Wedding Planner

Many people take a year to plan one wedding — Paula Majstorovic (pictured) plans about 15 a year. “Some weekends you have three or four on,” the wedding planner says. “Although that’s not [always] full co-ordination. You might be just organising the decorations, or finding stationery.”

But for the full service, Majstorovic commands an average fee of $4000. A wedding takes her about 80 hours to organise and includes taking the bride to find ceremony and reception sites, photographers and dresses, paying people on her behalf, and being by her side on “the big day”.

“In the beginning, you have to create the wedding day in their minds,” Majstorovic says. “On the day, it’s a very early start and a very late finish. It’s almost like you are a personal assistant to the bride — you’re trying to reduce their stress.”

It’s also her job to engage florists, decorators and caterers as required. Unsurprisingly, her favourite brides are expats. “Brides who are based overseas and who are coming back here with family are great because they’re not the traditional Muriels who ring you 20 or 30 times a day,” Majstorovic says. “It happens. It truly does.”

Qualifications: Wedding planner Paula Majstorovic (pictured) has just released an e-course that teaches you how to become a wedding planner online. Majstorovic says the comprehensive program lets you study at your own pace and is a good option for people wanting a career change. The course also explains how to set up a business, increase its size and turn it into a viable, profitable enterprise.

Course description: The Wedding Planner e-course includes five modules, emailed every two weeks, and covers the following topics: getting started, dealing with clients and service providers, how to plan a wedding, letting others know about you, and bringing it all together. The course also includes access to audio and written teleconference coaching calls, continual ongoing email support (even after you have completed the course), an e-newsletter and forum dedicated solely to those working through the course. Other bonuses include a legal contract template pack, as well as Majstorovic’s list of service providers.

Costs: The course is priced at $1197 (which also includes postage and handling within Australia).

From the inside: Majstorovic says that in the past three years, the number of couples hiring wedding planners has doubled. “It’s a lucrative and growing industry,” she says. “Figures indicate there are more than 110,000 weddings in Australia each year. The average cost of a wedding exceeds $42,000.”