September is always an exciting month at Magic Dust, combining as it does, some sensational late Summer weddings and a lot of forward-planning for the following year. We're certainly not ones to wake up on New Year's Day thinking, "Shoot, we've got weddings to plan THIS year!"

As well as planning weddings we made a commitment when we launched Magic Dust to challenge the wedding industry to be better, more professional and less intent on seeing £ signs every time the word 'wedding' comes into the equation.

So we're delighted that our Wedding Planner Master Classes have become so popular and, thanks to the positive feedback we have received from every single attendee over the years, we know that it's a combination of the course content - focusing, unlike many other courses, on the importance of a strong business foundation for your wedding planning company - and the face-to-face access to an experienced, professional wedding planner who really wants Master Class attendees to succeed.

After all, the more wedding planners there are who work with a similar ethos to Magic Dust, the easier it is for us to ensure that more couples getting married have access to the right type of wedding planners. Ones who focus on the couple getting married, listening to what they need and making sure they deliver it, delighting them with exemplary customer service and proving to be an invaluable resource and support every step of the way.

So, if you're interested in becoming a professional, successful wedding planner, check out the new Master Class dates for Spring 2010, just released on our website, and book your place. Who knows, you may even be selected to join our Mentoring Programme and become one of a select few who enjoy regular coaching, support and advice from Tammy as you build and develop your new career.

Until next time,

Labels: becoming-a-wedding-planner, testimonial

At Magic Dust we don't just help couples to have the wedding they want, rather than the one other people think they should have, we also coach and develop new wedding planners as they set up their own businesses. We're passionate about changing the, often justified, reputation of wedding planners and the wedding industry in general, by focusing on the importance of keeping the couple getting married as your sole focus at all times.

Our Master Classes buck the trend in traditional wedding planning courses because they're face-to-face with an experienced, working wedding planner, there are never more than 8 people on each course, and they don't cost a fortune.

The day is full of really useful tips & advice, based on actual experience, and here's just 3 of the things course attendees enjoy...

1) The knowledge that a piece of paper saying that you have completed an online, distance-learning course in wedding planning and paid a lot of money for the privilege, is of little or no value to couples getting married where relationships, experience & integrity count for so much more.

2) The understanding of the importance of treating your wedding planning company as a business rather than a hobby right from the start. Taking the time to research your idea thoroughly, build a strong business strategy around your findings and give people what they want rather than what you think they want, is crucial. If you want to be a wedding planner just because you loved planning your own wedding it's time to stop and think about the long-term plans for what currently sounds like a hobby rather than a business.

3) Being a wedding planner is a hugely rewarding career but it's hard work over a long period of time and is most definitely not a get rich quick scheme. You are only as good as the last wedding you planned and, unlike most businesses, you need to be able to constantly attract new customers because the ones you have will only use you once, hopefully! We give you tried and tested tips for the best ways to do this.

I received an email yesterday from one of the wedding planners on our Mentoring Programme, sending me her first client testimonial. It's these moments, as much as receiving our own client testimonials, that makes us so sure that we are doing the right thing by challenging the wedding planning industry to change. A thank you letter, full of praise, from a happy couple is worth so much more than a framed 'certificate' on your office wall - I know which we would rather show potential clients!

If you're interested in booking a place on our "Be a Wedding Planner Master Class" please do get in touch and we'll happily chat about how this will help you. To introduce our new private Master Classes where you'll enjoy one-to-one tuition with me, you can book one at the same price as the group Master Class (to take place Monday-Friday before the end of September 2009).

We look forward to helping you build the wedding planning company that you want to run, not the one that the industry thinks you should have.

Until next time,

Labels: becoming-a-wedding-planner, tips

Wow, wedding season really is in full swing now - Bank Holidays? What Bank Holidays? We've had a great week, from fun-filled 'Girls Night In' wedding planning sessions, to venue searches and decoration proposals, interspersed with some wonderful one-to-ones with our Mentoring Programme members.

Not only that, we've also uncovered a couple of real gems that I just have to share with you. If knowing about either of these suppliers makes just one couple stress a little bit less during their wedding planning, then I'll be happy!

If you're looking for a special place to get married and hold your reception in a spectacular part of Northern Ireland, or simply want somewhere beautiful to stop for wedding photos after a church ceremony, look no further. Not only is Glendarragh House completely stunning, it's only 5 minutes from the City of Derry and, better still, it's owned and run by a very dear friend of a friend who doesn't give out recommendations easily. I know the glowing report I've had is thoroughly deserved and I urge you to contact them for one of their beautiful brochures which perfectly showcases this hidden gem.

If hunting for the perfect wedding dress is getting you down or you simply want to try on a few more before making your decision, check out Tickled Pink. Based in Maidenhead and with a private showroom that is open by appointment only, Debbie offers a very personal and attentive service. At the moment she has some wedding dresses in stock that are ridiculously affordable, and they're not all on her website so do feel free to call if you're looking for something in particular or just want a chat with someone who's friendly, professional and passionate about what she does.

We're excited about running another Wedding Planners Master Class Course tomorrow in London and meeting 7 more people who are considering a new career as wedding planners. If you're interested in finding out more about this fabulous career, what it takes to be successful and how to avoid the pitfalls, and want to do all this in a single, information-packed day, get in touch and we'll happily talk to you about the dates we have available over the next few months. What's more, you won't have to spend a fortune to gain the inspiration and motivation that has driven many of our Master Class graduates to take their wedding planning dreams to the next level - you could be next!

Until next week, happy planning!

Labels: becoming-a-wedding-planner, supplier, venue

Only 3 days to go so I hope you're all concentrating on enjoying the festivities and have put majority of your wedding plans tasks 'on ice' for at least the next few days?

We'll be sending out our last wedding planning email newsletter of 2008 before Christmas Day with some tips for putting to good use the odd hour or two over the next few days so, if you aren't already a subscriber, please just click here to add your details and we promise to get the newsletter out to you (and never to pass your details on to anyone else!)

It's been another fabulous year for Magic Dust and a real privilege to work with so many fantastic couples, and wonderful suppliers. The list is too long to name-check everyone but, if magicdust have been involved in your wedding planning this year - be it in a big or a small way - we'd like to say an enormous thank you to you for letting us do what we love, and in doing so, to help you enjoy the ones you love without worrying unduly about everything going to plan!

I'd also like to thank those budding wedding planners who have attended our Magic Dust Wedding Planners Master Classes this year. It's been a real joy to meet so many of you and I'm delighted that, by launching the magicdust Mentoring Programme in January 2009, I'm going to have the chance to work with a number of you as you set up and develop your own fabulous wedding planning companies. I'm also looking forward to meeting many more of you in 2009 as we take our Master Classes nation-wide for the first time.

I'd like to send out an especially big 'Congratulations' to Kim and Emma - Magic Dust's final couple of the year - who are tying the knot on Sunday 28th December. It's been an absolute joy to work with you both and I know you're going to have the most wonderful day - don't worry about a single thing except enjoying yourselves!

All that remains is for me to thank you, our regular blog readers, for following our progress through these missives over the year. I hope that they've given you a real insight into the daily work of a magicdust wedding planner, and that you can see our 'refreshing, simple and invaluable' approach to everything we do for what it is - a way of life and second nature to us!

I look forward to working with more fantastic couples during 2009 - to those already booked in, it won't be long until we start talking about your wedding being 'this year' (how exciting!); to dealing with more splendid suppliers - and working with some old favourites; to meeting and inspiring more budding wedding planners, and to keeping in touch with you all through the blog, our email newsletter and our 'Ask A Wedding Planner A Question' service.

Above all we are looking forward to continuing to ensure that every couple we work with can relax, enjoy the planning and preparation of the most important day of their life (as well as the day itself of course!), and look forward to a long, happy and healthy marriage, unmarred by the stress and strain of trying to do everything themselves!

The Magic Dust offices will shut at lunchtime on Christmas Eve and we'll be taking some time to recharge our batteries, enjoy Christmas with our family and friends, and in the spirit of Magic Dust, celebrate our own wedding anniversary in style!

The office will reopen on Monday 5th January (the blog will return on Friday 9th January) and we will be checking both email and voicemail during the break so, if you'd like to see if we're free on your wedding date for 'On The Day' wedding co-ordination so you too can relax and enjoy every second of your day and the run-up to it, or you would like to book a place on one of our 2009 Wedding Planners Master Classes or you simply have a wedding planning question that's keeping you awake at night, please get in touch with magicdust - we're here to help!

Until next year,

Labels: becoming-a-wedding-planner, supplier

I love finding new, and different, suppliers who can help you create something special for your wedding reception. I've never been of the opinion that you have to throw money at things in order to have a fantastic celebration that embraces your personalities and Candy4U is no exception!

Fancy a 'candy bar' at your wedding, full of your favourite sweets (the list you can choose from is a big one!)? Perhaps you want table centre pieces that can double up as favours? Candy4U should be your first port of call - from just £4 per head (plus delivery and set-up) they will create something very special for you, and I bet your guests will be talking about it for ages - as well as leaving your wedding with pockets full of humbugs, sherbet lemons and chocolate eclairs!

We have recently announced the first set of dates for our 2009 Wedding Planners Master Classes and the response has been fantastic. If you are looking to become a wedding planner, or know someone who is, then there is no better place to start. Far less of an investment, and infinitely more valuable than the many online 'degree-style' wedding planning courses, this one day class will inspire and motivate you to make your dream a reality and become a successful wedding planner. So why not get in touch and see if we have space available for the Master Class of your choice - we're visiting London, Bath, Cheltenham and Milton Keynes in 2009.

If you'd like to see if we're free on your wedding date for 'On The Day' wedding co-ordination so you too can relax and enjoy every second of your day, or you would like to book a planning session to kick-start your wedding plans or you simply have a question that's been keeping you awake at night, please get in touch - we're here to help!

Until next week,

ps - you can get regular wedding planning advice from magicdust's regular newsletter, simply click here to subscribe (and don't worry, we don't give your details to anyone else - we'll only use them to send you the newsletter)

Labels: becoming-a-wedding-planner, caterer, supplier

November is one of my favourite months of the year as it invites you to look forward to Christmas and to the start of a new year with fresh goals and an invigorated outlook. But whoah there, I hear you cry, there's still 6 weeks until 2009!

True, but those 6 weeks will fly by so now is the time to decide what wedding planning tasks you want to complete before the end of the year so that you can start 2009 on top of everything and raring to go. Better that than waking up with a headache on New Year's Day in a complete panic!

This week I've been preparing for our pre-Christmas wedding planning sessions. By working through outstanding tasks and allocating each one a deadline and a person who will be responsible for making sure it gets done, these lucky couples will whiz through their 'To Do' lists in time to put all thoughts of wedding planning to one side and enjoy the Christmas holiday. They'll be able to treat their friends and family to conversations that don't revolve around colour schemes, cake flavours and catering choices and that can only be a good thing!

I've been shopping this week with a bride-to-be who asked for my help in choosing venue decorations for their December 2009 wedding. Yes, you read that right, December 2009! We had a great day out in London checking out the Christmas departments in John Lewis, Liberty and House of Fraser, among other places and we didn't buy a thing.

But, what we did do was note down all the things that she loved so that, come the January sales, this particular bride-to-be will be first in line for the bargains that will decorate her venue beautifully and ensure that their budget works as hard as it possibly can. My idea of a fantastically productive day out!

I've also been busy organising our Wedding Planner Master Classes for 2009, where anyone who wants to become a wedding planner spends an entire day with Magic Dust, and comes away with the direction they need to start a career in wedding planning & coordination..

The pre-registration system has worked incredibly well and everyone who registered has already received prior notification of the 2009 dates. They will be announced on the website next week but, if you'd like to maximise your chances of securing a place, pre-register here and we'll send you the details before they go on general release.

And talking of Master Classes, I'll be hosting the penultimate one of 2008 this Sunday and I can't wait! It promises to be a fun and informative day that will inspire the attendees to launch their own successful wedding planning companies that focus on the couples getting married, rather than the money they can make out of them. Together we'll keep on challenging the wedding industry to do the same!

If you'd like to check availability for a pre-Christmas planning session, see if we're free on your wedding date for 'On The Day' co-ordination so you too can relax and enjoy every second of your day, or you would like more information about our 2009 Master Class schedule, please get in touch - we're here to help!

Until next week,

ps - you can get regular wedding planning advice from magicdust's regular newsletter, simply click here to subscribe (and don't worry, we don't give your details to anyone else - we'll only use them to send you the newsletter)

Labels: becoming-a-wedding-planner, tips

Labels: becoming-a-wedding-planner