Big Term. Big responsibility. And we want to talk about it.
Plainly put, you are the man or woman entrusted with the key role of seeing the wedding through from the start to finish, in terms of leading the committee, planning and piecing everything together in a cohesive and flawless manner to reach the set goal, which is a successful wedding day.
Wedding committees are mostly attached to resource mobilization and running of the wedding budget. However, this role can extend to allocation of the resources and coordinating the entire wedding to the very last part, which in most cases is delivering the couple’s gifts to their preferred destination.
Sounds like a daunting task, doesn’t it? Well, we want to make it as easy as possible for you, if you become the chair of such a committee. Let’s take a look at what it takes to be effective in the role of a wedding committee chair.
You are probably a chair because your leadership abilities have shone through, and you are most likely also a trusted friend or family member. Your ability to guide and help execute any given task has now brought you the fortune of seeing another loved one get ceremonially joined to their significant other. In a nutshell it is an honor! And now to the business of the day which is how you work effectively as the wedding committee chair.
As the chair you carry the vision of the couple. Therefore, for every meeting you will need to progressively set the agenda, and this should ideally be sent ahead of your meeting times, to get everyone on the same page in as far as what they need to prepare for, is concerned.
The agenda also will guide you in covering the specific parts of the wedding planning process assuming that there is someone put in charge of the respective parts. There is no harm in consulting the members if there is anything specific to be added. You can make this the reserve of a few members to maintain control over the meeting and the direction towards which you are steering it.
Communication is not just a subject probably being covered by the couple at their premarital classes, but it really is the link to every success you are looking to achieve as the chair of this wedding committee. How you share your thoughts, listen and disseminate the information from the set agendas, execute from the agreed action points is all pegged on how effectively you communicate with the members and they with you.
Strive to communicate with your team constantly and accurately. In case of looming concerns, openly table them and do not leave out anything to chance. Seek clarification where a word/s, thought or idea has not been understood so that as you do the minutes there is no change in the original meaning of the thought or suggestion.
There is absolutely no need to be ambiguous. Be clear and concise with your thoughts as you lead the meetings and the team. Allow members to express concerns freely and make suggestions as this will contribute toward all members feeling included but I must add, with some rules of course so that there are no cases of flying chairs aiming at people’s heads because of misunderstanding.
This is especially important on all the financial matters. Do not leave room for doubt or questioning in how you are handling the finances. This right here is always a great cause of friction and discord. I recently read an article that astonished me quite a bit: The writer spoke about a certain country where the position of a wedding committee chair as literately a coveted one, and people fought to occupy.
Reason? The control they get to have over the monies being collected, and the possibility of getting something out of it. Now this can be argued out, but the mere thought of it is a quite disturbing. I would seal this point by stating that integrity and transparency must supersede any other thought.
Leave room for positive criticism. Seeing that our personalities vary like the very stars in the sky, there is definitely beauty in listening to another for the purpose of improving or delivering better services to each other in their unique and specific roles. As the chair therefore, set yourself up to listen and accept any meaningful criticism as you also apply wisdom when dealing with any negative one.
After all is said and done, summarize the points in the hearing of all members to ensure that each point was captured correctly. Articulate the action points and close the meeting.