The Unexpected Wedding Planner: How AI Helped Me Say “I Do” in Four Months
The questions came fast and furious. “A destination wedding for 150 people in four months?!” one friend exclaimed. “You’re not using a planner?” another asked, incredulous. A colleague voiced the concern echoing in my own mind: “Without a designer, how will you ensure everything feels… cohesive?”
The answer, it turned out, was a blend of determination, a touch of optimistic thinking, and a surprising ally: ChatGPT.
For months after getting engaged last November, I wrestled with a dilemma familiar to many brides in their late thirties. Do we skip the conventional wedding and focus on building our future? Or do we embrace the Pinterest-worthy, Vogue Weddings-inspired celebration we’d always dreamed of, surrounded by loved ones? Eloping or a micro-wedding simply wasn’t an option; our families and friends are, as one might say, generously proportioned.And frankly, as someone deeply embedded in the wedding world – I lead social and brand partnerships at Minted – a minimalist approach felt fundamentally at odds with my own maximalist aesthetic.
My work regularly involves collaborating with high-profile brides, helping them refine their vision and translate it into beautiful stationery and details. This experience meant I’d been mentally planning my own wedding for far longer than I’d been engaged. But when the reality of a four-month timeline hit, I knew I’d need support, while simultaneously wanting to prove something to myself. It felt a bit like my college strategy: leaving everything to the last minute, then pulling an all-nighter to ace the exam.
I briefly considered enlisting one of the talented planners I’d connected with through Minted. Though,with a degree in event management and a career spent producing large-scale events,I was driven by a desire to see if I could orchestrate this myself. (Perhaps it’s the Aries eldest daughter in me.)
That’s when ChatGPT stepped in,becoming more than just a tool – it became my virtual maid of honor. It served as a creative sounding board, a research assistant, a fashion historian, even a makeshift meteorologist and travel agent.
While I’ve read about othre brides using AI to negotiate vendor contracts or find budget-friendly options, I discovered ChatGPT’s true strength lay in refining my creative direction and tackling the intricate details with a speed and precision essential for a compressed timeline.It was the key to pulling off a beautiful,memorable celebration – and proving that even a seemingly impractical feat can be achieved with a little ingenuity and the help of a very smart AI.
