Posted by Online wedding planning tools are popping up everywhere, how do you know which one is right for you? Here’s my top eight list of must have features when selecting a planning tool:
Online RSVP – most wedding websites these days allow your guests to RSVP online. Be sure that your planning tool will let your guests enter their own contact details – this will save you a lot of time later on. You should expect the ability to let guests RSVP to multiple events and even select their menu preferences online. Some online planning tools go above and beyond and have additional features such as accommodation selections and more.
Payment Tracker – who wants to think about payments? Be sure that you can keep track of who paid for what, when each payment was made and by what method. A payment tracker should also calculate the total upcoming payments so you can manage your cash flow and also send you email reminders when payments are coming due.
Seating Planner – if you’re planning a formal seating arrangement for your wedding reception, there’s nothing like being able to do this online. You should be able to sort your guests by group (eg. Work friends, family, etc) so it makes it easier to seat your guests. An added bonus is if the tool allows you to create a map of your hall so you can place tables, assign a specific number of chairs to each table and print this off and give it your banquet hall.
Wedding Websites – this has to be your number one priority! Wedding websites are so much fun, they let you share your unique story online, allow your guests to leave you comments and best of all are a great place to share your wedding pictures. Look for a tool that offers wedding websites, some even have matching stationery to go with your website, how cute is that?
Smartphone Friendly – wedding planning happens all the time, everywhere. You’re not just going to plan your wedding sitting at your labtop, you’ll be on the go, checking things out all the time. Make sure you can access your planning tool with your smartphone. If not everything, at least the important things like vendor contact info. You should also be able to take pictures of things you like and upload them to your account so it’s easy to keep track of things you like.
Task Delegation – a planning tool that let’s you delegate tasks online, even better is one that sends automatic email reminders to the person in charge of the task and also alerts you once tasks have been completed. Most planning tools also give you a calendar where you can set task completion due dates and more.
Image and File Upload – this is the second thing you need to look for. Being able to store files online is invaluable, it means you’ll never lose things like contracts, pictures of things you like,etc and the added bonus is that you can access these files from anywhere.
No advertisements, banners or sharing of your information – This might be a no brainer, but there are a lot of free planning tools available, remember you get what you pay for. Take your planning tool seriously, it’s a tool that is there to help you plan your wedding and shouldn’t be a way of someone to advertise services to you.