What’s Right for You? Readers Review Wedding Industry Software

By Beth Erickson, Wedding Planner Magazine Editor, La Crosse, Wis.Many wedding industry business owners will tell you that managing all of the event details, inventory, and financials of the company is like juggling too many balls in the air. It makes you drip with worry, waiting and wondering when you’re going to drop one. Since there’s no magic button to push to resolve this issue, and you’re left to seek the perfect software, the one that organizes your life and makes your career worry-resistant. But how do you find that software among the sea of options? What’s right for you and your business?Wedding Planner Magazine asked readers and software users to review some of the top wedding and event planning software on the market today. We also sought input from the software providers and their websites. Here are the no-frills findings. Remember, what works for one individual/business may not be the best choice for all as each individual has his or her own style. The final decision remains yours. Aisle PlannerFormat: CloudCost: Starts at $9.99/monthReviewer FeedbackEase of Installation: Very easy to extremely easyEase of Use: Very easy to not at all easyStrengths: Aesthetically beautiful, easy to use, centralized information, ability to collaborate with clients and vendors, design studio, ability to upload files and images, include notes for clients, ability to let multiple people have access.Weaknesses: Ability to send proposals, all-in-one to include prospecting, contracts, invoices, questionnaires, ability to diagram, an app, easier to use when assigning tasks.Overall Productivity Increase Average: 76%Overheard: “I did a lot of research and even tested out a couple of other software programs before selecting Aisle Planner. I love that Aisle Planner is so easy to use and functional, and that it allows me to collaborate and stay in touch with my out-of-state clients. There is also a wonderful community of other planners who use it on Facebook, and everyone helps each other out with any questions. The software founder, Christina Farrow, is also very active in this group and hands-on with users to ensure we get the most out of the software.”- Lauren Mestas, Just Lovely Wedding & Event Planning, Albuquerque, N.M.From the company: Aisle Planner is working on a proposals feature, ceremony detail tracking, reception details/seating assignments, and company financials/billing information. Currently, the notebook section allows planners to collaborate on any number of details with clients including photo shot lists, packing lists, floral RFPs, and ceremony details. There is also a simple seating assignment section. "Rather than rush to get out new features, we’d rather take our time to build them right.  As a new company in the wedding and event technology space, our goal is not to just replicate what’s already out there in the way of planning tools. We want to create innovative solutions that truly move this industry…forward. We’ve had a lot of great feedback on how much planners love their custom-branded, beautifully designed and inspired online workspace in Aisle Planner, but beauty can only get you so far if the tools aren’t easy to use and aren’t actually making planning, designing, and collaborating with your team (and clients) easier.  That said, the features that encourage and support collaboration and communication within our tools throughout the planning process are really integral to helping planners work more efficiently.”- Christina Lei Farrow, president and founderThe Ava MethodFormat: CloudCost: Starts at $27/month or $270 for 15 events annuallyReviewer FeedbackEase of Installation: Very easy to moderately easyEase of Use: Very easy to not at all easyStrengths: Client communication, tracking, overall project management, quick tech support response.Weaknesses: More user friendly, shorter load time.Overall Productivity Increase Average: 26-56%*Overheard: “I really like all of the features! This application meets my business needs. The support provided is top notch. Service or help requests are always responded to very quickly. It’s a pleasure using this software and dealing with this company.”- Kathy Cambridge, PLAN4IT Events, LLC, Bonner, Mont.From the Company: The company did not respond to our requests for comments.BasecampFormat: CloudCost: Starts at $20/month for 10 active projectsReviewer FeedbackEase of Installation: Extremely easyEase of Use: Extremely easyMulti-users: YesStrengths: Calendar view; easy to add, remove, and manage people’s permissions; easy to upload and download, great for mobile use.Weaknesses: Does not have a lot of wedding-specific services.Overall Productivity Increase Average: 26-50%*Overheard: “I like how everyone on my team can view all of the necessary information about an event.”- AnonymousFrom the Company: “Basecamp gives you one place to wrangle people with different roles, responsibilities, and objectives toward a common goal: Finishing a project together. Or in this case a wedding…My wife is a wedding photographer, and we love when our clients use Basecamp. At our wedding, we had a wedding coordinator that kept everything in one big book. That was fine until she forgot the book or brought someone else’s wedding book to our meeting instead of ours. Having Basecamp gives us easy access to every detail of a wedding.”- Chase Clemons, Basecamp Customer SupportiDo Wedding and EventProfessional Edition (Elm Software)Format: Software download/CD (PC/Mac with additional download)Cost: $299.95Reviewer FeedbackEase of Installation: Extremely easyEase of Use: Very easyMulti-users: YesStrengths: The completeness of the program, guest list management module, financial link between customer and company billing, invoice, budget tracking, great step-by-step how-to guide.Weaknesses: Needs the ability to create proposals, be available online, be accessible from a mobile device, file sharing with clients, better technical support, ability to setup currency other than that from the computer’s regional setting, ability to setup VAT for advanced bookkeeping, ability to create/automate a workflow of proposals/contracts/invoices.Overall Productivity Increase Average: 63%*Overheard: “If we used it to its fullest, we would not need any other programs, like Quickbooks, calendars, etc. Dedicating ourselves to this program would definitely save us time and money.”- Victoria Lewis, Genesis Master of Events, Fresno, Calif.From the Company: The company did not respond to our requests for comments.Planning PodFormat: CloudCost: Starts at $19.99/month for five active projectsReviewer FeedbackEase of Installation: Extremely easyEase of Use: Very easy to not at all easyMulti-users: YesStrengths: Tablet friendly, allows invoices to be split into multiple payments with pre-scheduled email reminders to client, client and lead tracking, comprehensive wedding planning tools, affordable, ability for clients to have their own account and create their own wedding websites, ability to create vendor-specific timelines.Weaknesses: Needs more financial accounting so additional software is not needed, enhanced floor plans, itinerary should condense in printing so timelines could be on one page, client website design could be more aesthetically appealing, needs more customizable layouts for reports, less time-consuming process for building timelines.Overall Productivity Increase Average: 53%*Overheard: Planning Pod “is a very affordable option for wedding planners. It is billed on a monthly basis and based on the number of active events you have each month, so there are a lot of options.”- Jenny Garringer, Pink with Envy Event Planning Services, Beavercreek, OhioFrom the Company: Recent updates to the itinerary/timeline tool make it more flexible and easier to use. Future updates include enhancing the floorplans tool and adding new reporting, overhauling the event website tool to make it more customizable (both functionally and visually), rebuilding the guest list/attendee tracking tool, adding a new lead tracking/CRM tool, and offering online event registration capabilities (both paid and free) to accompany the RSVP tracking tools. Planning Pod is also exploring integration possibilities with Quickbooks as they do not intend to offer full accounting/bookkeeping tools. The new update is scheduled to launch this month. “We love getting feedback from our customers because it’s the best way for us to know what to build next…Our long-term goal for Planning Pod is to become the go-to event planning and management toolkit for event and wedding professionals as well as a valuable resource for useful content and guidance.”- Jeff Kear, co-owner, Planning PodShootQFormat: CloudCost: Starts at $39.95/monthReviewer FeedbackEase of Installation: Extremely easyEase of Use: Extremely easyMulti-users: YesStrengths: Ability to automate emails/reminders to clients; track as many weddings as needed; include all contracts, pricing, and business financials in one place; editable emails and questionnaire templates.Weaknesses: Needs a client-interface program to allow users to share the system with clients, include planning features like inspiration boards and file sharing, have the email default be whichever user is logging in to use the service so emails don’t automatically get sent from the owner.Overall Productivity Increase Average: 51%*Overheard: “I do regularly (recommend this software). I even offer to do a demo for them and show them how I use it beforehand and do a training session for them afterward to get them up and running more quickly!”- Bethel Nathan, Ceremonies by Bethel, San Diego, Calif.From the Company: The company did not respond to requests for comments.Wedding Managementfor Professionals(Murphys Creativity Software)Format: CD (PC)Cost: $365Reviewer FeedbackEase of Installation: Moderately easy to slightly easyEase of Use: Moderately easy to not at all easyMulti-users: YesStrengths: The budget featureWeaknesses: Needs ability to use online and be mobile-friendly, seating charts, floor plans, ability to have client sharing/accessibility.Overall Productivity Increase Average: 50%*Overheard: “I don’t know of any wedding management software that is better, more comprehensive or more user-friendly than this.  And the level of customer service that Murphys Creativity Software provides is without equal.”- Jean Picard, MBC™, Jean Picard Wedding ConsultingFrom the Company: Future updates include the ability to import guest lists from Excel files, new reports, and other enhanced functionality requested by users. With data security issues on the Internet, Murphys Creativity Software is not yet ready to commit to hosting client information on the cloud. However, Wedding Management for Professionals can be used remotely using a program like TeamViewer. “Our software is extremely easy to use.  And, if anyone has a question, they can call or email us, and we will help at no extra charge and without a yearly maintenance fee…Our software has been around since 1999, and we expect to be here well into the future.  We do not care if we are the prettiest software on the block, we care about tracking information for weddings and events as efficiently as possible, so wedding planners can focus on what they do best.  Our software is also ‘inclusive.’ You can plan weddings for ‘brides and grooms,’ ‘brides and brides,’ and ‘grooms and grooms.'"- Jackie Murphy, owner, Murphys Creativity Software * The increase in productivity is among reviewers who noticed a change.