Now that your New Year’s resolutions have gone by the wayside, here’s a way to make sure your wedding resolutions don’t go the same way!

We’ve deliberately held off on our first blog of the New Year as we’re aware that so much can be going on at this time of the year.

All those gym sessions to get in. All those cigarettes to pack in. All those new languages to start learning!

The cold reality, however, is that up to 80% of New Year’s resolutions have bit the dust by now.

Very often, it’s because the resolutions were too ambitions (lose two stone in two months). In other cases, it’s because the vague aim of the resolution wasn’t supported by a detail plan to back it up.

In the vast majority of cased, it doesn’t really matter that you’ve fallen short in your resolution. In many cases, you never really believed that the dream would come true.

But when it comes to your plans for a wedding or corporate event, it’s simply not an option to let your best-laid plans fall behind schedule.

With that in mind, here are a few top tips to make sure your resolution for the best ever wedding or event passes off without a hitch.

• Never miss a deadline.

  The biggest single trick that any project manager will reveal to you is the power of ‘working backwards’. In other words, take your D-Day and then establish all the intermediate dates on the path to that final deadline. Not everybody is happy with using a formal spreadsheet, but even if you’re not, make sure you get it down in writing in some form or another. And once you’ve got a list of intermediate dates (such as ‘Sort bridesmaid dressed by June 8^th), then make sure you hit that deadline. Failure to do so can mean that other things slip out of place. For example, if you haven’t yet got a colour theme for the bridesmaids dresses, you can’t sort your order with your florist).

• Don’t take other people at their word.

  It’s great to hear recommendations from friends as to a great wedding band or corporate entertainer but you should never place your full trust in the opinions of others. Make sure you go and see them for yourself. Any act worth their salt will be prepared to tell you where they’re performing – and make sure you can gain access.

• Do your homework.

  It’s amazing what you can find out on social media – particularly in relation to those providing wedding acts or high-impact corporate entertainment. Visit the website or social media page of the acts that you’re interested in, and trawl through the various comments you’ll see. You can easily dismiss the odd crank, but if the general theme is one of disappointment, then avoid them like the plague. They’re unlikely to be any better for YOUR event or big day.

• Get everything in writing.

  Nothing is worse than having a row with a supplier about what you think they said. To avoid rows that can go on interminably, get everything in writing. Not just confirmation of the date and the time that they’ll turn up, but also the total cost, terms of payment etc. That way, if the worse should happen and you end up in dispute with a supplier, you’ll have a strong case for demanding justice.

• Check in regularly.

  Even though you have written confirmation from a suppler that your date is in their diary, check in with them regularly to make sure that there are no issues. Your photographer could have broken a leg, for example. It can be just a quick email to confirm that everything is in order. Apart from giving you greater peace of mind, it’s the perfect reminder for any supplier who might be a tad sloppy with their paperwork. 

• The closer the date, the more you need to be involved.

  When your wedding is still a year or more away, you can be tempted to take your foot off the gas, to an extent. But once you get into the final six months, you need to really upgrade the amount of attention you give to the ‘project’. Weekly review meetings with your other half or wedding organiser will keep everybody on the same hymn sheet – and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

And here’s one last thought about making sure that you are the organiser of the best wedding or corporate event that your guests have ever been at.

Always have a back-up plan. It sounds very basic, but there will always be hiccups in any plan.

The hotel may go out of business.

The cake may fall on the way to your venue.

Your bridesmaid may be laid up with chicken pox.

If any of these things were to happen, what would you do?

It really helps if you have a contingency plan in place, making sure that simply nothing will spoil your big day.