How my journey began
I am Madison, a newlywed with wedding planning and lots of spreadsheet experience! ☺ At our rehearsal dinner my father-in-law joked about my extensive spreadsheet creations.
After getting engaged, I didn't know where to begin, so when I was ready to take the next step and start planning my wedding, I thought to myself, now what? I was overwhelmed, anxious, and excited.
I considered a planner, but I didn't have enough money in my budget for one. So…it was all up to me. Over the next 15 months I planned our wedding. Of course, my husband was a part of the process too, but like many prospective grooms, he opted out of the nitty-gritty details. I found solace in my spreadsheets. They became my trusty sidekick, guiding me through the madness with ease.
After tying the knot, my cousin Jenni threw out a game-changing question: "What are you going to do with all those spreadsheets now?" At first, I shrugged it off, thinking they were just for my eyes only and to get me through the stressful planning. But Jenni, being the visionary she is, saw the potential for something bigger. And that's when the lightbulb moment struck! It was then that I realized that I could template all of them and help the nervous brides out there.
In 2018 my now husband, (which still feels weird to say “husband”), then boyfriend five years asked me to marry him. We got engaged in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in a hot air balloon, thousands of feet above the mountains. About 17 months later on 02.22.2020 we got married.
However… a lot happened in the 17 months before our wedding….
As with everything in life, after we got engaged everyone kept asking – when is the wedding? Have you chosen a date? But we had just gotten engaged! I needed some time to process and take it all in.
As I began planning, my excel file went from 1, 2, 3 tabs to 20+. It was a way to stay organized, focused, and wrap my head around everything happening. By the end of the process, vendors were telling me things like “These spreadsheets are so amazing! I wish I was this organized!” and “Are you kidding? I love how on top of things you are!” “These will make our jobs so much smoother!”
The day after the wedding my husband told me that he was nervous I would get stuck in the details on our big day, or worry too much about something small.
I told him, not with my worksheets! I worked my butt off to get to this point and all I wanted to do was celebrate. And you will feel the same way, because you will have done everything you could to create your dream wedding!
