Planning a Friend's wedding.......

September is proving to be a hot month in Nairobi so far a perfect weather for weddings here.Since I'm all about weddings so I'm more interested in what it takes to plan a friend's wedding. Its said that friends can help you launch your career and most people who start small rely on friends to get the word out there about their work and most of the time they are not so tough on how many clients you have handled like complete strangers are.

Planning a friend's wedding the Nairobi way. Let's explore a typical scenario....You have a friend whose wedding is coming up. By you I refer to vendors_florist,tent and decor supplier, DJ and music, photographer, video person, private venue hire, and they call you and not only say are interested in your services but most times would like to involve you in the committee that helps them raise money for their wedding so the question is: How do you join the committee and still make money for your business?





As a friend to the bride and groom if you have an established business and wouldn't hurt your business there are several ways to go about this you could:-

• Offer your services as a gift to the bride and groom and not charge them. That can get you out of the committee but still support the couple on their big day.
• Instead of contributing cash to the bride and groom you could give your services at really reduced prices which you wouldn't normally do so for other clients or would normally reject clients on such budgets.
• Another alternative would be to offer cash towards their wedding and your services at friendly rates but you have got to be at a comfortable place business wise to go this direction especially if you settle for a substancial amount to offer the couple for their wedding.

For a start up business not established I consider option 2 as a way to get your business out there. Even if its a friend's wedding its important to work out a contract because you are still running business  at the end of the day.It protects the couple also at the end of the day. Remember the planning started out as friend helping friend whether for free or paid at a reduced rate and at the end of the wedding, the still want to remain friends not foes.