Chapter 1 Reflect

These activities help you put Chapter 1 into your own words. Write your answers in a notebook or a document of your own. Then compare them with the sample points.

Application Activities

Scenario-Based Questions

Read each scenario and write how you would respond as a wedding coach.

1. A couple cannot agree on their guest list. One partner wants 80 guests; the other’s family is pushing for 250. Using the coaching mindset, describe how you would help them reach their own decision.

2. During a meeting, a couple asks whether they should withdraw money from a retirement account to afford a bigger wedding. How would you respond, and why?

3. A vendor offers you a referral fee for steering couples to them. Write what you would say to a couple about it, and explain your reasoning.

Case Study

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————- Jordan and Alex are planning their wedding and feel overwhelmed. They keep asking you to “just decide everything for us.” Their budget is tight, but their dreams are big. On top of that, Alex’s mother — who is helping pay — is pushing them to invite dozens of distant relatives the couple barely knows. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Answer the following questions about the case study.

1. How would you use the coaching mindset to help Jordan and Alex, instead of simply deciding for them?

2. Which parts of this situation are “task side” work, and which are “people side” work?

3. Where might a scope-of-practice line come up in this case, and what would you do about it?

Decision-Making

For each situation, decide whether it is IN SCOPE for a coach or calls for a REFERRAL, and explain your choice.

1. A couple asks you to help resolve a serious, ongoing conflict between the two partners that clearly began long before the wedding. In scope, or refer? Explain.

2. A couple asks you to explain, in plain language, the cancellation terms in their venue contract. In scope, or refer? Explain.

Show sample answers

Scenario 1: Use open, values-based questions to learn what the couple wants (the feeling of the day), help them build a simple rule for the guest list, and give them a kind script for family. Guide them to decide; do not decide for them.

Scenario 2: Withdrawing retirement savings is a financial decision outside a coach’s scope. Do not advise on it; acknowledge the question and refer them to a qualified financial professional. Help with the wedding budget itself, not the financial choice.

Scenario 3: Disclose the fee honestly: tell the couple the vendor offers you a small referral fee and that your advice does not change because of it. Transparency protects trust (the sunlight test).

Case Study 1: Do not decide for Jordan and Alex. Ask what matters most, help them rank priorities to fit the budget, and give them a method rather than a verdict, building their confidence.

Case Study 2: Task side: the budget, guest-list logistics, and vendor choices. People side: the overwhelm, the family pressure, and the relationship with Alex’s mother.

Case Study 3: Family money is budgeting (in scope), and you can coach communication with the mother. But if the pressure became a deep relationship or mental-health issue, that would call for a referral.

Decision 1: Refer. A serious, ongoing partner conflict that predates the wedding is relationship or therapy territory, outside a coach’s scope. Refer to a counselor while still coaching the wedding.

Decision 2: In scope. Explaining contract terms in plain language is fine. Do not give legal advice or interpret binding terms; if a real legal question arises, suggest a lawyer.

Process Activities

Sequencing

Number the steps from 1 to 4 to show the order a coach follows when guiding a couple’s decision. Write the number in the blank.

____ Offer your expertise to help them reach their goal.

____ Support the couple as they make their own confident choice.

____ Ask open, values-based questions.

____ Help the couple get clear on what they want.

Chart Completion

Complete the chart by filling in the blank cells with a correct example.

———————————————— ———————————————– Coaches CAN Coaches CANNOT Educate couples on general planning decisions Give licensed financial, tax, or legal advice Support a couple through normal wedding stress Promise outcomes outside the coach’s control ———————————————— ———————————————–

Graphic Organizer — The Two Sides of the Job

List at least three examples of work under each side of a wedding coach’s job.

——————————– ———————————– Task Side (practical work) People Side (supportive work)

——————————– ———————————–

Show sample answers

Sequencing (correct order): 1) Ask open, values-based questions → 2) Help the couple get clear on what they want → 3) Offer your expertise to help them reach their goal → 4) Support the couple as they make their own confident choice.

Chart Completion (sample answers): Row 1 CANNOT: diagnose or treat a mental health condition. Row 2 CAN: help build and manage a wedding budget. Row 3 CANNOT: provide therapy or counseling. Row 4 CAN: refer couples to the right licensed professional.

Graphic Organizer (sample answers): Task side: setting a budget, hiring vendors, building a timeline, choosing a venue. People side: managing stress, supporting decisions, handling family dynamics, calming nerves.

Reflection Activities

There are no right or wrong answers here. Reflect honestly to connect the ideas to your own growth as a coach.

1. Which part of coaching — the task side or the people side — comes more naturally to you, and why?

2. Where do you think you would be most tempted to step outside your scope of practice, and how will you hold the line?

3. Think of a time someone guided you to your own decision rather than telling you what to do. How did that feel?

4. What does acting with strong ethics mean to you personally as a future wedding coach?

5. Why do you want to become a Certified Wedding Planner Coach?

Chapter activity

Part A — Scenario Set

Part B — Short Writing Task

In one short paragraph (4–6 sentences), explain the difference between a directing approach and a guiding approach. Give one example of a question a guiding coach might ask a couple who cannot choose between two venues.