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Mrs. Canary, New York Age and Occupation: 24, Marketing Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Journalist/Editor Engagement Date: February 16, 2007 Wedding Date: July, 2008 Blogging Since: October 19, 2007 Venue: Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers About Me: I'm a born and raised New Yorker who loves all things crafty and artsy, food (cheese and dessert!), magazines, and shoes. I'm a power shopper always on the lookout for good deals or great quality-- sometimes I'm lucky and I find both! I love to dance and "shake what my momma gave me" but can also really enjoy a quiet night in with Mr. Canary and a good episode of Seinfeld or curl up with a good book.
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Mr. Canary finds some sick sadistic pleasure in reminding me how many months, weeks, and days we have left until the wedding because he likes to watch my face drop and contort with horror when I think I have so much more to do, and I’ve only got X number of days to do it. Here’s where it gets all better… Mr. Canary was a Gmail convert eons ago. I only started using it when we began making wedding plans… and now the benefits are totally evident.

First, I’m sure everyone who reads blogs or blogs themselves is already a big fan of Google Reader. I am! Unfortunately, with all that’s been going on, my reader is backlogged with 1,000+ items. Scary, huh? It’ll make for good reading after the wedding. ;) If you don’t use Google Reader and read lots of blogs, you should check it out. Before Google Reader, I used to bookmark all my favorite blogs and then go back and check every day for updates. This is by far much more efficient, especially if you get all geeked out like me and meticulously add tags to each blog you subscribe to.

My next favorite Google application? Google Docs. Mr. Canary and I literally use it every day now that planning is in full swing. This is where I keep the master of all documents… our To Do list. It used to have about 150 items on it… now we’re down to about 95. Not bad with two months to go. Mr. Canary and I share the document and update it every time we finish a task. We also assign priorities and ownership so that we’re not doubling our efforts. It’s also a great passive aggressive tool when I start to highlight things that I want Mr. Canary to do ASAP… but have probably already nagged him in person about 100 times. ;) I was getting frustrated with hand writing and rewriting everything I needed to complete every week and then emailing Mr. Canary about certain items that needed following up. This way, we can both log in and see in real time what needs to be done in a certain week. Really meticulous… I know, but it works! I don’t have panic attacks because it’s like I can see into the future and know that, “Oh, we only have four things we need to do next week… no sweat!”

I’ve also used Google Docs with the bridesmaids to plan the bachelorette events… I loaded an Excel sheet with names, phone numbers, and emails making it really easy for them to track a guest list and book reservations.

Another thing Mr. Canary and I use Google Docs for is as a repository for all the little projects we’re working on, i.e. our wedding announcement (Mr. Canary will start the document and I can go in and make edits), text for our programs and menus, our music play list (so if either of us hears a song we’d like played, we can immediately go in and add it to the list), and our honeymoon matrix (yes, it’s a matrix! we plotted out all the cities we’ll visit and compare rates of hotels in a sick spreadsheet).

I am a bridesmaid in a close friend’s wedding and we use Google Notebook to trade ideas that we find on gowns, favors, venues, and all other wedding stuff. Notebooks is great because it’s grab and go and basically mindless. I get really excited to go through some of my notebook items and find things I had forgotten about! Yes… the simple pleasures.

And what bride can be without a good calendar. I love my Google Calendar… which is another thing Mr. Canary and I share. We have a master calendar that we meticulously update. We have everything from personal appointments, friends’ birthdays to all the miscellaneous wedding items from our To Do list. And for all you Outlook users… now there is a sync function! My life is now complete.

And for the organized obsessed, here is a screenshot of our To Do list.


What are some tools or programs that you and your significant other use to stay organized during wedding planning? Any other Google addicts out there?

Tags: , |   Link for this post | Share this post: How to Plan a Wedding… Google-Style      
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23 Responses to “How to Plan a Wedding… Google-Style”

1.
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Eliana B.

I just love everything made by google.

 
2.
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Michele

lovey post! I’m maid of honor in my best friend’s September wedding - we’re using Notebook to keep up on ideas. love the to do list - very clean - and encouraging!

 
3.
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JC

There is also a count down widget you can add to your google homepage. Just in case you need reminder of how many days you dont have left each time you open an internet browser!!

 
4.
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Erin J.

I am an avid user of google reader and google docs :)

 
5.
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MissPearls (message)  49 posts, Newbee

Don’t forget google maps! FI and I had a sick map with dozens of spots marked out when we were looking for a reception venue and planning our trip to see them all. Once we picked one, we added local hotels and attractions, the church, family homes, etc, so we know where everything is!

 
6.
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Becky

OMG I LOVE GOOGLE. Sorry for the all caps, but seriously - I *heart* Google. I’ve had Gmail forever, and the ability to label, filter and sort by conversation is something I can never go back from. And it’s all so easy! We also have been using Google docs and Google calendar for keeping our guest list, to dos, other party planning lists and various other miscellaneous things easily accessible.

Does Google advertise? Because if they do, they should hire us! ;-) Real testimonials from some of the pickiest people ever (brides)!

 
7.
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Squishy622 (message)  168 posts, Blushing bee

completely. don’t know how i ever lived without it!

 
8.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  946 posts, Busy bee

Bee introduced me to Google Docs and I’ve been a avid fan ever since! Its fantastic!!!

 
9.
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Linda

Definitely! I use Google Reader and try to convert people when I can. It saves so much time.
I use Google Calendar and try to get FI to use it too.
Google is my favorite planning resource!

 
10.
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haliwood (message)  107 posts, Blushing bee

I heart Google everything! iGoogle is a great customized desktop that you can adorn with your gmail, google maps, various to-do lists, weather forecasts, wikipedia, youtube, horoscopes - you name it, it’s there!

However…..Microsoft OneNote is my exception….it’s like Google Notebook only way BETTER!!!

 
11.
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Sarah

We also love Google Docs! We converted a version of our guest list to tally RSVP. My parents are the one receiving the RSVPs, so they just go in daily to update from that day’s mail. Then my fiance and I, plus his parents, can go and check the RSVP list whenever we want so my parents don’t have to bother updating us every day w/email or calls! I have definitely become obsessed with checking the list multiple times a day for any updates. ;)

 
12.
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Quinnkd

microsoft onenote is the BEST. I use google for a lot of things, but onenote is just the easiest way to keep track of things and it automatically creates lists and compiles and stuff.

 
13.
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Angela

I used Google Maps with one of my bridesmaids when we were trying to figure out where to go for dress shopping. She lives in Chicago and the rest of us were going to go visit to have a bachelorette weekend/look at dresses. I plotted out all of the dress shops that carried the lines I wanted to look at and the Chicago-based ‘maid figured out which ones were closest to her apartment. Also, Google Maps has teamed up with the CTA so you can get the public transit schedules for anywhere on a CTA route! That was a lifesaver!

Also, I think this post helped me figure out how I’m going to keep track of RSVPs. I don’t trust either of our parents to keep track of lots of bits of paper and report back to me diligently, and I don’t even know where we’re going to be living yet come RSVP-time, but maybe I can get my mom to figure out the spreadsheets on Google and keep track of everything that way? It’s worth a try anyway!

 
14.
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Bee
Miss Peacock (message)  374 posts, Helper bee

I also love all the Google products :)

 
15.
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lmlitton (message)  3 posts, Wannabee

I am just starting wedding planning and have already used Google Notebook so much! I am starting to use Google Docs to keep track of the guest list and wedding venues as well. I love to be organized and this helps!!!

 
16.
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lmlitton (message)  3 posts, Wannabee

I am just starting wedding planning and have already used Google Notebook so much! I am starting to use Google Docs to keep track of the guest list and wedding venues as well. I love to be organized and this helps!!!

 
17.
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pixielee25 (message)  43 posts, Newbee

how do you use Google Notebook? What is it for? Clippings? Why not use Google Reader and just star entries…hmmmm. I am obviously a Google novice.

 
18.
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Nerds Do It Better » Wedding Planning on the Web: 100 Tools and Resources for Brides to Be

[...] How to Plan a Wedding…Google Style: This blogger explains how she uses Google tools to plan her wedding. [...]

 
19.
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Chris S.

We used a lot of Google stuff, too. I thought Notebook and Spreadsheets were most useful. Here’s more:

http://kyrachris.blogspot.com/2008/07/event-planning-with-google-and-other.html

 
20.
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Making Your Wedding Elegant With the Help of the Web | The Wedding Planning Club

[...] How to Plan a Wedding…Google Style: This blogger explains how she uses Google tools to plan her wedding. [...]

 
21.
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The Brides Best Friend Found a Great Wedding Resource for You | The Bride's Best Friend Magazine

[...] How to Plan a Wedding…Google Style: This blogger explains how she uses Google tools to plan her wedding. [...]

 
22.
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Planning Your Own Wedding - A How-To Guide « The Wedding Lens - Blog

[...] up the planning of the wedding ceremony verses the planning of the wedding reception.  You can use Google to help you with the organization, too!  The Wedding Mapper also helps you with organization and [...]

 
23.
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69 Amazing Resources to Help You Plan Your Dream Wedding

[...] How to Plan a Wedding: Google-Style — Tips on using Google Reader, Docs, Notebook, and Calendar to organize your wedding planning. Believe it or not, going high-tech can actually help make the wedding planning process much easier. [...]

 


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Mrs. Canary Mrs. Canary, New York Age and Occupation: 24, Marketing Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Journalist/Editor Engagement Date: February 16, 2007 Wedding Date: July, 2008 Blogging Since: October 19, 2007 Venue: Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers About Me: I'm a born and raised New Yorker who loves all things crafty and artsy, food (cheese and dessert!), magazines, and shoes. I'm a power shopper always on the lookout for good deals or great quality-- sometimes I'm lucky and I find both! I love to dance and "shake what my momma gave me" but can also really enjoy a quiet night in with Mr. Canary and a good episode of Seinfeld or curl up with a good book.
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