Before the blushing bride walks down the immaculately flower-lined aisle to Richard Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus”, countless hours are spent ensuring that everything is up to the happy couple’s specifications. While most people rarely associate wedding with other events that need project management tools, it is one that can actually benefit from this type of software.
To plan the perfect wedding with the most precise details, you need to first set aside the romance part and look at the side involving all the technical planning and organizing. This is where project management software comes in.
Project Management Software Explained
According to Study.com, an online business school, a project management software is a tool used to organize and plan projects. While weddings are rarely referred to as projects, there is definitely a lot of planning and organizing involved ensuring that special day is perfect.
The software brings benefits, which makes it a perfect tool in planning a wedding. Here are some of these benefits taken from a blog post on the Houston Chronicles,
- Delegate tasks – With so many different elements needed to create a beautiful and seamless wedding, you need to share tasks to different people. Whether the affair will be an intimate ceremony or one with over a hundred guests invited, arrangements are done to make sure there are no glitches. From decorating the church to choosing the food on the menu, there are hundred and one things that need to be taken cared of at the same time. The software allows you to assign tasks to your team to ensure that every single detail is attended to.
- Track Progress and Stay on Schedule – If there is an event where meeting the deadline is crucial, it would definitely be a wedding. You simply cannot postpone the affair for any reason. With program management software, you and your team can make sure that everything that needs to happen will actually happen as scheduled. Flowers to be ordered and delivered, dresses to be measured and fitted, and all other important things to be completed on an exact date, are all set in. The tool allows you to visualize the progress of the different elements needed for the wedding day.
- Communicate with Vendors –Planning a wedding will certainly put your organizational skills to the test. However, the best thing about using the software is it allows you to communicate with different people involved in the project. If you use online project management software, you can provide vendors, such as florists and caterers, access so they can keep you updated. You don’t need to rush around just to know where everybody is at and whether everything is still going according to plan.
Handy Features
There are different types of simple project management software available in the market. From single-user desktop tools to multi-user web-based, you can certainly pick one that fit your needs in planning a wedding. Whether you choose to use free project management software or that needs a purchase, below are some of the common features of the software.
- Planning and Scheduling
Scorro, a project management software provider, lists this feature as one of the most essential. Top project management software highlights the importance of automating this process. With the tool, you can assign tasks to different people involved in planning the wedding and allows you to prioritize tasks, so nothing is forgotten. For example, dress measurements are usually one of the first tasks that need to be completed, as the gowns will need time to be sewn, fitted and perhaps adjusted. However, despite how important that element is, reserving the venue will always need to be on top of the list. When you use software project management, you can make sure that everything is organized accordingly.
- Task Assignment View
This feature allows your team to look at the tasks assigned to them and update each progress. While emails and other forms of communication can be used, this feature makes it easier members to provide updates without consuming much time. This simple project management software feature allows you and your team members to check on what needs to be done. Easy Projects, a software provider, highlights this feature as essential in ensuring your project is managed efficiently.
- Dynamic Reports
The worst thing that could happen in planning a wedding is not to know what’s going on with one segment, but having no updates or information of every task. Will the bridesmaids’ gowns be ready on time? Are there any problems with the wedding dress? Since all the elements are needed to have a successful affair, you will certainly appreciate having real time updates so you can fix anything that needs to be fixed. Project management tool providers like Clarizen, featured reporting and dash board important in the software to easily get information on the progress for the bride, bridegroom and of course their parents if needed.
Planning for the Big Day
Weddings are certainly one of the much-awaited events in one’s life. It is for this reason that it should be planned and organized with extra care. With the help of software for project management, you can make planning and execution more efficient. Here are some tips on how a project management tool can help you make sure this special day a memorable one for all reasons.
- Planning and Scheduling
After the excitement of the wedding proposal and the engagement party, the next step is setting the date. This is where the software becomes a handy tool for the perfect wedding. You can plot into the tool your budget as well as your planned timeline. This helps you organize everything that needs to be done. You can also start listing tasks such as the following:
- Reserve Venue
- Choose a Bridal Party
- Create Guest Lists
- Find Florist
- Find Wedding Dress and Gowns for Bridal Party
- Find Baker for Wedding Cake
- Schedule Meeting with Vendors
- Schedule Rehearsal
The list will help you finalize your timeline and set the schedule you follow until the big day. With the software, you can create a visual representation of the timeline with graphs to make it easier to track.
- Execution
The software allows you to streamline the execution of your plan. You can assign tasks to different team members who are responsible in ensuring these to get completed. In addition, once you find the suppliers you prefer, such as florists, caterer, photographers and band, you can provide them access to the software you use.
- Monitoring
The different elements of the wedding need a lot of preparation. Once you’ve chosen your florist and the flowers you want, you make sure that your supplier will provide you what you picked. If they need to order these out, then they can provide you with real time updates of the floral order. Dresses also take a while to complete with different stages in the process. With an access to the software, your designer can give you updates, such as if everybody in the wedding had measurements taken or finished the final fitting. With these details available to you, you can easily track the progress of your wedding preparations.
Reports and dashboard functions included in the various tools available can help you address any challenges that may come up and affect the plans for the wedding.
With all the different segments of the wedding planned and organized efficiently, you can reduce the possibility of the infamous “Murphy’s Law” from causing havoc on one of the most important days of one’s life. This is why professional wedding planners and industrious brides use commercially available software. You can check out reviews of project management software used by event planners to find one that you can use for your own.
From the moment you put the engagement ring on to the day you profess your commitment with the age old phrase “I do”, efficient planning ensures that each step along the way is arranged and completed with care. Check out the list of project management software providers on CrowdReviews.com and discover how you can make sure planning your wedding is as magical as walking down the aisle.
Jeev Trika
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