Weddings and the Web

It the new year, if you were not aware. Perhaps one of your New Year’s Resolutions was to be better about planning your fast-approaching wedding. Or perhaps that has been a resolution all along, but the New Year has provided you with some snappy new motivation.

Or, perhaps not. In any case, I have good news for you: The Internet is your friend. I can’t say I was around when wedding planning (or much of anything else, for that matter) had to be done without the assistance of the World Wide Web. But I imagine there was quite a bit more running around involved for a more limited amount of resources.

Case in point: Just have to have that circa-1600 Celtic-themed vase to adorn your head table because it fits perfectly with your décor? Done. Ships overseas in a couple weeks (for a price) and you’ll undoubtedly get loads of comments. Thanks, e-bay.

Speaking of e-bay, I highly recommend it for all aspects of wedding shopping, from bridesmaid apparel to tableware. You have to be cautious, of course, but there are some great and original deals out there waiting to be discovered.

Having a Christmas-themed wedding? Do an e-bay search for “Christmas-themed wedding décor” and see what comes up. Chances are, someone is willing to get rid of her lot of 50 poinsettia wreaths for a price that’s at least a bit cheaper than what you’d find at your local craft store — especially in the off-season.

Have a bridesmaid who’s hesitant to spend $200 for the dress you picked out for her to wear? Hey, you never know. Maybe there’s one of the right size and color just awaiting a new wearer. Doesn’t hurt to at least check!

Even if you don’t end up purchasing anything, the Web is a free and readily accessible place to glean ideas from past and future brides. When I first got engaged, my married cousin referred me to a wedding website that turned out to be a great resource crammed with megabytes of everything a bride-to-be could want to know: Pictures of hairstyles and gowns, forums with any question you could think to ask about your big day and the planning stages, columns, links to other resources and personalized checklists to keep you on track.

While of course every new bride should have the satisfaction of paying for an issue or two of “Real Simple Weddings” at the counter of her local pharmacy, I’ll have to say that theknot and other similar wedding planning Web sites provide more information than you could fit into a year’s worth of magazines.

Now let’s get away from the commercial aspect for just a minute and think about the personal. My wedding took place in Wadsworth, in northeast Ohio. I live near Columbus. My bridesmaids were living in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Athens (Ohio), Indiana, and Kent (Ohio). Needless the say, we didn’t have a whole lot of opportunity to get together and plan bridesmaidsey things to do.

But to keep them in the loop, I started a wedding planning blog/Web site that illustrated how planning was coming along. Included were links to photos of my dress, pictures I had posted of the decorations and invitations, links to the Web sites of the vendors (deejay, photographer, venue), a menu for the big day, and dates when wedding-related events were happening (bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, etc.) Many deejays allow you to choose your music and set up your wedding day timetable online. You can even include a link for guests to request songs of their own!

If you are recently engaged, consider setting up a Web site with information and perhaps a snapshot of you and the groom, details about the wedding and, if possible, a guestbook for visitors to sign (many bridal websites have templates you can personalize which can be put together 15 minutes or less). If your family and friends haven’t met the bride or groom, a Web site is a great way for them to read a bit about the couple and how they met. You can also include a link to your wedding registry, which can save them the hassle of having to ask you or another member of the wedding party.

The point, I guess, is that on the Web, the possibilities are virtually endless. So make sure you don’t limit yourself. It’s not hard: Grab your laptop, situate yourself on the living room sofa and let the Web work its magic.

After all, you’ll be accomplishing a New Year’s resolution, right?