Wedding Bells and Website Building

Posted in: Company Culture by Sam Chambers on Jan. 16, 2012

Love was in the air this weekend as Chief Information Officer and Co-Founder Matt Laster got married to his fiancée, Mandy. First, we at BEC would like to congratulate Matt on tying the knot. After all, who doesn’t love weddings? Sure, there’s stress involved when it comes to the planning phases, but the end result is always worth it. Wedding planning, interestingly enough, is a lot like developing a website or maintaining a business. There are lots of little details that can make or break the whole end product. Here are some of the must-haves for any wedding or web design team:

1. Designate a Fearless Leader – Having someone with a clear goal in mind at the beginning of any project is vital to success. This applies to the team leader for any web design project and the bride and groom for any wedding. Not knowing what you want to achieve as your end goal makes the planning process unorganized and produces a less-than-satisfactory result. The leader should make a list of goals before going into a project. Then, prioritize those goals. What could your wedding day or website absolutely not go without? Attempt to achieve those goals through creative means. However, the leader of the project should also be flexible. Everyone has heard the horror stories about bride or groomzillas (yes, groomzillas totally exist) who micromanage their wedding. Being too specific and too detail oriented will leave you either completely stressed or totally disappointed. The same goes for web designing. While it’s important to have clear goals, they should not be meticulous. Hence, an efficient leader will strike the balance between these two extremes to create a superb end product.

2. Put Together an Effective Team – A few months ago, I was asked to be the Maid of Honor in a friend’s wedding. I, being a fairly effective planner, took the reins on a lot of projects with which the bride needed assistance. However, I was shocked at the other bridesmaid’s unwillingness to help. I ended up going dress shopping with the bride by myself and the bride was distraught. Having a team that works well together is just as important in creating a website or business as it is in tying the knot. Team members should complement each other in their various skill sets and should be able to cooperate. Is there a member who slows down the workflow or whose negative attitude is bringing down morale? Get rid of them. No one wants that stress, especially not on a deadline. Your team of web designers or wedding helpers will thank you.

3. Have a Set Budget – As the Maid of Honor in the previously mentioned wedding, I was asked by the groom to keep tab on how much the bride spent on the dress. Alyssa, the bride, was notorious for having, as we said, “champagne tastes on a beer budget.” Wedding dress shopping with the bride ended up being more nerve-racking than I had anticipated, since the bride’s choices far exceeded her funds. Through some creative negotiating, we were able to find a dress that still met most of Alyssa’s criteria and was within the budget. Knowing how many resources you have before tackling a huge project is important for the business world as well as the wedding world. Make sure your project stays within a defined budget. After all, no one wants to leave an important project unfinished.

4. Color Choice Says a Lot – Color was also a disputed topic in Alyssa’s wedding. Since Alyssa was getting married in October, she wanted the bridesmaids to wear pumpkin orange. The feedback from us was unanimous. None of us felt that orange was a flattering color and it didn’t reflect the bride’s taste. Eventually, we got her to consider using her actual favorite color, a lilac purple. Just as in weddings, web and logo design is an easy pitfall. After all, it is all-too-easy to mess up color. Be aware of what color is saying to an audience. Red is naturally going to come off as more aggressive than blue. Moss green is more earthy-feeling than neon yellow. Be aware of what color says about your business and be sure to pick coordinating colors.

5. Be a People-Pleaser – Let’s face it, brides and grooms are always making wedding decisions with their audience in mind. What their friends and family say about the wedding means a lot to them. In the same line of thought, web designers and entrepreneurs should always have their audience in mind when creating new products. This audience could be the client or potential customers. Either way, its important to have them in mind when planning because they will be the ultimate judges of whether the product is a success or a flop. Finally, always be open to feedback from the client. In the case of Matt and Mandy’s wedding, it seems that the guests deemed it a huge success based on the stellar feedback from their Facebook walls. Once again, congratulations to Matt and Mandy and have a happy honeymoon!