do i need wedding planner software?

taken from www.wedbykez.com

The short answer is - no but again, there are always exceptions to the rule.

Wedding planning software is just a packaged version of the tools already available on your own computer at home. The software ranges in price from $50 to $500 dollars and there are as many good versions as their are rip-offs. Like with most software available on the internet -unless it comes from a name you know (ie Microsoft) you are taking a risk - and sometimes even the big guys let you down.

The benefit of Wedding Planner Software is that it does lay it all out in one readily accessible location, but to this budget-conscious bride that is no reason to spend over $300 on a piece of software you will use only once.

If you have a decent at home computer, chances are you already have the majority of skills that it takes to turn those programs into your own personalised wedding software.

Outlook or Mac Mail is more than capable of handling and filing all your emails and rsvps and combined with Calender or ICal will email you reminders about payment dates, appointments and deadlines. Now that you can sync these details with your mobile or iphone you have no reason to forget to do something or panic about a missed appointment.

One of the reasons I fell in love with my Mac was because it would transfer details from my address book straight into a numbers (excel) document which I could use to easily keep track of RSVPs. I didn't have to type out details over and over again. It was a simply drag and click process.

Excel and Numbers also come with budget templates which you can personalise to keep track of savings or deposits or payments.

And the truth is, that most of the tools you need to organise a wedding can be downloaded for free on the internet with a good google search. The majority of wedding professionals make these available at no charge, not only because they are useful, but because there is no need to charge for this information. It is not some big wedding secret that you need to have your dress sorted 6 months before the day, or that you should book a photographer early - any Wedding professional will tell you that just to be helpful.

If you are a unique, individual and personality plus couple you don't want to do things by the book, or by the software. So you are better off creating your own way of keeping track of your big day. And if you are not computer smart - well then the last thing you need is software.

There is a really helpful article on making your outlook more efficient here at SNOBS (Social Networking for Organised Businesswomen) as well as many other fabulous and inspiring stories.