Organization is key to wedding planning, staying on top of every deadline, the to-do list, etc. Why not use the tools that the professionals use to stay organized?
We are pulling back the curtain for a behind the scenes look into how I stay organized not only in my personal life but with my business as well in hopes that you will be able to start fresh with a clear vision for the year ahead and a system in place that will get you there.
If you are newly engaged, or maybe you’ve been engaged for a while wedding plans can quickly get way out of control. There are endless emails, quotes, and to-do lists everywhere. With the new year approaching your goals and real-life priorities will be changing, how will you get through these transitions with ease? How will you stay organized?
Trying to keep everything together and organized can be challenging if you don’t have the proper tools.
I’m so excited about today’s post because as a wedding planner being organized and planning ahead is par for the course. You would think that as someone who loves to plan I wouldn’t need tools or a system being organized should just come naturally but you are so wrong. The tools I’ve come across over the years have literally given me hours back to my life, helped me to focus, and changed my perspective on my day to day living.
The tools that I’m about to share with you have literally changed everything!
We are going to break down the five tools that Visions Event Studio planners use to keep our lives balanced and in order.
SPOILER ALERT- if you have been on the fence for awhile about hiring a planner and have your eye on Visions Event Studio for your Chicago wedding planning needs, then you will want to read all the way to the bottom for an awesome gift!
My Daily Life-
As a mother of five and a business owner of over ten years, I have tried so many different ways to run my daily life and make it as smooth as possible. While I felt guilty for not spending enough time with my family I would also feel the pull of the deadlines and never-ending to-do list from projects in Visions.
That’s until I found the two tools that changed everything.
Life isn’t perfect, but it’s different, it’s intentional, it’s purposeful and it’s grounded in what really matters most to me in my life. If you have been around for a while you would have seen the countless posts on Instagram where I talk about living a life with purpose, it all started six years ago with a woman named Lara Casey and her dear friend Emily Ley.
Living with Purpose-
Six years ago I was struggled even as a planner to attend to the things that mattered most and still manage the things that just had to get done like feeding the kids or tackling the never-ending pile of laundry, I’m sure you can visualize what that looked like for a family of seven.
I often felt less than, always behind and like I just needed a week off to just catch up. This was a feeling I felt all the time, not some of the time, not on most days but all the time. I woke up feeling that I was already behind, how is that even possible?
I was living a reactive life…a life that was lived in reaction to everything around me instead of living a life that I was able to dictate when and who got my attention. I remember when I use to answer an email as soon as it came in my inbox, it was this very reactive lifestyle that had me searching for a different way.
When I found the tools I’m about to share with you there was a lot of change that took place. A lot of hard work, some hard talks with the family about things that needed to change, and space for me to shift my thinking to create a new mindset that involved looking to the future to the life I wanted to create.
It has been such a wonderful journey and I’m still using the tools that changed everything because we are always in a state of growth. There will always be places that you need to tweak or adjust but having the right tools to do it make all the difference in the world!
The Top 5 Tools to Organize Your Life and Your Wedding
I can not say how much I truly love this company and their mission behind everything they do. It’s all about living a life with purpose and getting rid of all the fear that is holding you back. Fear comes in many different shapes and sizes, it doesn’t have to be the typical “I’m afraid” fear, it can manifest itself in wedding plans or in the change of becoming husband and wife. Whatever you are wanting to make happen, Lara and her team are so inspirational about realistically helping you make it happen.
How do you know if you are reaching your goals if you aren’t digging deep and really stating what it is that you want to accomplish? How do reach the goals without having a very detailed, purposeful plan? And how do you know that the plan will work, because Lara and her team have spent over nine years pouring into goal planning and they have laid the groundwork for you.
The Powersheets start with a prep section, it goes deep into your faith, your family, your friends, and your career. They even have a section for how to weed the garden of your life with things that are choking out other areas that need tending.
I highly recommend Powersheets to all my clients and as a matter of fact, we all use them at Visions Event Studio. You have to be clear on your goals and the only way to do that and measure your progress is with a system and with accountability.
How to use this in your wedding plans?
Goals and intentional living don’t stop when you get engaged or are planning a wedding. Your day to day life still moves on and with anything in life you have to maintain that as you tend to your wedding plans. This is for the now but also for the future life you are planning with your future spouse.
2. Emily Ley’s Simplified Planner
Right around the same time that I came across Powersheets, I fell in love with the Simplified Planner. I’m a paper girl, I love all kinds there is no limit to my love of paper and when it came to a planner I needed a planner that not only was visually stimulating but purposefully laid out for simplicity.
The quality of the paper…oh let’s just talk paper for a second…the paper that is used is unmatched to any other planner I have ever come across. It is absolutely perfect and with the Emily Ley floral pen that I use to write in my planner it never bleeds over to the next page. This is so important!!
The cover, the gold coil, the tabs, the color-coding system that you can literally use however you wish are just bonuses to the quality that comes in the planner.
I do have to say that as I go to plan out my week, yes I start my planning on Sundays as I look ahead at my week and I then cross-reference my google calendar for any appointments I may have forgotten. It is the perfect system for me, both digital and paper married together into one wonderful daily planning system.
For my daily schedule, I use the block system as well as working on certain projects on certain days. This is where living on purpose comes in and gives me so much focus.
How to implement this into your wedding planning?
Having a daily planner will keep you organized not only in wedding appointments and tasks but also in your personal life as well. We all have heard that if you write it down you will remember it, it’s just a great way to start your week looking at what you have ahead of you vs. feeling like you are always behind in planning.
3) Daily Greatness Parents Journal
This is a new one I’m thrilled to jump into! I used the Daily Greatness Business Planner but I decided this year to include the Parents Journal because I’m down to the last two kids and I want to make sure I’m being intentional with my time with them.
We started homeschooling last year and it has been such a blessing but what I started to notice is homeschooling isn’t the same as pouring into your kids time and attention and being intentional about parenting and discipling these children. I want to look back and know that I used all the time wisely and that I tried my very best to live my life outside of work and school and loved them well.
How can I use this in my wedding planning?
Let’s be honest the Parents Journal may not be the exact match for your wedding planning needs but Daily Greatness has so many great planners and journals for health and wellness. It is so important to put self-care as a priority as you go through the ups and downs of wedding planning!
4) Daily Greatness Business Planner
Yes, I have ANOTHER planner, this is very much the way I live my life. I have my work separate from my life, on my phone, on my computer even the hours of the day that I “work” are completely separate from the rest of my life.
This is not identical to Powersheets but it has a very similar system that walks you through planning out your goals for the year.
My goal in Visions is always to serve my clients well but in order to do that, I have to get clear on what ways will I be able to serve my clients by building out new services or expanding on the services that we already provide.
As a creative entrepreneur, we are always coming up with new ideas and this is the perfect place to map out what that looks like for the year.
I’m excited to dig into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals for Visions and even more so seeing them come to fruition.
How can I use this in planning my wedding?
I have found that a lot of my clients actually are entrepreneurs themselves. No matter what industry this would work well to get clear on your goals as you serve your clients well in the upcoming year which in turn will give you peace of mind as you focus your time on wedding planning.
This tool is by far the one that has saved me countless hours in wedding planning. It is an ALL IN ONE tool that allows you to not get stuck searching in your inbox for the latest quote you received from the florist or the decision you emailed the DJ for your songlist.
This is my top recommendation for keeping all details of your wedding organized, your to-do list and a place to invite others to join in on the planning.
As a Visions Event Studio client, you have full access to your workspace complimentary. It’s our way of guiding you through the process of getting everything organized and in one place.
