more meaningful than a fancy hotel or conference room.
And that’s because something special happens when we are invited into another persons sacred space. We feel a deeper connection to them and ourselves.
The whole book is structured around the idea that perfectionism is the thing stopping most of us from actually doing the work that matters.
Waiting for the house to be perfect before you have anyone over for dinner is just one flavor of it.
On the podcast, I shared more about the retreat and the story of why I host it here — episode 202 if you’re interested.
It got me thinking about YOU and what you might be delaying in your life or business because it’s not perfect yet.
Many of us are waiting for the business to be perfect, the website to be perfect, the portfolio to be perfect before we invite people in.
But what if you’re meant to invite people in now, when things (and you) are not perfect? What would that change for you, and what opportunities could you receive because of it?
Xo,
C
Photography by @c10ike 💜💜💜
WHAT a week. WHAT a group. WHAT a privilege.
The WPI Spring Retreat 2026 in Barbados is officially in the books and I’m still floating!! Five days of strategy, sun, sisterhood, and entirely too many beautiful conversations with seventeen women who I am wildly, ridiculously lucky to coach.
When you become a coach, nobody tells you that the cup goes both ways.
I poured into them all week, and they poured right back into me.
I learned something from every single one of them. About leadership. About refinement. About what it looks like to build a business and a life on your own terms without flinching.
I am more convinced than ever that this is my purpose. Being a guide for women who are writing their own stories is the work I was made for and I feel SO grateful that I get to do this.
If you’ve been craving a community of women who actually GET what you’re building, come talk to me. WPI is the room I wish I had at every stage of my career, and the door is open.
And if you’re the one building a room for others, please keep building. The women who need you are out there. Make a seat for them.
To my WPI clients: I love you. Thank you for one of the best weeks of my life!
Not pictured: @c10ike, the most amazing friend and our official retreat photographer! 💜💜💜
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