Last month, I wasn’t just a bride — I was the client, the project manager, and the lead experience designer of one of the most meaningful projects of my life: a 100-guest destination wedding. Planning this wedding reminded me how transferable human-centered design and project management skills are — not just in client work, but in real-life experiences, too.

Scope & Stakeholders

This wedding wasn’t just a party — it was a year-long project with several different vendors, an on-site coordinator and planner, and nearly 100 “stakeholders” (aka guests). Just like in client work, the role required constant personnel management: maintaining the guest list, tracking RSVPs, and coordinating communication between vendors, the wedding planner, and our "invisible" wedding party.

Designing the Experience

To me, this wasn’t just a wedding. It was a multi-day experience that needed to feel seamless and human-centered. I approached it the same way I would a complex product or service rollout: through the lens of UX strategy, project coordination, and change enablement.

• Journey mapping: Guests stayed at a hotel separate from the venue, so I mapped out their entire experience — from arrival and hotel check-in to all the different activities they could get up to during their stay. 

• Information design: I designed and curated all guest-facing creatives — from custom stationery and welcome bags to place settings and printed itineraries — as part of a cohesive, user-centered communication system. Each asset was crafted to reduce ambiguity, reinforce the event brand, and support information retention (think: UX microcopy meets in-person hospitality).

• Service design: Beyond aesthetics, I designed the sequence and emotional arc of the weekend itself. I hosted multiple events across the weekend to build connection and flow, ensuring there were moments of anticipation, joy, and rest. This ensured the experience felt thoughtful, inclusive, and scalable.

• Real-time communication: To minimize confusion and reduce cognitive load, I acted as the comms lead — sending mass text reminders with time-sensitive updates (like a lightweight push notification system for the people I love). I also fielded real-time questions and adjusted logistics on the fly, ensuring a frictionless experience without disrupting the guest journey.

• Cross-Functional Coordination: Behind the scenes, I worked with seven distinct vendor teams, a planning team, and a nearly 100-person “stakeholder” group. I facilitated alignment across teams, documented evolving requirements (like meal preferences and accessibility concerns), and made contingency plans to ensure every moving part stayed on track — even when priorities shifted in real time.

Delivering With Empathy

Every detail was guided by empathy: I considered how guests would feel stepping off a plane, how they’d navigate between locations, and how they’d remember the weekend. My role as “bride” was much like my role as a UX strategist and designer — advocating for the end-users (our guests), aligning diverse teams (our vendors), and balancing constraints (time, budget, logistics) with vision.

Lessons Learned

Even with all the planning and prep, there were a few things I’d approach differently if I treated this like a second iteration of the same experience:

• Deepen vendor research and communication upfront. Some vendors we didn’t meet until just a few weeks before the wedding — which, while common in certain regions, felt misaligned with the level of proactive coordination I’m used to. This led to behind-the-scenes friction due to small misalignments with vendors — nothing guests noticed, but things that briefly pulled me out of the moment. I realized early alignment is key, especially when working across different cultures and workflows, to ensure smoother collaboration and better outcomes.

• Delegate more intentionally to close friends and family. I wanted everyone to relax and enjoy themselves, so we avoided assigning responsibilities to our inner circle — but that left more real-time decision-making on us. In the future, I’d create lightweight roles or point people so we could share the mental load without overwhelming anyone.

• Automate communication ahead of time. There was a mix of automated and manual guest communications, including daily text updates. A few small lapses happened that only we noticed, but they added unnecessary stress. Next time, I’d pre-schedule all messaging and create a living digital itinerary to keep everyone aligned.

Takeaway

What I learned is simple: weddings are one of the most human-centered projects out there. It’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating an experience people carry with them. And just like in UX and project management, success is measured by the smiles, stories, and memories that last long after the final deliverable.

Whether I’m hosting a 100 person party as the bride or leading a client engagement as a freelance UX designer, my goal is the same: keep people at the center, solve real problems, and design beautiful experiences.