Event Management & Wedding Planner (Level 4) Diploma Course

Our distance learning Event Management & Wedding Planning course teaches you everything you need to know to enter a successful career in event management or wedding planning. This home study course is an excellent way to gain the knowledge and skills you need to organise and oversee all kinds of large events, from weddings and parties to corporate events.

Our home study course is the ideal starting point if you’re considering beginning a potentially lucrative career in event management. As with all our distance learning courses, you can work on your event management course wherever and whenever you please, progressing through the course at your own pace and in your own time.

Love weddings? Want to run them yourself? Start a successful business? Then this is the course for you.

It covers all the basics of wedding planning and then how to move your new skills on to start your own successful business. This course is an ideal stepping stone to running your own business.It is split into small sections to make studying both easy and convenient. Plus, don’t forget your tutor will also be available to help every step of the way.

Search over 37,000 suppliers, service providers, venues and artistes in more than 400 categories. It is the ultimate search engine for event industry professionals providing specific and comprehensive information in an easy to use format.

How is the course structured? 
The Level 4 in Event Management & Wedding Planner course is divided into five comprehensive modules:

Module 1: Facing challenges
Support – Finances – SWOT analysis – Naming your business - Tax – and why having an accountant makes business sense - VAT – and whether registration is right for your business - Insurance – why it is safer to be protected - Financial management - Business plans - Basics of a business plan - Professional presentation goes a long way – Banks – Grants – Business angels - Venture capitalists – the ‘Dragons Den’-type relationship - Now you have the money – how do you manage it - Balance sheet – Assets – Liabilities - Long-term liabilities - Short-term liabilities - Budgeting for your events/weddings - Sample budgets – Business plan - Employing People - Specialist recruitment agency - How to end an employee’s job - What is the risk assessment process? - Pre-event staff briefing - Venue design and layout - Slips, trips and falls – how to avoid them - Obstacles and making sure walkways are clear - Footwear – choosing functionality over fashion - Work undertaken by subcontractors/ supply partners - Basic rules for dealing with an emergency - Ethical events, Music and Alcohol licensing - Support environmentally conscious and sustainable businesses - Calculate and offset your carbon emissions - National framework for sustainable events

Module 2: Planning Successful events
Private Client events - Planning successful events - Dealing with your budget - Creating the perfect ‘look and feel’ - Table decorations - Theming your event - Managing your venue - Private homes - Marquees to tentipis - Equipment/supply hire versus purchase - Purchasing stock - Suppliers – your extended team - Event Specifications - Planning the timeline of your event - Planning phase - Event phase - Communications with your client - Communication with your suppliers - Communications with your on-site support team - Working with your caterer - Organizing a tasting session with a potential caterer - Look, style and feel for the whole event - The art of successful canapés - Making sure that the paperwork is completed - Large scale events – Festivals – Carnivals – Charity events - Agricultural Shows - Selecting the paper for your project - Management of the invitation process - Tips for choosing a designer

Module 3: Understanding the corporate world 
In-house events – Budget - Planning processes for corporate events - The right supply partners for corporate events - Hospitality involving travel or major sporting events - Tasks for a daytime event: seminar/conference/training session - Themed events - Shared parties – Summer parties - Focus on cohesion - Team building events - Training courses - Advising on sponsorship - Conference Day –

Module 4: Working with your wedding couple
Planning someone’s big day – Communication - Wedding Brief - Religious weddings - Church of England weddings - The legal bits - The ceremony - Catholic weddings - Jewish weddings - Hindu weddings - Buddhist weddings - Sikh weddings - Non-religious ceremonies and overseas weddings – Humanist - Pagan/Celtic wedding - Civil ceremonies - Same sex civil partnerships - Overseas weddings - Planning challenges – Venues - Clothing and hair advice - Wedding Flowers - Wedding Cake – Transport - Wedding Photography – Entertainment - Wedding gift lists – Toastmasters - Selecting a caterer - Sit-down meals – Buffets - Barbecues and hog roasts - Selecting the wine - Bubbles – real champagne or alternative? - Day-by-day countdown - Seating plans - Green weddings – Travel - Green wedding wear - Green wedding invitations - Pros and Cons of a theme

Module 5: Defining your product
Showcasing your talents - Knowing the difference between advertising, PR and advertorials - How do you cope with enquiries following a successful promotional campaign? - Researching your competitors - How and where should you look for your competitors? - Dealing with a less than warm welcome - Starting with a positive attitude - Developing your ‘niche’ - What does a website need to do? - Plan your website carefully - Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and making use of Google Analytics - Know your media - Printed media - Dealing with Journalists - Email marketing - Social networking

Home Study Tutor Support

You will be provided with comprehensive materials designed to provide you with everything required to complete your Event Management & Wedding Planner Diploma course. You will have your own personal tutor helping you with your course work and with any questions you may have. Plus you can contact our Student Advisors by email or phone for all the practical advice you may need – so we really are with you 100%.

What's more, you'll have access to the online student portal, where you can interact with other students, browse our resource library and manage your account.

Course Assessments

The Event Management and Wedding Planner course is marked through a process of continuous assessment guided by your tutor following NCFE guidelines. This means that your qualification will be awarded according to your performance on assessments rather than by taking an exam.

We send the full course out, you then read through the course in your own time and complete the assignments which you send to your tutor for marking. There is no word count for these assignments. However, one sentence answers will be rejected and you will have to re-submit it for marking.

Upon verification of the activities, exercises and assignments, a certificate of achievement will be awarded by the national awarding organisation NCFE, as confirmation that your written work has met all of the learning outcomes and assessment criteria for the programme.

What's Included? What do I get when I enrol?

Your course fee covers everything you will need to successfully complete the Event Management & Wedding Planner home study course and earn your diploma:

1. All textbooks, study folders, and/or online learning aids designed for distance learning
2. A full range of student services, including:

• Tutor marked assessments (TMAs)
• Access to the online student portal (Student Chat, Forums and Online Support Resources)
• NUS Extra Card (discounted membership)
• Comprehensive Study Guide & Study Plan
• Guide to Effective Study Techniques
• How to approach exams without fear

3. An accredited Diploma upon successful course completion directly from the awarding body NCFE
4. One year's educational support by e-mail, post, fax or phone
5. Free postage and packaging for UK mainland students

The good news is that no prior learning knowledge or experience is essential to take this course.  This course is openly available to anyone wishing to learn more about Event Management & Wedding Planning and would like to take part in a highly rewarding home study course. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and study further, so we try to keep our entry requirements to a minimum.

Wedding Planner

A wedding planner's job is to help busy couples have the wedding they want. This could mean organising the whole wedding from start to finish, or just certain aspects of the day.