Who to become a successful Wedding Freelancer in India.

Earn money on a per-event basis, charge hourly or daily rates for their work. Freelance work is usually short-term and depends on the lengths of projects undertaken.To be a wedding freelancer, as fancy as it sounds, requires some finesse and skills to manoeuvre and shine in the fast and fabulous wedding world. Here are the key pointers.

1. Multi-Tasking and Time Management

Wedding Freelancing is different from working in an office environment; nobody will check in on you, so there is less pressure on you.

At the same time, you’ll have to keep your own schedule to keep things at pace. For example, in a day you will need to work on projects, run client meetings, deal with invoices, follow-up with potential clients, etc.

Staying calm, focused, and flexible are attributes of a successful multitasker.

2. Communication

Well, undeniably communication is a key skill in this industry. Especially for freelancers, who spend a lot of time in communication with their clients, vendors and service providers.

Communication requires patience and different tones for different situations and people. A freelancer should have a versatile communication style, they should know how to tackle clients, vendors, labours. This applies to both verbal, written communication and listening.

3. Teamwork

Collaboration is the name of the game today.

Teamwork is a collaboration between individuals with different skills. You’ll need to prove that you’re a team player at the same time able to take on your individual responsibilities as well. It’s about building positive working relationships so that everyone achieves their goals and objectives.

The beauty of teamwork is the efficiency that comes with motivation, emotional support and camaraderie that sparks creativity and makes work seem easier in the wedding world.

The stronger the teamwork, the best the results.

4. Negotiation and persuasion

These are key qualities found in managers and people who are their own bosses(you, freelancers!)

If you consider yourself good at bargaining(a more familiar synonym for negotiation), then you possess an important freelancing skill.

Freelancers must be able to negotiate a contract with companies or get the best possible deal both when landing contracts and getting your clients the best value for their money.

Quick note:

A freelancer is a person who does not belong to a company, organization, etc. but contracts freely according to work. Popular freelance professions in the wedding world include planners, photographers, designers, makeup artists, etc., and these people often work individually, and make use of their own raw talent.

The different kinds of freelancing jobs

What kind of role can you do as a freelancer in the wedding business

1. Full-time freelancers:

They are the ones who make all of their income from freelance and do not have any other full-time job.

2. Contract Freelancers:

These freelancers work with companies or on projects for a stipulated period of time.

3. Side Hustle Freelancers:

These are the people who have full-time jobs and freelance on the side. Most content writing freelancers start out this way, although, it is important to check your full-time job contract and see if you can actually freelance, legally.

4. Freelance Business Owners:

They are the people who treat freelancing as a full-blown business. They either work alone or have a team of people helping them manage overall events(in our case weddings) for various clients.

The Pros and Cons of Freelancing

Pro’s

1. Freelancing offers you a lot more freedom and flexibility than a regular desk job.

2. You get to choose the type of work you do & who you work with.

3. You decide how much time you spend on a project, and the location you work from.

4. You get sufficient work-life balance when you are a freelancer.

5. You can charge as per the work that you put in.

Con’s

1. Lack of job stability and (rare)periods of time where you may get no work.

2. Apart from your work, you also need to invest time in administrative responsibilities like marketing yourself, following up on your payments, and chasing clients.

3. Your income depends on the number of events.

4. They do not have an end to end information about planning during weddings.

How much do wedding freelancers charge in India + ways to charge for freelance work?

There are three ways by which freelancers charge their clients.

1. Retainer basis

A freelance retainer is a contractual agreement between a freelancer and a company. The agreement states that the freelancer will work a certain number of days per wedding and get paid accordingly.

2. Charging hourly

This works if you’re dedicating a certain fixed amount of time per wedding to your freelance clients. Here you may set an hourly rate for your freelance skills and the total is calculated by the number of hours it takes you to finish a project/wedding.

3. Charging on a project basis

This is by far the most common method. Most freelancers take cognizance of their skills and account for everything that goes into a project. Project basis is usually when the freelancer sees a particular freelance project end to end.

Get your profile and CV up on platforms like WedJobs, which cater exclusively to your niche work. With WedJobs.in, you can search jobs, know about current job openings and apply for the same easily.