While some brides love to be involved in the myriad of details involved in planning a wedding, others simply have no patience for it. However, not all brides have the luxury of hiring a wedding planner to handle the planning process. So, if you are a harried bride with little time and patience to spare, here is a short wedding guide to help you start thinking along the right lines.
What many brides don't realize is that planning a wedding is like tackling any other task at work. If you have basic project management skills, you can plan a wedding. Any project has a beginning, a middle and an end phase. A basic wedding guide is like a blueprint that will tell you how to accomplish the project's vision and aim. With this simple four-step process, you can begin to turn your wedding from an unmanageable monster to a realistically achievable goal.
So, let's get started with what, perhaps, will be one of the most important projects of your life!
Wedding Guide for the Harried Bride: Recruit Your Core Project Team
Any good project manager knows that complex tasks need a competent and capable crew to reach project goals. Find a few reliable friends and family members that are willing to assist. (Of course, keep in mind that your friends and family are volunteers, NOT employees and modify your expectations and demeanor accordingly.)Wedding Guide for the Harried Bride: Find Your Expert Source
Every project team has its expert source. If you have friends or family members that are in the wedding business or associated with any aspect of the wedding business, be sure to avail yourself of their expertise. Even if you can't afford a wedding planner full time, you may want set up a few consulting appointments to make sure that you are on the right track. Also, be sure to do plenty of research to acquaint yourself with industry trends. Reading wedding magazines and surfing bridal sites are a sure way to get ideas and find great deals, especially if you are on a tight budget.Wedding Guide for the Harried Bride: Define and Assign Tasks
Behind the ultimate goal, there are several groups of tasks that must be defined leading up to the final completion of the project. Draw up a project list with groups of tasks defined under certain categories. Some likely wedding categories might include the following:- Researching a Reception Venue
- Flowers
- Favors
- Hiring a wedding videographer (Contact 2Bridges!)
- Invitations
- Catering
- Bridal Party Attire
Then assign tasks to the specific members of your team with a target completion date.
Wedding Guide for the Harried Bride: Follow Your Team Member's Progress
Set aside some time, whether it is daily, weekly or monthly, to review your team member's progress. Evaluate whether they have completed assigned tasked. If not, find out the expected completion date or reassign the task if necessary.Use the above wedding guide to get a jump start on the wedding planning process. Just remember that every journey starts with a single step and every project with a single task. Each task completed brings you that much closer to that special day.
