Many say that planning a wedding is akin to having a full-time job. This is a reality I learned planning my own wedding. I got married this past July.

As I was wrapping up work in preparation for the wedding, I was struck by the similarities between planning a wedding and preparing a public relations strategy. While one focuses on florals and outfit coordination and the other on messaging tactics, media placements and KPIs, both are tied to reality by timelines, budgets, audience expectations and the seasoned professionals who know the marketplace.

Defining Your Happily Ever After

When planning any program, strategy or event, it is important to have a vision of what your end outcome will be. For example, most marriers aim to have a beautiful wedding, where all guests enjoy themselves and the couple has a long and harmonious happily ever after.

To position their wedding for success, couples often identify a theme. Some aspire to have a grand, black-tie gala while others want a more laid back, yet festive beach affair. Personally, I planned for a casual, yet sophisticated garden party.

When launching a public relations campaign, the strategy can be similar. Consider what your business ultimately wants to gain from this strategy. Similar to the couple-to-be’s goal of happy guests, your goal may be to have a roster of eager prospects. Or you may be looking to bring more awareness to your company, introduce a new product or line of business or change the way your organization’s reputation is perceived. Each goal requires a different approach, making it important to select and focus on one before the work begins.

Engaging the Right Partners

Once your vision has been clearly defined and you have a better understanding of what is needed to accomplish your goal, look for the tools and resources that will help you succeed.

In the wedding world, little can be accomplished without the support of key specialists. The venue, caterer, photographer, florist and DJ will all come together to create your vision of the perfect day.

Putting together and successfully implementing a public relations strategy does not and should not have to be a one-person job. Consider seeking out a partner with expertise to meet your needs. Just as the wedding vendors can connect you with recommended business partners who they know and trust, PR professionals can connect you with media that will reach your target audience. In the case of my wedding, my vendors all came highly recommended by my venue, meaning they knew exactly what equipment to come prepared with and had worked together before, helping the day go off without a hitch.

There are a multitude of resources to help accomplish your public relations goals. A full-service public relations agency can help you throughout the entire process, from defining your goals and audience to setting tactics, implementing a plan and measuring success.

Additionally, the right partners will be flexible. A good wedding vendor will do what they can to meet your changing needs. For instance, my photographer’s original quote was out of budget, but they worked with us and added in the extra benefit of an engagement shoot for free. Similarly, when my venue told me the ice cream truck I had my heart set on was unavailable, they were able to lean into their relationships to source a different one.

Similarly, a good media team will also know how to pivot to best meet your needs. They will recognize when a change in approach or messaging is needed to adjust to breaking news or current trends.

Catering to Your Audience

While a wedding is ultimately put together to celebrate the couple, it is important to take the rest of the guests into consideration. Certain accommodations are arranged with guests in mind, such as transportation, lodging and the menu. For instance, my guests who were vegetarian or vegan were provided with separate meals.

Similarly, your PR strategy must cater to your audience. Just like a steak dinner won’t work for a mostly vegan guest list, a trendy influencer partnership on TikTok is unlikely to help an insurance organization meet their goal of reaching more brokers and agents. When building a public relations strategy, it is critical to identify your audience and understand what they are reading and viewing.

Taking an audience-first approach will help ensure the vision you are trying to achieve will have the intended effect on the right people whether it’s a ballroom full of happy, stuffed, dancing wedding guests or a list of prospective clients now interested in inquiring about your products and services.

While seemingly worlds apart, wedding and public relations planning share similarities. Building a rock-solid foundation with a clear vision, the right partners and an audience-first approach will make ironing out the details, whether they be dress fittings and menu selections or pitching and coordinating media interviews more successful in the long run.