Agent Paula Hardman on selling weddings and honeymoons
Paula Hardman has built a name for herself as a weddings and honeymoons expert. She talks to Abra Dunsby about her success and offers agent tips
Since getting married in Cyprus two-and-a-half years ago, Travel Counsellor Paula Hardman has picked up plenty of business from brides-to-be, booking nuptials in Greece, Cyprus, Mexico and Barbados after joining various wedding forums and publicising her expertise on social media.
“I joined the forums and people started asking for help on there, then all of a sudden I was booking weddings to Olympic Lagoon in Ayia Napa, where I got married,” explains Hardman, who uses the forums to promote the benefits of booking a wedding with an agent.
“It’s handy because many wedding coordinators on the forums aren’t travel agents, but I can sort the wedding as well as the holiday element,” she explains.
“If you book a wedding abroad yourself, you’re liaising with the hotel, the wedding coordinator, the cake maker, etcetera – it’s an awful lot if you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Hardman’s experience means she is often contacted by other Travel Counsellors seeking advice with their wedding bookings, and was even recommended by head office to rebook nuptials for clients who originally booked with Thomas Cook before its collapse.
“Some of those brides have been on the phone to me in tears, as they’ve had to deal with their wedding being cancelled twice – once when Thomas Cook went bust, and then again due to Covid,” says Hardman, who currently has 12 weddings this year and next, some of which were cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Location, location
If couples approach Hardman without knowing which destination they want to tie the knot in, she whittles it down quickly by asking a few questions.
“First I ask how many guests they want. If they want a small wedding party or just the two of them, they can probably afford the Caribbean.
“If they want more than 30, I go for Greece or Cyprus because of the cost.
“Then I ask how long they want to stay for after the wedding. If it’s 10 days or two weeks and they can afford it, I suggest Greece, as clients need to pay for their documents to be translated and have to go back and pick up the certificate after the wedding, so they need more than a week.
“If it’s a week or less, I suggest Cyprus, as there’s less paperwork needed for the wedding and the process is cheaper.”
The extra mile
While helping to plan a wedding is hard work, it’s a labour of love for Hardman, who will stop at nothing to ensure couples get their dream day.
“I’ve had brides asking for all sorts of things, from pink glassware to firework displays,” she says, adding she’ll even forego commission on elements of the wedding by booking directly with a hotel rather than an operator if needs be.
“I’ll always put the needs of the client first – I’ll still make commission on the holiday element of the trip in any case,” she says, adding she often strikes up friendships with her brides due to the amount of time they spend planning the big day.
Unsurprisingly, her happy brides often go on to recommend her on wedding forums, social media or via word-of-mouth referrals, allowing Hardman to pick up more business in the process.
CREATING THE PERFECT EXPERIENCE
Travel Counsellor Paula Hardman’s top tips for selling the perfect wedding
- Ask brides and grooms for pictures of their big day: I then share these on my social channels – those posts always get lots of traction.
- Ask couples lots of questions: So you get it right, ask what they imagine their day to be like. Do they want their toes in the sand? To get married in an unusual location such as a winery? Or to marry at sea on a yacht or a cruise ship? The possibilities are endless!
- Ensure clients are aware of the legal requirements: For example, clients need to have a blood test to marry in Mexico, must pay around £500 for their documents to be translated in Greece, and can’t legally marry in Spain.
- Advise clients to pay for an additional copy of their wedding certificate: Brides can send the second copy off to banks and the passport office to get their name changed, and they can keep the other as a spare in case one gets lost in the post!
- Create a spreadsheet: It will help you keep track of when you’ve asked couples about transport, decorations, hair and make-up and documentation. This is especially useful if you’re booking more than one wedding.
- Be savvy with upselling: I’d normally suggest a room upgrade rather than adding on lots of extras such as decorations or table centrepieces.
- Book early: Availability for weddings abroad in 2021 and 2022 is going to be an issue, so ensure clients secure their wedding date and pay their deposit now, then you can build the holiday around that date later.
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