The Knot vs Zola

Continued from above...

Until you're in the thick of wedding planning, you don't realize how many small decisions need to be made to pull off a wedding. A venue needs to be chosen, a date set, invitations designed and mailed (which means gathering a LOT of addresses), attire selected for the bride, groom, and wedding party, decor chosen for the ceremony, food arranged, and so much more. There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to planning a wedding, so save yourself the trouble and don't try to do it alone.

Whether you decide to have a huge wedding and invite everyone you know or just keep it small and intimate, the logistics are similar. Wedding planning sites can take the guesswork out of planning by recommending vendors in your local area you could contact, giving you a checklist to manage all the to-do items you have, helping manage guest lists and RSVPs, offering you tools for setting a budget, and providing a calendar so you stay on track.

You have a lot to do and a limited amount of time to get it done, so rely on the resources that are available to you to keep the experience enjoyable and as stress-free as possible. You'll want to be able to look back on the wedding planning process with fondness and remember the excitement and anticipation you felt, so don't overextend yourself. Many wedding planning sites offer advice from other couples who have planned weddings with similar details to yours, so you'll get some good tips from them that will expand your creativity and options as well.

There are quite a few wedding planning sites out there and we'd hate for you to waste any time on ones that aren't going to serve you. We've weighed the pros and cons of some popular options to help you find one that will help you dive right into wedding planning and get your thoughts and ideas organized. Here are a few important things to take into consideration when you're looking for one to rely on:

• Cost. The amount of money you'll be spending on your wedding might have you hesitant to spend a single dime more. Luckily, some wedding planning sites are completely free. Others have a fee for certain services, so you'll need to weigh their usefulness and decide if it's worth it for you to pay for it. Regardless of which site you choose, it will be a lot cheaper than a personal wedding planner would be, so when you look at it that way, it might bring a lot of value to use an online wedding site instead even if you pay a bit.
• Services provided. Do you need a wedding planning site that will help you organize and plan every detail of your wedding? Or are you only looking for a service to help with collecting addresses and sending invitations? Maybe you only need a go-to place to find wedding vendors. Decide what is most important to you and ensure that the wedding site provides those services.
• Features. Does the site allow your chosen friends and family to allow access to the wedding planning information and contribute? Is there an app that makes it easy for you to use on-the-go and always stay connected with your planning details? Think about the tools that are important for you to have and make sure the site caters to them.

The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have researched the best wedding planning sites available to you. We hope this information helps you have the wedding day of your dreams and ensure that everything goes according to plan!