What Getting Married Taught me About Event Planning

What Getting Married Taught me About Event Planning. Find me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/leslievenetz
If you know me, you know that event planning…well planning in general is in my DNA. I started orchestrating events when I was a kid. I still remember the first significant event I pioneered & planned; a 3-generation dance at my high school. It was a pretty good gig for me. My grandpa was my date and other generation – the parents - were responsible for preparing & serving the dinner!
My experience with events has grown significantly since that first dance. Over the past 20 years, I’ve led or been on the planning committee for everything from corporate events, to non-profit fundraisers, to social programs. Each event I’ve been a part of hosting is unique in both its intent & outcome.
Nothing prepared me for planning my own wedding.
Now if you are one of the lucky few who decided to hire a professional event planner, I can only imagine how nice that must have been. I, however, did not.
I’ve planned charity events that have raised tens of thousands of dollars and Fortune 500 corporate events with hundreds of attendees. How hard could it be to plan my own wedding? Answer: Real hard.
Leslie Venetz
I hit a bump in the road early on when I did not put a date on my wedding invitation. Yes, you read that correctly. I sent 200 invitations none of which included the date of the wedding. I’ve sent out thousands of emails & invites over the years and not once have I entirely forgotten to include the date…. until it came to my own wedding.
This hiccup did provide perspective early in the planning process to remind me that regardless of what might go wrong, I am still going to get married. Nonetheless, wedding planning is stressful and the details do matter.
I believe the difference between professional event planning and planning your own wedding is this; with a wedding, you feel extra pressure to get everything perfect since this is a one-time event. Don’t get me wrong, with all events I want to execute 100% to provide the best experience for my clients or raise the greatest amount of money for a charity. However, you know there will be another year so you have the flexibility to test different ideas with the understanding that you can try something else next time. Weddings offer you none of that flexibility.
In the months leading up to my wedding, despite feeling overly prepared in many ways, I was stressed. I dwelled on the “what ifs” that kept me up at night making lists and back-up plans while I should have been sleeping. To be honest, I get pretty stressed about every event I host because I care so deeply about the success of those efforts, but with my wedding it was a different beast. I was worried that somehow the décor at the reception or a trolley being late would ruin my big day.
I was worried for absolutely no reason.
What Getting Married Taught Me About Event Planning. Find me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/leslievenetz
Having tied the knot in my hometown of Great Falls, Montana on Saturday July 1, I can say without a doubt that it genuinely doesn’t matter what goes wrong because everything is so right. To be surrounded by all of the most important people in your life, celebrating your marriage is enough. It sounds so cliché, but it truly is the best day ever.
Wedding planning taught me that just like event planning, preparation is critical. What made my special day so easy and enjoyable beyond the warm & fuzzy stuff is the eight-page itinerary that I created and distributed to all family members, wedding party, a few organized friends, and vendors. Every detail was thought out in advance, tasks delegated, and extra help secured to make the end of the night seamless.
I know you thought this post was going to end with: Lessons Learned: All You Need is Love. Nope, you need love but you also need a well thought out, detailed itinerary.

Originally published on Linkedin. What Getting Married Taught me About Event Planning. Find me at linkedin.com/in/leslievenetz 

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