In today’s column, I explore how to use generative AI and large language models (LLMs) to aid in planning weddings. The latest use of state-of-the-art agentic AI makes this more practical than it used to be. The prior usage was that generic generative AI was not devised to do actual bookings or otherwise carry out any follow-on facets of the wedding plan. Fortunately, the newest generative AI can do this. But, and here’s a big caveat, planning and carrying out a wedding is a huge undertaking, and it is still early days to be relying solely on AI to be your perfect wedding planner. Be mindful and cautious going that route.
Let’s talk about it.
This analysis of an innovative AI breakthrough is part of my ongoing Forbes column coverage on the latest in AI including identifying and explaining various impactful AI complexities (see the link here).
Weddings Are A Huge Task
A wedding is something that requires a tremendous amount of planning and entails having savviness in a wide array of complex business aspects. A loving couple can be caught completely off-guard once they start down the wedding planning pathway. The entire activity tends to be overwhelming, creates immense tension, and is likely one of the biggest challenges the couple will face in their lifetime.
Anyone who thinks they can just plan a wedding off the top of their head or in a piecemeal fashion is bound to get a harsh lesson they will never forget.
What kinds of complexities are there?
First, consider the many moving parts that arise.
You must find a suitable venue. Is it available when you want to get married? What is the cost? What will the venue provide? What do you need to add to the venue? Will guests have a place to park? And so on. You will undoubtedly want to have a say in how the venue is decked out. There are photographers potentially that will need to be hired. Other services include caterers, florists, musicians, etc.
The ceremony itself needs to be planned out. Will the vows be made from scratch or be chosen from some published source? What is the schedule for the wedding, including what occurs before the event, during the event, and after the event? Various confusing administrative and legal tasks must be dealt with. When and how to obtain a marriage license. Dealing with any name changes. The list is seemingly endless.
Second, all of those factors have to be explicitly identified, and costs estimated. You must not neglect or omit a task. The odds too are that the wedding doesn’t have an infinite budget. You will need to review things and decide where you can cut costs. Difficult choices are to be made.
Third, the need to have contingencies is a key mantra to keep in mind. Almost anything that you plan is subject to going sideways. Do you have sufficient backup? Can you keep everyone on board even when something gets turned upside down?
Getting Help With Wedding Planning
By and large, it is fair to say that most betrothed couples have never planned a wedding and therefore the wedding preparations are entirely new to them. They are taking on a momentous occasion that will be in their memories forever, and that will encompass a notable portion of their loved ones and cherished friends. Yet, they have no likely experience or at best have only seen or attended other weddings (that’s a far cry from planning one end-to-end).
It is essentially a high-stakes gambit.
The relationship of the couple is on the line. The couple might find themselves going head-to-head with each other and already testing their loving spirit. Friends and family might be disappointed or potentially get into disputes over the wedding. There is big money on the line.
Risks are pervasive.
This has given rise to the vaunted wedding planner role.
I’m sure most know about the possibility of hiring a wedding planner. The role has gotten elevated because of many popular rom-com movies and TV shows. If you are considering hiring a wedding planner, make sure to do your due diligence. Find out what weddings they’ve done. Get feedback from their prior clients. Do not just wantonly pick the first wedding planner that you come in contact with.
An additional way to do wedding planning consists of leaning into modern-era generative AI.
The major generative AI apps are available 24×7 and can instantly assist with such needs. You can use generic generative AI, which will broadly help you with wedding planning. There are also customized AI apps that are shaped to specifically aid with wedding planning. Indeed, there are wedding planners that have incorporated AI wares into their services, allowing you to use a human planner and an AI-based planner in a jointly blended manner.
You might find of overall interest that I have been doing a series of analyses on how to use generative AI to improve your life in a wide variety of aspects (see the link here for my ongoing coverage). In each instance, I emphasize that generative AI is not a cure-all, it has demonstrative ins and outs, and the likely best use entails carrying on a dialogue with the AI, plus making sure to watch out for the AI inadvertently generating falsehoods or making errors. I will be covering those salient points in this discussion since they are vital and go hand-in-hand with using generative AI wisely.
Example Use Of Generative AI
I am betting that you would like to see an example of how generative AI enters this realm. I went ahead and logged into ChatGPT by OpenAI to come up with an example for you. You might find it of keen interest that ChatGPT garners a whopping 300 million weekly active users. That is a staggering amount of usage.
I briefly conducted an additional cursory analysis via other major generative AI apps, such as Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta Llama, and found their answers to be about the same as that of ChatGPT. I’ll focus on ChatGPT but note that the other AI apps generated roughly similar responses.
Here we go.
- My entered prompt: “I need help planning a wedding. Where do I start?”
- Generative AI response: “The first step is setting a budget and choosing a date. Do you have an idea of how much is intended to be spent and when the date of the wedding is to occur?”
- My entered prompt: “The hope is to have the wedding sometime in the spring, maybe April or May. The budget is unknown right now. I wanted to get estimates and then determine what is affordable.”
- Generative AI response: “A spring wedding offers beautiful weather and floral options. I must warn you that booking a spring wedding can be challenging and often requires a year-in-advance reservation. For preparing a budget, I can give you a list of the typical budget items and we can work on estimates accordingly.”
Note that the AI immediately expressed a sense of empathy or understanding for my expressed concerns. This might seem strange since the AI is a machine and not sentient (we don’t have sentient AI yet). Turns out that generative AI can appear to be empathetic via computational wordsmithing, see my discussion at the link here.
The AI came out quickly with several useful suggestions that are all reasonable and not somehow odd or outlandish. Another aspect to note is that the AI didn’t ridicule me or otherwise play any tomfoolery about my need for assistance. Generative AI is typically shaped to be supportive rather than combative.
Dialoguing Is Essential When Using AI
Your best bet in getting value from generative AI is to think of AI as a conversational partner.
The idea is that you are carrying on an interactive dialogue with AI. Some people do a one-and-done angle whereby they ask a question, get an answer, and do not undertake a dialogue with the AI about the matter at hand. That is a shortchanging of what AI can more fully provide. See my explanation about how to get more out of generative AI conversationally, at the link here.
To illustrate the value of engaging in a dialogue, let’s continue my discussion.
- My entered prompt: “Please go ahead and give me a list of the budget items that might be involved.”
- Generative AI response: “Typical budget items include: (a) Venue & Rentals, (b) Catering, (c) Photography/Videography, (d) Attire & Beauty, (e) Entertainment, (f) Florals & Décor, (g) Invitations & Favors, (h) Miscellaneous. Would you like to focus on a specific area first?”
- My entered prompt: “That looks pretty good. I’m most concerned about finding the right venue.”
- Generative AI response: “I can help with that! What kind of venue are you envisioning—indoor, outdoor, rustic, elegant? And what city or region?”
- My entered prompt: “We want an outdoor garden wedding, something romantic, and we’re in Silicon Valley.”
- Generative AI response: “I will look online for venues that might be worthwhile considering.”
Once again, the AI was reassuring and upbeat.
A generative AI conversation can continue for as long as you wish. The other thing you can do is pause your exploration and then continue the conversation at a later date. This is handy so that you don’t have to start the conversation over from scratch. The AI will retain aspects of what you have discussed earlier in the conversation, see my explanation of how this works at the link here.
AI Hallucinations Take You Afield
Generative AI regrettably encounters said-to-be AI hallucinations from time to time. These are made-up confabulations that are groundless and fictitious. Bad advice can be dispensed. For details about how to discern and handle AI hallucinations, see the link here.
Let’s see what this looks like.
- My entered prompt: “What venues did you come up with?”
- Generative AI response: “The Garfield Park Conservatory is a lush botanical setting that offers both indoor and outdoor options. Would you like some details on booking and costs?”
- My entered prompt: “Garfield Park Conservatory is in Chicago. I’ve been there. It is magnificent, but I told you that the wedding is to take place in Silicon Valley. Why did you find a venue elsewhere?”
- Generative AI response: “I’m sorry, you are completely right. I goofed and was looking in Chicago. I will try again and this time look in Silicon Valley.”
Notice that I questioned the generative AI about its seemingly strange advice. Fortunately, the AI opted to back down and admitted it was wrong. Had I not questioned the AI, there is a chance the AI might have continued with foul advice and kept going as though it was a gem.
The key to all usage of generative AI is to stay on your toes, keep your wits about you, and always challenge and double-check anything the AI emits.
More To Keep In Mind
There are a few additional points that I’d like you to be aware of.
Some of the AI makers are cutting deals with other companies that sponsor ads or otherwise are interwoven into the generative AI in some fashion, see my discussion at the link here. The gist is that if the AI recommends that you make use of this or that particular service or provider, be very careful that the AI wasn’t rigged to push that specific option.
Another important aspect is that the latest in AI consists of AI agents. An AI agent is the same generative AI you’ve already gotten used to using, and it adds further capabilities. For example, there are AI-devised agents that are focused on travel and will aid you in crafting a complete travel schedule and proceed to book your flights and hotels for you.
This advent of agentic AI, which I describe in detail at the link here, has been entering into this arena as well. It goes like this. Imagine you are booking a service. You tell the generative AI that you want it to figure out if you might be able to get a reduced price. Lo and behold, the AI launches a specialized AI agent that contacts the vendor online, negotiates on your behalf, and works out an awesome arrangement. Voila, you just saved yourself some dough.
Let’s conclude with a supportive quote as a mindful contemplation on this topic.
Leo Tolstoy famously made this remark: “What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility.” I bring up this notable quote to emphasize that one of the first and most telling tests for a loving couple will be the planning of the wedding. The assumption usually is that the wedding planning will operate flawlessly. Maybe so in a dream world, but rarely in the real world.
I’d like to end this discussion on a more upbeat note. I shall conclude with a quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.: “Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness.” I hope your wedding goes fabulously and that your love as a couple with be forever enduring and endearing.