Planning an event, whether it is a wedding or a holiday party, may be extremely stressful. Fortunately, we live in a world where technology or tools can assist in streamlining the process.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to get a separate email for all of your event needs. You will have to utilize an email to contact vendors and sign up for newsletters. With an email set up for this purpose, your personal email will not be blown up with these emails and you will be able to organize the content easier and leave it behind when the event is over. Or can even go directly to the inbox when you are ready to plan your next event! I really enjoy using GMail because then you can utilize Google Sheets and Google Docs to also store all your information. Using the Google Suite also allows anyone else planning with you to view and edit at any time and see all the edits you have made as well.
To the fun part, the overview of the event! You need to determine your budget, guest list, and timelines before scheduling vendors. This way you can find vendors that actually meet your needs and your budget. Depending on the type of event you are planning, the vendors may be booking up fast. Tools to help with the initial planning:
Next is determining where you are wanting to host your event and all the vendors you will need!
The Vendor Social
provides a one-stop-shop to provide you a list of vendors within the Richmond, Lexington, and surrounding areas in Kentucky that fits your needs. No more searching for hours for the perfect vendor only to find out they are no one near your budget.
There are tons of free tools out there that can help with the overall structure of the event. If you are having a seating chart, has an interactive way to plug and play with names and tables. To get an accurate layout of your venue, ask the venue if they have a layout. Most will have a PDF that you may use to easily determine spacing and seats.
Another great tool that I personally used when planning my wedding and still utilize to this day is Postable. This is a website that keeps all your friends and families addresses and phone numbers, with a bonus of reminding you when their birthdays are coming up to send a card. You can share a link to everyone you are inviting to your event and they complete the information themselves. All information is stored on your Postable account and can be easily exported in a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet is formatted in a way that allows it to be uploaded in sites to easily address invites.
At your event, you may want guests to share photos that they take. You can create a Google shared drive and share a link or QR code with your guests. Another site is
The Guest that does everything for you. All your guests will receive an invite to share and all photos taken during the event time will be automatically shared to the gallery. Another bonus, they have a wedding budget spreadsheet you can use as well!
This post is only scraping the bottom of all the different tools that are available. Whatever tools you decide to use for your event, it will be a great event because you are planning it! Remember that this is supposed to be a fun and exciting time, so try to find what works for you and your needs.