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Meet Dara Castiglione: Wedding Planner
July 7, 2015
Meet
Dara Castiglione
, a wedding planner from New Jersey. After reading one of her tweets about Google Docs, we chatted to better understand how she uses the family of products to run her wedding planning business.
We want to know how you use Google Docs, too, so share your own examples at
+GoogleDocs
or
@googledocs
with the hashtag #mygoogledocs. -Ed.
Hi Dara! Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
Hi! My name is Dara and I am the Owner of Castiglione Events, a boutique wedding and special events planning company in New Jersey. I plan around eight weddings a year in New Jersey and New York, as well as other small parties. My primary focus is to keep my clients organized and on schedule during the hectic planning process, which typically lasts about a year. I do have assistants, but the day-to-day tasks and the bulk of the major planning are done by me alone. Google Docs is a great tool that helps to keep myself and my clients organized.
How does Google Docs fit into your wedding planning business?
There are many contracts, budgets, spreadsheets and timelines that are used during the planning process. They have to stay organized or you’ll go crazy trying to piece everything together. I offer full service planning, but the majority of my work is partial planning/day of coordination. With this type of service, clients are very involved in the planning process. So the use of Google Docs is imperative to ensure we’re always on the same page. I collect pertinent information from clients through shared spreadsheets which allows all of us to go in and modify in one shared, organized space. Most of my clients live far away and work full-time, so in lieu of meetings and constant phone conferences that no one today really has time for, we work together in a shared space that allows a constant stream of communication. We work on wording for menu cards, ceremony programs, and even ceremony scripts and readings through Google Docs as well. Commenting is key because it allows all parties to address a question, concern, or issue head-on as opposed to writing a whole email about it. We can work together right there in the document. It’s a definite time-saver!
What are three tips you’d give for other wedding planners about using Google Docs?
Show clients how to use it if they’re unfamiliar! Don’t just settle for them not knowing how. It will seriously make your life (and theirs!) so much easier and they will thank you for it. It’s worth taking the extra time to give them a quick lesson.
Don’t forget about revision history. It allows you to view all changes and additions that have been made by you and the person you’re sharing with. Check every once in a while. You never know if something they typed in and erased out of uncertainty is actually important info or an incredible idea!
Invite vendors to join in working this way. I’m always collaborating with DJ’s and caterers to establish the perfect timeline and flow for each event. I send draft timelines in Google Docs, which allows them to add in specific elements important to them, or comments in areas they need revised to fit their requirements after they see my proposed timeline.
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