Planning a wedding can be a stressful and nerve-wracking
experience. For many people, it’s the
biggest celebration they’ll ever be responsible for planning, and it’s also one
of the most important days in their lives.
It’s only natural to worry about making sure that everything goes
well. Fortunately for all would-be
wedding planners out there, a lot of event management theory can be applied to
wedding planning.
Lists Are Your Friend
Successful event planning requires an organized mind and
good time and people management skills.
It also involves a cool head.
Writing things down helps with all of the above things. The act of writing something down doesn't just
ensure that you won’t forget it later, it also provides you with a concrete
item on a list – something that you can use to instruct others. In addition, recent research has found that
writing things down helps to stop you from worrying about them. Buy yourself a good, sturdy notebook, and
take it with you so that you can take notes no matter where you are.
Set Deadlines
If you start planning a wedding well in advance, it’s easy
to fall into the trap of thinking that you have plenty of time to get everything
done. Set deadlines for specific tasks,
and make sure they’re done on time.
Prioritize issues such as picking the venue, arranging catering, and
getting fittings for any clothing required.
All of those things can take far longer than you might expect. The venue, in particular, should be booked
several months in advance. Some popular
venues can be booked out for a full year.
Put together a plan that covers broad periods of time to
begin with (one year out, nine months, six months, etc), and as the date draws
closer, narrow down your schedule, so that you have plans for two months out,
six weeks out, and so-on.
Include everything you can think of on your plan. If you want to lose weight ready for the
wedding, or plan on having long hair, make sure you include “Start my diet”,
and “No more cutting my hair into a short bob” in the plan.
Take the Insurance
If you’re spending a lot of time and money on your wedding,
it’s a good idea to take out insurance.
If I've picked up one lesson from doing events, it’s that even big, reputable venues and caterers can let you
down. Insurance can turn a catastrophe
into an inconvenience. You probably
won’t need it, but if things do go wrong, it’s invaluable.
Be Flexible
Try to have reasonable expectations, and be flexible when it
comes to your plans. You may envisage a
beautiful, outdoor celebration, but you can’t control the weather. If you end up holding your wedding on the
only wet day of the summer, then you’ll be glad of your backup plan to take the
party indoors. Wedding planning involves
a lot of management – but not all of that management involves venues,
suppliers, and bridesmaids. A part of
wedding planning is managing your own expectations.
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