When you first get engaged, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to begin in planning your wedding. You may have thought about it in theory, but how many of us already knew the exact vendors we’d use or projects we’d DIY before that fateful proposal? Ok, so you’re more honest than I am…moving on.
Here is a list of my top five web sites and blogs you need to have on your Google Reader to let your big day happen with ease.
Style Me Pretty
This blog is a great place to start as it will give you an overwhelming (seriously, they post like 30 weddings a day!) amount of real-life inspiration. Create a pinterest board and clip themes, color schemes, and projects you may want to incorporate on your big day.
Suggestion: don’t visit this site after you’re about six weeks away from the wedding. You’ll needlessly stress over new ideas and how much better “her” wedding looks. Trust me – you will be the best bride ever!
The Knot
This behemoth of the wedding industry simply can’t be ignored. As THE place to plan a wedding, you’ll find the most comprehensive list of local vendors, suggestions for sticky situations (“I want my best friend of be my matron of honor, but she’s pregnant and due three weeks after the wedding. What should I do?”), and photographs of popular wedding trends.
I suggest you focus your attention on the community boards, specifically the one dedicated to brides in your area and the one focusing on brides getting married the same month as you. That way you’ll get suggestions for your atypical vendors (rehearsal dinner locations, airport shuttle recommendations, etc.), possible deals on leftover supplies from local ladies who were recently wed and an idea of where you are comparatively speaking in the planning process. Also, the Wedding Classifieds board is a must-watch!
The vendor listings on The Knot are the most complete I’ve found, but for reviews, you should also check out Wedding Wire or WeddingBee.com. Use their pictures and trends as inspiration, but don’t do anything straight off their shelf. Add some personality!
Offbeat Bride
After The Knot, I have to immediately jump to my favorite nontraditional bridal web site, Offbeat Bride. Whether you’re a lesbian looking to marry your partner while barefoot on a Costa Rican beach where you’ll serve veggie hot dogs and homemade punch or you’re planning the traditional church and hotel ballroom event with your fiancé who was once your high school boyfriend, I promise you, you will find ideas here. I had a guestbook tree and we passed our wedding rings based on suggestions from this blog. Don’t discount all the pink hair. (Confession: I WANT PINK HAIR!!!) There is great stuff to be had here.
Martha Stewart Weddings
Before you mom has a heart attack at my last suggestion, let me also recommend Martha Stewart Weddings. You will be surprised how many DIY suggestions and untraditional ideas you find here, but you can also be sure to find proper etiquette directions. Where The Knot will give you ideas of what everyone else is doing, this site will make suggestions as to how you can put your creative spin on the typical wedding.
Etsy
So now you have all these great ideas. You’re ready to make tissue paper pomanders and chalkboard directional signs, but how do you do it? Etsy will help you find supplies or the finished project depending on your level of skills, budget, and time. Bonus tip: even if you’re ready to DIY yourself, search for finished projects. Seeing pictures will help you figure out the best way to finish your project or, even better, you might find a deal that’s too good to pass up.
Did I miss any of your favorites?
