Wedding Advice – Here Comes the Blog

Posts Tagged ‘how to plan a wedding’

So you've gotten engaged and you're starting to plan. There's so much to do (find a church, find the reception spot, find your dress, bridesmaid dresses, tuxes, pick out flowers, cakes, jewelry, gifts for your bridal party, food, wedding favors, *breathe* and more.) So where on earth do you even start? There are hundreds of websites out there that try to help, and even more websites out there that are out to sell, sell, sell. So which ones are worth it?

Well we've done the research for you to help the wedding planning go a little bit easier. To really make it work for you, the bride, we've also segmented the sites into two different categories; free and paid. It's your choice whether you have it in your budget to pay for a site to stay organized, or maybe you're just looking for ideas and you'd rather have a site that's free. Either way is perfectly fine!

Free Wedding Planning Websites

TheKnot.com - Yes, you probably saw this one coming on the list but it's typically a bride favorite. It gives you your own wedding page, allows you to shop thousands of wedding gowns, features to-do lists, guest lists, budget tools, local wedding resources and lots more.

OneWed.com - A lesser known site with just as many options. OneWed offers bridal gown searches, cake designs, hair ideas, a personal checklist for the big day, a wedding website, and lots of advice from other OneWed members as well.

Brides.com - It requires a few steps to sign up, but when you do, you have access to bridal gowns, real wedding ideas, a budget planner, honeymoon help, to-do checklist, and of course, your own wedding website (seeing a trend here?) They also feature bridesmaid and mother-of-the-bride dresses as well.

OneStopWeddingPlanner.com - This site is amazing, they have everything you could ever need starting with food, music, floorplan, transportation, budget, wedding party, photographer, registries, guestlist, flowers, agenda, calendar and lots more. You may have to host your wedding site somewhere else, but it may just be worth it if these options help!

OurWeddingDay.com - Okay, so you want to get on the wagon for the online RSVP's. Not a problem, this site has that going on. They also feature a task-list manager, a contact list, budget-planner, save-the-dates, and more. This one doesn't have too many bells and whistles, but it is most certainly helpful.

PerfectWeddingGuide.com - Supporting you locally, this site helps you find DJ's, flowers, dresses, cakes, favors, invites, rings, and lots more. Plus it features a guest list, a budget tracker, and a custom to-do list for you to keep up with what's left to be done on your timeline.

MarthaStewartWeddings.com - This one is another great site that has more wedding planning tools than you might know what to do with. She even offers a seating chart section (how great is that?) Plus, she gives you etiquette tips for the big day. Other helpful tools include a budget tool, checklist tool, guests tool, vendor tool and vendor search as well!

Paid Wedding Planning Websites

eWedding.com - This site allows you to create a very customized wedding website for free (and your own domain name on a paid plan) There are additional features when you upgrade, plus you can place a poll, events list and RSVP right there on the website to keep everyone up-to-date on what's happening next. Not to mention your own mailing list to use for communicating with your bridal party.

WeddingWindow.com - This might be the best wedding planning site out there. Your options are almost limitless starting with a budget tracker, invitation workshop, thank-you note workshop, a checklist, reminders, personal journal, calendar, vendor list, email blasts, invitation tracker, event manager, save-the-date cards, guest list manager and more.

WeddingTracker.com - Equally impressive, this site has it all. Your own wedding website with personal domain, online RSVP, maps, news & update alerts for your guests, attendants, registry, photo section, guest book, accommodations, and more.

Get Planning!

Hopefully this helps you along with planning your wedding! With so much to do on a limited timeline and budget, it's great to be organized and prepared for the busy months ahead! Do you have a wedding planning site not seen here, but you think it's great? Let us know! It might just help out another bride!

For more bridal essentials, try some of the helpful articles:

• Planning A Wedding - Tips and Timelines
• Planning a Destination Wedding
• Should You Send Save the Date Cards?
• Announcing your Engagement
• Choosing a DJ versus a Live Band
• How to Register for Wedding Gifts
• Wedding Budget

From theme and personalization ideas to attire and décor, the wedding world is full of inspiration loveliness! So many incredible ideas… it almost makes me want to get married all over again! *sigh*

Newly engaged? If so, are you swimming in a sea of wedding magazines? Is your Google Reader overflowing with amazing wedding blogs? Are you feeling joyous yet overwhelmed with all the possibilities? Perhaps it’s a good time to get down to basics {I’ll explain soon}.

Your wedding invitations are the most important communication tool for your guests- reflecting the tone of your wedding as well as your colors, theme and style.  With all of today’s wedding inspiration goodness, a challenge lies in staying focused and keeping a cohesive look. Of course, it can be done~ hopefully, by the time you order your invites. 

Back to wedding planning basics. This simply involves deciphering your style and knowing what you want for your wedding day. If you stay true to your personalities and style, wedding planning will be a joy {as it should be}! You’ll have a much easier time making decisions while staying focused, consistent and true to yourselves.

Talk Amongst Yourselves

• Dream over your vision. How do you see your wedding day?
• What’s your style? Are you modern, traditional, destination, non-traditional…
• Which colors and season are you naturally drawn to?
• Is there a theme that effortlessly captures your personality and style?
• Where do you lean… rustic or metropolitan? Somewhere in between?
• What are the most important elements? {Great food. Great music. Dream dress…}
• What is your budget?

Thoughts? What other questions are worth asking?

 I’d love to hear from you,

Heidi

Save the Date image via MagnetStreet Weddings