7 Business Lessons I Learned While Planning My Daughter's Wedding

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My 26-year-old daughter recently got married. I've been to dozens of weddings and enjoyed them, but this was my first time being involved making a marriage together. In the months of planning this week with my wife, I learned seven valuable lessons that can be applied to business.

We thought of having a traditional wedding so we looked for a wedding venue to hold the reception. However, we ran into a problem. Our guest list included about 500 of our closest friends – most of them my daughter's network of fans, friends, students and others.

Paying $50-$150 per plate for a reception was out of our budget for so many people. We had a choice: we could reduce the list or organize the wedding ourselves. We did both.

We whittled the guest list down to 300 people, and counting save as much money as possible as we could, we did the wedding ourselves. My wife was the wedding coordinator and I was her assistant.

What does a DIY wedding look like? Well, we bought custom stickers and put 400 bride and groom stickers on 400 water bottles. We borrowed vases from friends and had many of them from previous events. One of our friends is a design hobbyist, so she made dozens of table settings and bouquets out of real flowers and fake flowers. I could go on.

However, what was most important about planning this wedding were the lessons I learned doing it:

1. Communication is essential

We had several WhatsApp groups to facilitate communication. We had regular meetings to update the status and plan the various elements of the wedding. My wife and I were in constant communication. We went to the venue, our church, many times to prepare and plan.

Poor communication is one of the biggest obstacles to success. Miscommunication and misunderstanding will sink your business.

Maybe my wife asked me to “put vases on the table”, but I didn't ask which vases. This can result in the wrong vases being on the wrong tables.

Your business is the same. Communicate clearly – in fact, when the task is very important, you should communicate a lot.

2. Be clear about the goals you are trying to achieve

As we went through the weeks leading up to the wedding, we kept in mind the main goals we needed to achieve. We knew that the bride and groom had to get married – that was the most important thing. Other goals we had were good food and a fun environment, among others.

Your business is the same.

Be clear about what the objectives you want to achieve in your business, including the various projects and tasks that are part of your business. If you are not clear about your goals, it will be very difficult to know what success looks like and how to be successful.

3. Get help

While my wife shouldered most of the wedding planning responsibilities with my support, we couldn't have done the wedding ourselves. We had friends and family helping us at different stages of the wedding.

One couple helped us for weeks before the wedding. Other friends also offered help on the day of the wedding and in the weeks leading up to the wedding.

Running your business is the same. It's very difficult to serve your customers and grow your business if it's just you. Ask for help from building a teamand ask for help from friends, mentors and even your family. You will need help in different ways from different people.

Help can take the form of paying a lawyer to help you draft a legal agreement the right way. Help can come in the form of a good business friend giving you advice on a new hire.

Don't be afraid to get help to start and grow your business.

4. Who you partner with is important for success (or failure)

My wife and I were partners in ensuring a successful wedding. We trust each other and do our best to work together. It's the same in business.

So that one PARTNERSHIP to be successful, you need to understand what is important to your partner. Understand how they communicate and their work styles.

A partner can be a POWERFUL asset to your business as they can help offload the actual thinking and work that needs to be done to grow a business. However, the wrong partner can be detrimental to your business.

5. Prioritization is essential – Don't go big on the minor ones and don't go minor on the big ones

Prioritization is important, especially as the complexity of your projects increases. You can only do so much in a given day. Time is limited. Therefore, the ability to prioritize is essential. In preparation for the wedding, we had to constantly prioritize. For example, today, we will put up tables. Tomorrow we will put pots. As we got closer to the wedding, we had to “let go” of some things and cut back on others.

You should do this in your business too.

What needs to be done TODAY? What can wait until later? What MUST be done this quarter and what can be put off for another day?

As you work with others, also understand that YOUR priority may not be their priority. Therefore, having common goals and understanding what is important to you, your partner and/or team is important.

6. Who are the interested parties?

For the wedding, we knew there were certain important people or groups of people we had to consider. The bride and groom were the most important. The groom's parents were also important, so we had to consider their needs and concerns. We also had to think about our church ministry and their wedding concerns and needs.

Your business is the same. You are never alone in your business. There's you, your employees (or team members), your customers, possibly government agencies, vendors, and others.

Consider the stakeholders who are important to the success of your business and think about their needs and concerns.

7. Get advice from others

Critical to the success of the wedding was our wedding coordination team. This team consisted of my sister, my daughter's best friend, my wife, my daughter, my daughter's fiance, and me!

We had regular meetings with this team to get their input and help with most of the planning for the wedding – cake, clothes, accommodation and much more.

You also need advisors in your business. You can get advice from peers who are other business owners. You can get advice from books and podcasts. You can join a mentoring community. You can also hire a consultant to guide you with certain aspects of your business.

My daughter's wedding was a success, and now you know why. The wedding is a one-day event. However, your business may take years to grow and be successful. You can't build one successful business alone — requires guidance, deliberate planning and a little luck.

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