Putting together a wedding is much like building a website, except you’re your own client and have to do all of the legwork (unless you have a great fiancé that’s willing to help where he can – thanks Josh!).
Josh and I started dating in December 2007, by May 2008 we were talking about getting married, and looking at engagement rings in July. The project manager in me started planning ahead knowing that weddings involve quite a bit of time and preparation. We wanted to get married in April 2009 – which didn’t leave much time after a September proposal!
I’ll admit, before Josh proposed, I was already looking at venues and photographers in the Atlanta area. Luckily, Josh knew this and it didn’t faze him. We knew what we wanted, I just had to get it all organized.
Like building a website, weddings are limited to the budget at hand. While one might envision a $500,000 wedding, most often times the budget to match the vision isn’t equal. When that’s the case, you determine what your actual budget is, and make decisions and compromise to meet that budget. You determine what’s most important to you, and you spend more in that area and cut back in others. Having excellent photographers to capture our special day was more important to us than having flowers everywhere – much like having a super creative website with less back-end development may be more important to one client, while some may opt for an amazing back-end with no need for a flashy design.
After the budget discussion, you have to map out a plan of action. I quickly made a to-do list of things that had to take place in the order necessary – much like building a project plan (find the venue, set the date, find the caterer, etc.). There are contracts, checkpoints with vendors, reviews, final decisions, and everyone’s favorites – invoices. Project managers take a website from cradle to grave. They help determine the scope of the project and the final deliverables. Once it’s agreed upon, the timeline is put into place and must be kept to ensure the site launches on the big day.
Sure, hiccups can happen along the way – but if all team members (client, partner, or in my case bride) are flexible, they can be addressed and the process can continue. Yes, there was confusion about the cost of the punch per person. And yes, my vendor got my cake design notes a little confused. But after speaking with the coordinator and baker directly, we worked it out with no problems. In times like this, documentation and organization are key. Having detailed notes from meetings can help remind all parties what was discussed and agreed upon, which can help keep scope creep from occurring.
Keeping it all together wasn’t easy, but the effort to do so made things run more smoothly in the end. It also helped prevent any “bridezilla” moments from taking place. While I might have driven Josh a little nuts with all the deadlines and decisions that had to be made, I think he’ll agree that I would have been hard to handle if I were disorganized and flying by the seat of my pants in planning our wedding.
In the end, it’s important to remember that developing a good plan (for a wedding OR a website) requires time and energy, and it can’t be rushed. Taking the necessary time on the front end (i.e. engagement) to plan out tasks will keep everyone on track along the way – and lead you to a happy ending.
Project Managing a Wedding
Putting together a wedding is much like building a website, except you’re your own client and have to do all of the legwork (unless you have a great fiancé that’s willing to help where he can – thanks Josh!).
Josh and I started dating in December 2007, by May 2008 we were talking about getting married, and looking at engagement rings in July. The project manager in me started planning ahead knowing that weddings involve quite a bit of time and preparation. We wanted to get married in April 2009 – which didn’t leave much time after a September proposal!
I’ll admit, before Josh proposed, I was already looking at venues and photographers in the Atlanta area. Luckily, Josh knew this and it didn’t faze him. We knew what we wanted, I just had to get it all organized.
Like building a website, weddings are limited to the budget at hand. While one might envision a $500,000 wedding, most often times the budget to match the vision isn’t equal. When that’s the case, you determine what your actual budget is, and make decisions and compromise to meet that budget. You determine what’s most important to you, and you spend more in that area and cut back in others. Having excellent photographers to capture our special day was more important to us than having flowers everywhere – much like having a super creative website with less back-end development may be more important to one client, while some may opt for an amazing back-end with no need for a flashy design.
After the budget discussion, you have to map out a plan of action. I quickly made a to-do list of things that had to take place in the order necessary – much like building a project plan (find the venue, set the date, find the caterer, etc.). There are contracts, checkpoints with vendors, reviews, final decisions, and everyone’s favorites – invoices. Project managers take a website from cradle to grave. They help determine the scope of the project and the final deliverables. Once it’s agreed upon, the timeline is put into place and must be kept to ensure the site launches on the big day.
Sure, hiccups can happen along the way – but if all team members (client, partner, or in my case bride) are flexible, they can be addressed and the process can continue. Yes, there was confusion about the cost of the punch per person. And yes, my vendor got my cake design notes a little confused. But after speaking with the coordinator and baker directly, we worked it out with no problems. In times like this, documentation and organization are key. Having detailed notes from meetings can help remind all parties what was discussed and agreed upon, which can help keep scope creep from occurring.
Keeping it all together wasn’t easy, but the effort to do so made things run more smoothly in the end. It also helped prevent any “bridezilla” moments from taking place. While I might have driven Josh a little nuts with all the deadlines and decisions that had to be made, I think he’ll agree that I would have been hard to handle if I were disorganized and flying by the seat of my pants in planning our wedding.
In the end, it’s important to remember that developing a good plan (for a wedding OR a website) requires time and energy, and it can’t be rushed. Taking the necessary time on the front end (i.e. engagement) to plan out tasks will keep everyone on track along the way – and lead you to a happy ending.
Where it all began for us!