I’ve been there, trust me. That ever daunting, life-consuming question of what to call your wedding planning company. I will always be envious of those who knew exactly what to call their business. For me, it was a process that took two agonizing months of back and forth indecisiveness. I read about a hundred different blog posts from branding gurus and still nothing resonated with me. And truthfully, I never really fell in love with my final decision. I just wanted to get started, so I made a quick decision based on my desire to move forward. Because, really, you can’t create a wedding planning business if you don’t have a name.
Finding Your Wedding Planning Business Name
It’s the starting point for everything—website, networking, business cards, social media. Is this you? Are you having a hard time choosing a name for a wedding planning company? Know that you are not alone. This is one of the hardest decisions a newer wedding planner will ever make. There’s a lot of second guessing, a lot of soul searching, and a lot of brainstorming. Today I’m going to share how to brainstorm a wedding planning company name you’ll love!
Your Target Market
First things first, know who your target market is. When it comes to picking a business name, you want to have a clear idea of who your target market is. I highly recommend taking a few minutes and completing our free Branding Avator worksheet. This worksheet will help you solidify who your branding to and help you make the biggest impact on your marketing efforts. You want to have a clear vision for who your marketing to before you ever pick a company name.
Your name will play a huge part of in the type of cliente you naturally attract. Knowing the little details about who your ideal client will give you powerful insight into what will give a emotional response to a potential client. Put yourself inside their shoes and come up with a thorough idea of who you’re creating this business for.
Brainstorming
I want you to love your wedding planning name! Don’t be like me and settle for good enough. A good brainstorming sesh can really be helpful when coming up with a name. So get out a pencil and a piece of paper and let’s get started. Go to a quiet place and open your mind’s eye. Be ready to spend at least 20 minutes on this assignment. You will be prompted on what to write down and for how long. Be sure to write down anything and everything that comes to you.
Don’t worry if you get off topic—write every single thing that comes to mind. Then go back and circle the words that resonate with you and that you think your client avator would love too.
Genre
I want you to think about the specific genre your client avatar relates to. Are they having a beach wedding? Rustic wedding? Luxury wedding? Pick the type of wedding your client avatar is having and then write down everything you can think of that has to do with that particular genre. Time yourself for two minutes.
For example, if my client avatar was having a barn wedding, these would be my words:
- Barn
- Sparrow
- Golden grass
- Golden light
- Owl
- Hay
- Picket fence
Wedding Terms
There is a long list of lovely, darling words to choose from that are associated with weddings. Can you think of any wedding terms that might make a fun company name? Go ahead and give yourself two minutes to brainstorm all the wedding-related words you can think of. Circle the ones you love.
Here are some examples:
- Kiss
- Toast
- Aisle
- Ring
- Champagne
Location
Location is a fun one. But think a little outside the box. You’re not restricted to just naming the city in which you live. This could also be a road, street, or lane. Once again, think of your client avatar. Like before, give yourself two minutes to brainstorm all the words you can think of that have to do with a location your clients would get married at. Circle the ones you love.
Examples:
- Dirt road
- Lane
- Dry creek
- River
- Oak tree
- Secluded
Entity
An entity is what you want to call your company. An example of this would be Tiffany & Co. Take a moment and look at the type of gathering that surrounds your brand and your ideal client. Adding a “Party” or a “Creative” can be a fun way to mix up the name. Take two minutes and write down every word you can think of that could be used to identify your business. Examples might include the following:
- Gathering
- Party
- Project
- Studio
Mix and Match
Play around with the circled words you brainstormed. Mix and match them. Swap around their order and see if you have a cluster of words that you love.
Example:
Secluded Kisses Wedding Co. – That’s the name!
Ask for Assistance
Once you’ve come up with a few names, let’s say 5–8, go ahead and ask for some feedback. Take your favorite three options to an industry friend and see how they feel about the names. Make sure you let them know who your target market is. Or better yet, see if they can guess. Remember, though, your excitement and love for a name should outweigh anyone else’s opinion. Always, and I mean always, listen to your gut.
Conclusion
The hard truth is that picking a name can be ridiculously difficult. I know, I’ve been there too. But you don’t want to be in limbo forever—make the decision to set a goal to decide on a name by a certain time. The greatest test is saying it out loud. Practice saying the name to your husband or a close friend. If it feels funny, drop it, but if you get excited when saying it, then you know it’s the one. If you’re having trouble with this exercise and need further assistance, check out our DIY Branding Workbook for Wedding Planners.
