I got married quite a few years ago, and my wife and I sort of tag-teamed the planning of our ceremony. It was quite a chore. But I see that, more and more these days, young couples are hiring professional wedding planners whose expertise, relationships with the many service providers (photographers, bakers, DJ’s, etc.) and organization skills help them feel confident their big day will go off without a hitch. And I believe these couples also recognize their investment in their planner. They take his or her recommendations very seriously and empower their planner to keep them informed about decisions they need to make, versus decisions that planners should be able to make on their own.

And so I continue to be fascinated by many organizations who will undertake a project with much greater complexity than a wedding and ten times the cost and just let a team “wing it” without a professional wedding planner, aka project manager. Or organizations who “appoint” a project manager but then ignore or dismiss their advice. Here’s the most troubling part: a wedding planner’s outcome typically lasts 4 to 8 hours. You may be living with the outcome of your project for three to ten years.

Assuming you hire the right one, take your project manager seriously. A tearful, disappointed bride is no way to start a marriage…