I have said it before and i’ll say it again. Planning a wedding is so much harder than I imagined. There are a billion little things you have to do to prepare, and about a billion more that I want to do to make our day extra special. Since my mom and I are doing this without the help of a wedding planner, I am sharing 3 great wedding planning tools.
Online Resources: The Knot, Style Me Pretty, the Wedding Wire, and even Pinterest are all great online resources for wedding planning. The first thing I did after we got engaged was set up our Knot website, and started reading through the Knot’s checklist. I have found some great vendors and tips through Style Me Pretty and the Wedding Wire as well. I live by online reviews, and it has been so helpful to read reviews and experiences from past brides as I am making my own decisions. Pinterest has been a great tool for inspiration and building mood boards.
Magazines: I have always been a magazine person, and have especially enjoyed flipping through bridal magazines. In the same way that Pinterest is great for inspiration and mood boards, magazines are too and have some insightful articles. D Weddings has been my favorite bridal magazine because of the Dallas specific information. Emily Post has a few wedding etiquette books to help you learn the “rules” of a wedding (I have disregarded a few “rules”).
Word of Mouth: Everyone and their mom (literally) will have wedding advice for you. Take it all with a grain of salt, but just as you might trust online reviews, personal reviews can be very helpful. It has been great to hear stories from other brides who have had their reception at the same place as us or used the same florist. It has been helpful to think back on weddings we have attended and specific things we enjoyed about each one, and then ask the bride which vendor they used. You will get some kooky advice and a lot of personal options, but some brides will share lessons learned that you can avoid. We have found our florist, makeup artist, bakery and reception venue all through word of mouth.
Good luck planning! xoxo
Photos via Alex Phillips.
