Wedding Planning Software: Room Layout, Research Paper Example

Introduction

In terms of events reliably occurring in large numbers, the wedding remains a billion-dollar industry, and one with no foreseeable lessening of activity. The average wedding typically represents both a huge investment from the families involved and a substantial source of income for the hospitality industry, from private clubs to intimate restaurants with space for smaller affairs. It is a massive business: “The American wedding is shaped as much by commerce and marketing as it is by those influences couples might prefer to think of as affecting their nuptial choices…” (Mead 9).

It is therefore not surprising that technology would arise to improve and expedite the many and complicated facets to planning a successful wedding. Focused on here is a tool also used widely in the restaurant and club industries in a non-event capacity: room planning software. While a restaurant may employ it to ensure a smoother running of its dining room on a nightly basis, its real value stands out when the large numbers and many variables of accommodating a wedding party are the issue.

Basics

There is a variety of software specifically designed to address issues of room layout for events and celebrations, and most programs do not restrict themselves to the single banner of “wedding software”. Nonetheless, commonalities exist within a multitude of personal events, and these programs are usually equipped with all the variables which come into play for a wedding reception.

Most basic of the options available in room layout software is that which permits the planner to plug in the dimensions of the actual space itself, with a correspondingly accurate sizing of tables and extras, from bandstands to buffets tables. Very little, in fact, is not taken into account; decorative plant urns, pianos, registry tables, and a host of other wedding accoutrements are usually there to select and add to the space as dictated by the event itself. Obviously, the key element here lies in the correct dimensions of anything to be used. It is of small value to set up a perfect room arrangement on a computer screen when the literal objects themselves will not fit.

Additionally, room layout softwares provide as detailed an arranging of specifics as the planner requires, particularly in regard to guest placement. Names are entered, then clicked and dragged on the screen to the desired location. As with any software made with the awareness that both professionals and clients will be utilizing it, room layout programs are uniformly user-friendly, especially in regard to clarity. Everything, from guest to the groom’s cake table, is clearly identified as such by headers.

In any assessment of the basics of such software must be the mention of its current universality. No successful wedding planner today, either existing within another industry or solely in business for this purpose, does not make use of one of these technologies. A knowledgeable client base demands it, for one thing. For another, the technology vastly eases processes and plans once hampered by the need for on-site activity. It enables more time for more business for the planner as it serves to fully cater to any requests from the client in regard to set-up.

That said, the same technology assisting professional wedding planners also poses a threat to them, as Internet and software applications are increasingly enabling the couple to arrange everything themselves. “The Internet gives you the options to…personalize your wedding and find great ideas, prices and items you want” (Lynn xiii). The resourceful bride today may easily upload and utilize the same room layout software employed by the hired consultant.

Editing

One of the greatest advantages to room layout software is its intrinsic and immediate adaptability. Until the last minute before the wedding reception is actually and physically laid out, any desirable alteration can be done in an instant. A last-minute cancellation from a guest suddenly calling because he is too ill to attend, and he is gone from the plan. Moreover, his absence permits other options immediately. The software can automatically adjust the seating count at the table and correct the guest count as reflected elsewhere. It can add a reminder to notify the caterer about the need for one less dinner, or it can be set up to do so automatically, and down to which of the entrees is to be eliminated if the guest list is devised to pair the guests with their menu choices.

Then, if this change suggests a shuffling of the previous seating arrangement, that as well is easily accomplished and another guest is shifted to a new table. As is evident, this user-friendly adaptability factors into every aspect of the physicality of the affair. A dance floor may be inserted, removed, placed on the other side of the room, or merely cut at the sides to allow for aisle space. Provided the input of all dimensions is accurate, the software adapts and permits any alterations in plan which conform to the specifications it has been given. As planners and clients have discovered, the properly programmed event becomes a puzzle to play with, one wherein all the pieces can be adjusted to suit change of plans, additions in entertainment or guests, or a simple desire to alter the aesthetics of the arrangement.

Communication

“Internet access and an email address are musts for group communication, especially when guests and service providers are scattered across a long distance, and perhaps even different time zones” (Light 19). This is a fairly evident statement, but it carries a sometimes unheeded reminder: distances before the event.

While room layout softwares do not provide email access, it is a safe assumption that those employing the software will have this communication tool, and the programs are designed to make the transfer of information and plans easy. The nature of most weddings is built around a gathering of people often far from each other, and personal requirements, such as the need to provide access for a disabled guest, can then be emailed and added to the floor plan. That aside, however, it is the ability for quick communication between the planner and the family that is most essential, and particularly in regard to exchanging edited and downloaded files of the layout. It is one thing for a bride to email her wedding planner and request that the bride’s table be made twice as long; it is another when both parties, through examinations of existing floor plans, know that this is not possible without a complete restructuring of the room. A great deal of time is saved, as lengthy and possibly unclear explanations do not need to be made.

As mentioned, this plays into the immediacy of the event itself as well, and with important regard to the crew setting up the room. The planner is often off-site, busy with other arrangements and unable to directly supervise the room’s assembly. The bride, the groom and the families are, of course, also busy elsewhere. The room layout software which permits the transfer of the latest plans through any email or Internet connection to the site is an enormous asset. A supervisor brought in on the last minute to prepare for the event need only look at the uploaded files and see exactly how they are to proceed. Furthermore, if certain items on the plans are not available as anticipated, the communication factor allows for additional, last-minute adjustments which will be no unpleasant “surprise” to anyone concerned.

Summary

What room layout software accomplishes in the wedding industry is an extensive array of benefits, much of this dependent upon the range of the software selected. Most programs geared for events like weddings, however, go beyond the room layout elements. “Many of the commercial applications are temporally based in that they offer suggestions and checklists as to what tasks should be undertaken dependent on the timescale of the wedding…” (Jacko, Stephanidis 1111). Sophisticated layers are continually added to existing programs which provide automatic reminders of other wedding issues, from setting up a viable time frame for the event to coordinating with the kitchen or caterers.

Ultimately, however, room layout software supplies an excellent example of technology at its most practical. Weddings are notoriously multifaceted, highly complex and often stressful affairs. Yet much of the focus of the planning of the successful wedding reception is concerned solely with the room itself, for in this space will all other considerations be determined. Vital aspects such as guest comfort, arrangements of guests that ensure proper amounts of respect and attention, and the all-important flow of the room itself, are all dealt with here and greatly enhanced by the technology.

As a side benefit, room layout software allows for greater aesthetic license. As both planner and couple may, early on, devise a room scenario, so too does the visual of the program enable them to consider options they may not have otherwise entertained. Room layout software for weddings is in essence a perfect marriage of technology and the aesthetics of a highly personal event.

Works Cited

Jacko, J. A., and Stephanidis, C. Human-Computer Interaction: Theory and Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers, 2003. Print.

Light, L. Destination Bride: A Complete Guide to Planning Your Wedding Anywhere in the World. Georgetown, ON, Canada: North Light Books, 2005. Print.

Lynn, C.  Laptop Bride: Using the Internet to Plan Your Dream Wedding. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse Publishing, 2004. Print.

Mead, R. One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding. New York, NY: The Penguin Group, Ltd., 2008. Print.