When I started this course, I imagined that most people think bridal planning is similar to Jennifer Lopez's role in The Wedding Planner. Remember that gorgeous office? She never really sweated and lugged around floral arrangements and DJ equipment like I'm sure most wedding planners have. She had her handy kit of mints, safety pins and Xanax to keep the bride and groom peaceful and together on the big day. She did it all with grace.

This isn't to say that a wedding planner can't be graceful, but over the duration of this course, I have seen how difficult it is to be a bridal consultant. The truth is that it's not about picking out flowers and table cards. There are real business concerns to deal with and industry practices that require advanced event planning skills and know-how.

The final installment of the course is in two parts and is called "The Business of Weddings" and it details how involved creating and running a bridal business can be. Luckily, it's also a fun, creative career with benefits beyond imagination.

This section of the course includes useful information on keeping records, paying taxes, setting up your fees, closing sales, marketing, creating contracts, running consultation meetings, and more. You'll get all the basic information on taking a business idea into a real business. Including the age-old debate over whether you should become an LLC or a corporation--or stay as a sole proprietorship. Then there are more creative things such as setting up a business logo and creating marketing collateral. While these things can be fun and enable you to set the tone for your business, they are also vital to business success. As is marketing, which involves getting out into the community.

Then there is the inevitable--dealing with bridezillas. And if the bride isn't crazed you're sure to find a family member, who happens to be footing the bill, that you'll have to deal with. All of these involve being a professional bridal planner with her eye on the prize--the perfect day for her couple.

After going through the entire course, it's clear to see that there's a lot involved. There's setting up a business and then there are industry-specific things, such as forming partnerships and alliances with other wedding vendors, participating in bridal shows and getting exclusive industry information. You'll also need to consider if you'll need "day of" coordinators or if you will handle everything yourself. How will you deal with a growing business--will you expand your staff or raise your prices or be more choosy with projects? These are all important considerations.

It's not going to be easy, potential wedding planners. But after seeing all of what goes into a bridal consultancy business, it's clear that all the hard work is worth it!

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Here's where wedding planning--or at least learning how to make a career in this field--gets fun. I'm on Lesson 9, which covers How to Organize a Bridal Show. I'm eager to delve into this and get my hands covered in calla lilies and lace...sort of.

Bridal shows can be profitable, but they're also a lot of work. The goal? To promote your business by bringing together wedding-related vendors for potential brides and brides-to-be. The hope? To secure clients.

So when you set out to plan your "big day," be prepared for the numerous decisions, which can leave any wedding planner feeling as overwhelmed as the bride herself. Will you serve food? Where will you have the fashion show? Will you have speakers? What kind of location is best? How will you promote the show? And how much will it cost?

Let's start with the first thing--setting the date. While shows can go on all year, April, May and June are peak months for bridal shows, as are July, August and September. The book suggests January or March as the best months to host a show.

Once you book a spot, the featured experts and vendors come into play. Choose from a travel agent, interior decorator, DJ, instrumentalist, florist, or beauty consultant to touch on areas of interest for brides. Remember, they're at the show to get their feet wet on what vendors to choose and ideas to implement, so you want to give them many choices to see what's available. You want your experts to complement what you have to offer, so inviting all your bridal consultant friends probably isn't best unless you are feeling competitive.

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I really liked how the guide included a section on costs and estimates. It described how much to charge vendors and develop a formula for the finance aspect of it all. As the guide states, having vendors are your show requires logical, detailed, accurate, and reasonable answers to questions--so the set formula is a must-have. As is a written agreement or upfront payment.

Generally, you want to be able to show the vendor what they're getting for their money, because half of show planning is securing good vendors. Because you'll probably mention them as an event vendor in your advertising campaign, you'll need to factor that into the cost (as you will for the venue and food costs). Divide the total cost by the number of vendors and that's a solid start.

But don't just ask vendors/experts to come--plan ahead so they know where they're going. See how many booths or tables you can accommodate and see how much room the vendors will need. Some may pass out brochures about their DJ service, for example, while others wil want to set up a small stage complete with stage lights and will require more space. These are important considerations so you'll need to communicate effectively with vendors and the venue representative. You'll want to work with your venue to make sure the floor map is organized and each vendor has a marked area.

Of course you can have a fashion show, so you'll need to coordinate with bridal boutiques in the area. Most are probably happy to get the chance to promote their business and their products, and can even help you find models for the garments.

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The book also gives a list of things to do before the show--you know, all those little details such as having name tags set out and rehearsing any presentations.

Overall, I like the idea of a section on how to do a bridal show. These event work wonders to promote a bridal consultant's business. With a little organization, they can be a real success. Not to mention you'll get to see flowers and gowns, which in time you will surely get tired of. But it is nice to see it all come together.

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Before I moved on to the 3rd shipment, it was time for my independent research project. I had to research caterers in my area. Sounded like a drudging task, but really, it was helpful. Especially when it comes time to use those caterers in my wedding business. If I were to really have one, which I won't. Still, I can see why this is a very useful application in the course. Plus, it starts to get your feet wet in the industry. Next, it was on to creating a three-month novice memberships with the Association of Bridal Consultants. These were certainly two things that will get any wedding-planner-to-be on his or her feet.

Now, on to Lesson 6, The Role of a Consultant.

This part lists the skills and qualities a consultant should have and also touches on a consultant acting as a counselor, too. While you won't be offering marita advice, questions arise during the weddiing planning about the rite of passage that is marriage. It's vital to have good listening and boundary-making skills because you don't want to get in the middle of a family fued or a couple's tiff. I liked this section but feel that this is where the course started to get disorganized. I mean, we were just learning about the business aspect; now we're back to cultural norms. Then back to a generalization of what the consultant does. While the information is useful, I think it could be better organized.

Next, I learned about the different qualities a consultant should have in the bridal industry:

• Analytical thinking
• Social communications
• Assurance
• Appearance
• Administration and organization

The consultant must also garner business, so we're going back into the technical end of things. Networking was covered, as was getting the first sale. Then a section on your image as a bridal consultant. Things like your personal branding are important. What's your angle as a wedding planner? Are you more affordable or do you want to specialize in high-end affairs? These are all things that must be thought of when you get into marketing your business--you've got to brand yourself, too!

Now, it gets tricky. Because I went into the topic of setting fees. The guide says that some plannrs charge the bride a fixed fee but others charge on a per-person basis. How do you know what to do? Figure out what you're worth, and what your time is worth, the guide advises. A great formula for figuring out your hourly rate will help. Also, call other firms in the area and see how they handle their pricing. You'll be able to gauge where you should be, and no one said you can't raise your rates as you get more experienced.

This was the only section so far that didn't make too much sense. Because I already thought we learned about contracts and now there's more. I wish they'd put it in one section. But overall, the course is very thorough and I can see why it's successful!

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