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Efficiently managing the tasks that need to be done for a wedding is
essential for the overall success of the event. Turning your dream wedding
into reality requires organizational skills and a lot of time. Fortunately,
now there is a tool available that can help simplify the process and save
time, wedding planning software for your PC.
There are several wedding planning software programs available on the market
today. Most of the programs help you organize everything from your
engagement announcement to your honeymoon plans. The decision to use a
software program to help you plan your wedding may be the best decision you
could make.
Before shopping for a wedding planning software program, you should first
identify the key features that you feel will benefit you the most. Everyone
buys a planning program for a different reason - creating a budget,
maintaining your guest list, printing envelopes or tracking gifts - so as
you evaluate programs, it is important to ensure that it will do everything
you need.
All wedding planning software programs cover the same basic features, but
there are differences in how the information is entered and how it is
output. User interface and program design are two of the most important
criteria to consider. A program should mimic the steps that are typically
used to plan a wedding. As you look at the software or the screens,
visualize in your mind walking through the entire process and make sure that
the steps and the flow make sense.
Planning a wedding involves two main processes: tracking your guests and
selecting vendors. The process of tracking your guests includes creating a
master guest list, inviting the guests to the appropriate parties, tracking
RSVPs for the parties and tracking the gifts received at each party. The
process of selecting a vendor includes creating a budget, entering vendor
estimates, comparing vendor estimates, and selecting a vendor that meets
your needs and your budget.
When entering guest information, you need to track the following
information: main guest (formal and casual name), significant other,
children of guest, who invited the guest and the role of the guest. One
thing to look for is the ability to track family members individually. This
is important if you want to be able to invite the wife to a shower as Jane
Doe, instead of Mrs. John Doe. Most packages allow you to print either
envelopes or labels from your guest list. This will save you hours in
completing invitation lists for the calligrapher or in personally addressing
your envelopes.
After creating your master guest list, you can then decide to which parties
each guest should be invited. Some programs have you select from a fixed
list of parties as you enter each guest. Other programs allow you to add
your own parties and then select from your master guest.
All programs allow you to track RSVPs, which is important for each party,
not just for the ceremony and reception. Some offer the added benefit of
being able to track guest arrival, accommodations and departure information.
Keeping track of gifts and thank you notes is another feature of wedding
planning software programs. You can enter a description of each gift, the
date received, and the store from which they purchased the gift, whether or
not the gift needs to be returned and if a thank you has been sent. Keeping
track of your gifts and thank you notes is a time-consuming, but very
important part of your wedding. Software can make this extremely easy.
Whether your wedding is large or small, setting a budget and sticking to it
can be the hardest thing to do when planning a wedding. Wedding expenses
will add up quickly, so it makes sense to determine what you are willing to
pay for the services you want. Wedding planning software programs help you
setup your budget and track expenses. Some programs offer worksheets to
assist you in setting up your budget which can be extremely useful if you
have never done this before and don't know what to expect. You should look
for a program that offers more than just a spreadsheet that you have to fill
in. In addition, you should be able to track tax and gratuity; otherwise you
may be in for a surprise later.
Once you have determined your budget and started calling on vendors, wedding
planning software can help you keep track of your vendors and perform
comparisons to assist in the vendor selection process. The program should
allow you to enter the estimates and important payment information for each
vendor that you evaluate and compare the estimates side by side next to your
budget to determine which one meets your needs and budget.
Other features to look for in a wedding planning software program are:
checklists, schedules, newspaper announcements, table assignments for
parties, music selections, bridal registry, stationery templates, menu
selections, and wedding planning tips.
Finally, probably the most important test of any software package is the
reports. If you spend months entering data, you should make sure that you
can get reports of the information, in a format that you can use. If you
need the software to print envelopes, labels or an address list for the
calligrapher, review copies of these items before you select a program to
use. If these things are important to you, be sure to look for the ability
to: print inner envelopes, print individual guest names (wife separately
from the husband), children, labels, multiple line addresses, complete state
names (not just two letter abbreviations), and international addresses.
Regardless of the size or style of your wedding, there is a software program
available to help. It is important to shop for a wedding planning software
program that best suits your needs because not all programs offer all of the
features discussed. Wedding planning software programs range between $30.00
and $74.00. Most packages are available through mail order, so allow at
least a couple weeks for delivery. Good Luck! |
