How to Use Google Drive to Organize Wedding Planning Client Projects
As a wedding planner, staying organized is pretty essential. Especially in the case of Full Planning clients where you’re acting as Project Manager for likely the biggest event they’ll ever host.
Your organization through simple and repeatable project management systems is key, particularly for keeping track of multiple clients and their events. There is so much info to stay on top of from wedding to wedding—to-do lists, crunching the budget, wedding vendors, files, contracts, quotes, wedding day details and more!
So how do you manage each wedding and all the details seamlessly? Project Manage Software.
When I first started my wedding planning business in 2012 I had NO operating budget whatsoever. I was working with DIY branding and an aging desktop computer.
I definitely didn’t have the funds—$45-200+ USD per month—to spend on expensive planning software like Aisle Planner or Planning Pod. Not to mention, each time I tried them out, it seemed they weren’t the best solution. They didn’t do things how I liked. In my opinion, they’re an all-in-one, that didn’t do any of those things better than the other systems and subscriptions I was using.
Plus, as a Canadian wedding pro, when you factor in the USD conversion rates, it’s difficult to invest in software that doesn’t quite check all my boxes.
With no money, but loads of time to build my wedding business, I spent most of my free time marketing and getting all the pieces of the puzzle in place for clients, so when I did book couples, I had tools and templates ready to go. I didn’t wait for clients to get on board to prepare the documents and tools I needed. (More about those templates shortly!)
Google Drive has been essential for staying on track with clients and managing all their files, data and details. Then I happily added Dubsado to the mix in 2020.
While I rely on Dubsado as my CRM for client leads, invoicing, and contracts, my go-to tool for project management is Google Drive.
With its free, user-friendly interface and powerful collaboration tools, Google Drive has been my trusted system for organizing client information since 2013. Since then, it’s been my home base for planning with couples year after year, weddings for 30-300 guests, $30K-$250K+ budgets.
In this post, I’ll share how I use Google Drive to manage my planning projects, the templates I’ve created, and tips for getting started.
Why Google Drive Is Perfect for Wedding Planning Project management
Google Drive is a lifesaver for wedding planners because it’s:
Free to start: The basic plan offers ample storage, and upgrades are affordable. Saving you hundreds of dollars each year.
Cloud-based: Access your files anytime, anywhere—on your phone, tablet, or computer. No more lugging my laptop absolutely everywhere. I can access Google Drive from my phone and iPad on the go.
Collaboration-friendly: Share folders and documents with clients and vendors in just a few clicks. Usually no extra log-ins required!
Always up-to-date: Say goodbye to version confusion with real-time updates. When I was using spreadsheets and Word docs in my computer, wayyyy at the beginning of KJ & Co., it was difficult to tell between files on my computer, and emailing back and forth with clients which versions were up to date. With one file in the Google cloud-based software, this was no longer an issue.
Most of my clients were already familiar with Google Drive, so they easily made use of their templates.
My SIMPLE GOOGLE FILE SYSTEM FOR WEDDING PLANNING
Similar to how I originally organized things on my computer, each year gets its own folder. You can see in the example below that I moved them to a “Completed” folder when each year was done. In the example below, my 2012 & 2013 weddings were still on my computer.
Within each year’s folder, there was a folder for each client, labelled with their date first, then their last names. (For privacy, I’ve blurred the client names out below.)
Within each client folder, you’ll find their four main planning templates, which I sell right here. Their planning timeline, guest list, budget and a planning options/details list are quickly and easily accessed in their folder. These are the four essential docs for each wedding.
You’ll also notice there are sub-folders for other files, most importantly contracts for their booked wedding vendors.
In the example below for a tented private property wedding, there was a lot more to save like extra quotes, and even a folder for photos from a site visit to the groom’s parents’ property.
Eventually, as their wedding planning progressed, I would add a wedding day itinerary to each folder, also started from a template.
Setting up each client’s folder was quick and easy with my four tried and true planning templates and I would edit them accordingly with all the details I had already from our initial meetings and inquiry process, before sharing them with clients. They would get access to these early on in their planning process.
These four templates were incredible added value for my event management/month-of coordination clients as well, and helped me to prove the value of my premium pricing.
Not spending hundreds or thousands of dollars a year on pricy software left more room in my operating budget for other more desirable and impactful expenses like copywriting and branding updates, as well as conferences and workshops.
You can certainly create your own systems and templates to function exactly how you like, or save yourself a ton of time and grab mine below. These are the exact tried and true templates I perfected over the last 13 years as wedding planner.
GET MY TEMPLATES
Get all four of my wedding planning templates for managing your clients’ weddings in Google drive.
Budget, guest list, planning timeline and details list, right here.
Plus tips and tricks for each one, and a behind-the-scenes walk through of how I organize my Google Drive.
