Online Resources for the Busy Bride

These days many people enjoy doing most everything on the internet because of convenience it offers. So why should planning a wedding be any different? If you are a busy bride who can't seem to find the time to run all around town searching for exactly what you want, or if you simply enjoy doing things in your PJs from the comfort of your home, these websites maybe of some assistance to you.

While there are several resources for the current bride online, there are sites dedicated strictly to the planning of a wedding. Some are more thorough than others so here is a list of four websites and the things I liked and didn't like about them.

Brides.com

This website was nicely organized and has resources for pretty much every aspect of the wedding planning process, they even offer the option to search for local vendors. The thing that I found this website to be lacking was a place to start from scratch. If a bride who didn't have any idea of what she really wanted for her wedding were to try and use this website she might have a hard time. While there was a color studio to help with selecting colors, there weren't any theme suggestions. Also, if you are someone who hasn't been to lots of weddings or isn't really familiar with traditions and such, this resource doesn't really offer any help with understanding wedding etiquette. I would recommend this website to someone who is more familiar with weddings and has a decent idea of what they are looking for and only needs minimal help in planning the wedding.

theknot.com

This website is probably the most recognizable wedding planning website, and for a good reason. This website has everything, well at least everything I could possibly think of. Their search for local vendors is thorough, and while prices aren't quoted outright for anything, they do offer a scale to help you determine if a vendor might fit into your budget. This website is like a one-stop shop for everything wedding. They offer a look at dresses, gifts, venues, caterers, etc. The website also has articles about ways to handle tricky wedding situations like parent names on invitations, guests that you feel obligated to invite but don't want to, and every other sticky situation that I could dream of and then some. As someone who hasn't been to many weddings and who is often cruising for ideas for her own, I love this website. This website makes me feel as though I can plan my own wedding even though I don't now much about weddings and I'm not even sure what colors I want to use. I would recommend this website to any bride in any stage of the planning process.

weddings.about.com

This website could be used to plan your wedding, but that is not what I would recommend it for. This website is great for brides looking for specific information. If you are looking for current trends, a wedding checklist, or advice on how to handle anyone who might be driving you crazy during the planning process this website is for you. This website is a great resource for a bride looking for information that they were unable to find anywhere else. And since this website contains articles written by the average person, you may even be able to contact the author and ask a specific question if you can't find the answer you were looking for.

ourweddingday.com

This website was my least favorite. I found this website difficult to use and when I tried to search for local vendors I couldn't even get what I was looking for. I would only recommend this website if you are looking for one thing, maybe a dress. I didn't find it to be very user friendly. It also wasn't very comprehensive.

So overall I would recommend theknot.com. The search for local vendors is thorough and they offer advice on those sticky wedding situations.