Aisle Planner: How a Wedding Planner Stays Organized
Today I want to share all about my favorite tool that I use in my wedding planning business: a wedding planning software called Aisle Planner! This all-in-one resource helps keep myself and my clients organized all while streamlining the behind the scenes of my business. PLUS they have their own wedding blog! Let’s deep dive into the three main components of the wedding planning software that I use in my business.
The Backend and Business Tools of This Wedding Planning Software
Next up is the side of the wedding planning software that couples don’t have direct access to, but it helps organize and streamline so much of my business. I’m able to keep track of all of my leads, send brochures and questionnaires easily, send and manage contracts, and handle all of my invoicing. All of your information is held and processed in one system, making it super easy for you! My couples also use their invoice functionality to make payments directly to Philosofi Celebrations via credit card or bank account. No need to fuss with signing CC authorizations in person or paying by check if you don’t want to!
The Wedding Planning Software (aka How I Plan Your Wedding)
Aisle Planner’s Project tab is really the meat and potatoes of this amazing wedding planning software. This is what my couples engage with throughout their planning process. It has everything I need to plan and execute beautiful weddings alongside my couples and their vendor teams.
Checklist
This holds alllll of the to-do list items surrounding your wedding. I’ve developed my planning checklists to be super comprehensive, but it’s also super easy to get rid of to-dos that don’t apply to your wedding or to add in any that may not be included. In addition, they’re automatically sorted by the months tasks should be completed (and can also be sorted by category). I can even assign due dates as needed! Depending on which package you book, I’ll assign tasks to specific people, which will send notifications as due dates approach. PLUS we can comment on specific checklist items to stay organized.
Calendar
The calendar automatically includes any checklist items that have a due date and payment reminders for your vendors. In addition, you can add in any wedding-related events, from vendor meetings to showers and bach parties. You can also synch it with other calendar apps (I use Google Calendar). I love how customizable this wedding planning software is!
Timeline
This is where your wedding weekend timeline will live! It is one area of the wedding planning software that I actually don’t give my clients access to. Because my timelines are very long and very comprehensive, it can be super overwhelming to see as a couple. Instead of giving you direct access, I use questionnaires and planning meetings, along with communication from your vendor team, to create your full timeline. What you, as the client, see is a much more condensed, simplified version of the end product. In addition, this document gets edited several times and the final version will be sent to your vendor team so that everyone knows when they need to be where throughout the day.
Design Studio
Here you’ll be able to create style guides and color palettes for every aspect of your wedding. You can upload photos for individual categories like cake, hair and makeup, or florals, or you can simply create a general mood board. Lastly, I will include design proposals and final design selections within the design studio for my clients who add premium design to their planning package. Shoutout to a wedding planning software that actually cares about aesthetics!
Guests + Layouts & Seating
These are two tools within Aisle Planner that are constantly communicating with each other. The guest functionality allows you to keep track of your wedding guests and their addresses, in addition to tracking RSVPs, meal selections, and more. We love a smart, well-integrated wedding planning software!! You can even have different guest lists for engagement parties, showers, brunches, etc. With the layouts & seating tool, you can create layouts and floor plans for your event and assign seats and/or tables for all of your guests. This tool is undoubtedly critical for your event, and I love how seamlessly it all integrates.
Contacts
The contacts tool allows you to keep all of your vendor information in one place, including payment schedules (this integrates with the budget tool), contact information, vendor meals, and more. You can also upload files like contracts and proposals directly to their contact.
Budget
This is pretty self explanatory! The budget template I have created is based on rough percentages, but category percentage and amounts can shift as much or as little as you would like. So you have a clear idea of what you’re spending, how much you’ve already spent, and how much you still owe, the budget is broken down into estimate, actual, difference, paid, and due. You can add invoices directly into the budget, and due dates for the week and for the month will appear on the budget every time you check it.
Notes
The notes section is super flexible (and self explanatory) and can really be used however you like. I use it on my end to keep track of our meeting notes and will occasionally upload fillable worksheets for you to complete within the wedding planning software.
Other fun wedding planning tools
In addition to all of that goodness, Aisle Planner has a wedding website functionality, but most of my couples opt to use an external website. If you just want a simple wedding website without the distraction of bells and whistles, just let me know and I can turn the functionality on for you!
Another amazing function of Aisle Planner is being able to sort by category. If we’re sitting down for a meeting with your florist, then I can easily pull up everything related to the florals within the wedding planning software, including checklist items, style guides, and notes. I use this function frequently, and it’s super convenient!
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