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Planning a wedding is probably the single most arduous piece of planning most families do. It’s also one of the most expensive days any family will ever have, and the potentials for disaster are terrifying, with possibilities fraught with expense, people not showing up, dresses needing last minute alterations and the rest.
Like any kind of logistical challenge, proper planning, and project management techniques, can be used to reduce the stress of running a wedding. In fact, if you’re the sort of person who thrives on stress and short decision loop cycles, a second career as a wedding planner is entirely possible if you have the management skills.
The lessons to learn about weddings and project management are numerous, almost too many to count. The first lesson learned is "stay calm". Like most business plans, there’s a definite, nothing can change it, the world WILL end deadline – the date of the wedding. Good project managers skills start from the deadline and work backwards, though the first step requires knowing where the wedding will take place, and booking that date immediately.
The reception will need to be catered. The final catering menu has to be delivered the week before the wedding. The wedding gown will need to be ordered, and the bridesmaids dresses as well, with the fittings taking place three weeks before the wedding, and measurements taken two weeks or more before that.
Who’s attending the wedding needs to be determined at least two months before the date, so you can set out seating charts, send out invitations, and make menu plans. In particular, this also lets you set up gift registries at local stores for the bride and groom, as well as make sure that dietary needs and allergic reactions are checked.
When scheduling for a wedding, be sure to include some slack in the schedule for the unexpected – like last minute alterations of a wedding gown, unexpected relatives from out of town being added to the guest list at the last minute, or the ever unpopular, and all too common, unforeseen set of circumstances. Like a good project manager does, a good wedding organizer and planner has to be quick on their feet when it comes to improvising, and going to plans B, C, D or E as elements fall through.
All of these are similar to the decisions good project managers make in running a business. They start with the end goal clearly visualized, and work backwards to determine what requirements need to be met to make it happen, including breaking those requirements down into sub steps by type, and what needs to happen with whom and with what resources, and by what date. This is more or less the foundation of a project management training. Like running a wedding, it can be a highly stressful situation if you’re not prepared for it, and this is where a good business coach can help you run your business better, by identifying the places where better planning can help you – much the same way that a professional wedding planner can help make sure that everything that needs to happen, happens, without a hitch.
Well, aside from the desires of those getting hitched.
Look here for More project management training articles or for an extensive directory on related sites on: project management training.
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