How to delegate your wedding preparation tasks

 

Ok so you have made it this far, you have been in control of every last detail & now the time has arrived for you to hand your carefully laid plans over to someone else to carry out!

This post aims to do two things  highlight how necessary it is to delegate the plethora of tasks required in organising a wedding & to give you some pointers on how to make that process easier…Keep scrolling!

Why you should delegate

You will need to delegate responsibility for a number of the tasks to be carried out in the run up to the wedding, on the actual day and post the wedding.

There is only so much you and your fiancé can take on by yourself. A wedding requires many hands to make it go smoothly, and that’s what you need to remind your friends and relatives; who I am sure are only too eager to help you out…If on the other hand you might want to send them a link to this post and hope they take the hint!

Aside from the fact trying to do this all alone will lead you to burn out, your stress levels will also be increased and unnecessary arguments and confusion will arise when the pressures of the activities ahead fall squarely on your shoulders.

What’s a contender for delegation?

In our time as wedding photographers we have seen many different weddings, no two are the same and as a result the tasks required to make it a success will be different. With this is mind I don’t want to get too specific as to what types of tasks you will have and which you should pass on. What I do advise though is that you sit down and list out all of the things to be done and assign a task owner and a date for when it needs to be done – Go ahead and download our free printable Wedding Task Delegation Tracker  where you will be able to keep on top of outstanding tasks, who is helping you out, what they need to do and when – You know we go your back in this wedding game!

Here is a made up example of a completed Task Delegation Tracker to give you an idea of what info you should be recording:

Who should you get to help?

Deciding who to delegate to is a key task for you and your significant other. For each task I would suggest you consider the following before choosing individuals:

1. Who do you know & trust to make sure that the task is completed correctly & to your liking?
2. Who is best placed; location wise to carryout a particular task i.e. do you have a friend who lives near to your florist and could deliver your specially sourced ribbon for addition to your bouquet?
3. How involved do you want certain guests? If you know that your mum will take on all tasks & challenges during the wedding at the risk of missing out on the fun & special elements of your day, then I suggest ensuring that tasks are allocated appropriately and mumsy is told categorically that her only task is to enjoy the day!
4. A great way to avoid the worry of mumsey being stuck in the kitchen cutting up three tiers of wedding cake is to bring a supplier on board to provide on the day services, this is an excellent approach as it takes the stress out of the day as you know that a professional is dealing with the tasks that need to get done and your friends and family can fully enjoy the day.

How to go about delegating tasks

A key element of delegating tasks is the way in which this is done. In my view the best way to tackle delegation is to meet face to face with the individual helping you out; you can ensure that they fully understand what is being asked of them, allowing them to get immediate clarity on any elements they are unsure of rather than them misreading an email or a text and skipping off in the wrong direction. Obviously with the number of tasks this is not always possible, but for the larger, more important tasks this is definitely the approach which you want to take.

When delegating a task you want to be sure to convey the following information:

1. What exactly you need them to do
2. When they need to do it
3. Where they need to go, providing a full address, contact number if you have it, contact name, web address – Give as much details as you can as this will avoid them needing to call you on route for directions/details
4. Give them any money or proof of purchase which they will need, you don’t want to put people out with wasted journeys or need for them to spend their money on your wedding
5. Explain what their tasks is linked to and what impact it will have if not carried out…“I need the napkin rings to be collected by the 1st July as this is when they will be ready for collection at the department store; I don’t want them to be returned as they were a nightmare to find and also the caterer will need them by 10th August to prepare the napkins in advance of the wedding…” This gives them the bigger picture and context to the importance of their role.
6. Ask them to give you a call or a text once the task has been completed or to let you know of any issues. The last thing you want is to be in your dress posed to put on your bejewelled wedding shoes only to find your Maid of Honour was unable to collect your shoes as the shop assistant couldn’t find them in the stock room!

I hope you found this post helpful and got some value from the tips and printable – Please share this post with anyone getting married – There is no need for couples to be stressed with the preparation of the happiest day of their lives – It takes a village to make a wedding work so why not pull everything together in a more streamlined manner?

Happy wedding journey all – Leave me any comments or tips you have, let me know if you are having a difficult time with all the things to be done and I can reassure you how simple it is to get things on track.

All the best Chelena