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Weddings are a huge milestone in anyone's life. If you've found yourself here, it means that either you or someone close to you recently had the question popped, so congratulations from us to you!
While some people have dreamt of what they want their big day to be like since they were a little kid, others dread the idea of planning such a huge occasion and want all the help they can get. Either way, it will take some assistance to get all the details right and ensure that the day goes smoothly
Friday, March 21st
Wedding Planning Assistant is an all-in-one place to turn for step-by-step guidance through the wedding planning process. This tool allows you to make a website, create a customized checklist, manage guest lists and RSVPs, collaborate with friends and family, customize downloadable templates, and so much more. It's free to use - or you could upgrade for a one-time fee of $29, so it's affordable either way. Couples are happy with the features here and we really like how easy it is to use, so Wedding Planning Assistant has earned our top rating.
The Knot is a well-rounded resource when it comes to wedding planning. They allow couples to make a free website, create a registry, order wedding invitations and other mailers for guests, make a personalized to-do checklist, find vendors, and so much more. The Knot has good feedback from users and many people say they'd have been lost during the wedding planning process without this service. There is a lot to explore on The Knot and it's a valuable wedding planning site that won't cost you a dime, so it earns an enthusiastic "yes” from us.
Joy is a one-stop shop for people who want to personalize a wedding website, create invitations, gather addresses and track RSVPs from guests, and create a wedding registry. It's completely free for couples, and although Joy's website is a little over-the-top, this wedding planning site produces high-quality results for people and offers resources that are valuable. If you want help organizing your wedding without paying anything for the service, consider using Joy.
One Fab Day is a free online resource where you can browse categories of different wedding themes, planning tips, blog articles, and recommendations for everything you might need to buy for your wedding day. You'll find games, gift ideas, and inspiration for wedding speeches on One Fab Day as well. They also have a podcast with 53 episodes that you could listen to if you find a topic that you're interested in. This isn't a planning site that will help much with carrying out your wedding plans, but it's a fun place to turn for wild and creative ideas.
Zola gained popularity from their commercials and online advertising. They started out as a wedding registry but have since added free tools like budgeting, website creation, to-do lists, invitation making, guest management and more to their arsenal. Some say that their wedding registry isn't as good as rivals' sites, because items seem like they come with a markup, but it's still widely used by couples. There have also been issues with vendors found through Zola, but if you do your due diligence to research the people you're paying for services, this shouldn't be a huge concern. Zola does have organized user profiles where you can keep all your information in one place. It isn't anything more spectacular than what we've seen from higher-rated wedding planning sites, so they've earned a just-above-average rating.
Here Comes The Guide is a free resource for brides and grooms who need help planning the overarching details of their wedding. Here you'll find a search engine for finding venues in your area, blog articles with advice for planning, and downloadable pages that can keep you organized week-by-week. There are no fancy tools here that allow you to do any planning online and nothing to help with things like wedding invitations, so this isn't going to be a comprehensive option for wedding planning. However, this tool won't cost you anything and could help get you organized with the basic to-dos, so it's an okay choice for wedding planning.
WeddingWire is a well-known company run by The Knot Worldwide. Their main purpose is to connect brides and grooms to vendors they can rely on for their wedding day. They also have basic tools that are free to use for budgeting, creating a website, making a to-do list, building a registry, and so on. Unfortunately, couples have a lot of bad things to say about the vendors they've found through WeddingWire and we feel like they fall short in the one thing they are supposed to be best at. WeddingWire isn't a wedding planning site we recommend.
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:
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!
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