Ultimate Guide to Wedding Planning Resources

The Wedding Shoppe always wants to ensure that its beloved customers are thoroughly informed! Below, you'll find tools to help guide you through the wedding planning process. Whether you're searching for the perfect dress or wedding planner, we're here to help. We want your wedding planning to flow as seamlessly as possible. If you have any other questions, please reach out to us!

Wedding Inspiration Tools

Before you dive right into planning, it's important to get a feel for what you want your day to be like! You don't need to make any decisions now, but having a style in mind will surely help. Below are some of our favorite ways to get that perfect wedding inspo.

Pinterest:

If you haven’t started searching for inspiration, Pinterest is the perfect platform to begin. Here, you can browse through everything, from endless wedding dress options to gorgeous venue ideas. To see some of our favorites, check out the Wedding Shoppe’s Pinterest.

Real Weddings:

Want to see how real people brought their dream weddings to life? Check out Instagram to see how our brides have styled their hair, what venues they chose, and more! You might just find your perfect decoration inspiration - or dress - for your big day.

My Wedding Chat:

Sometimes, it’s hard to find someone to relate to as a bride-to-be. Join our community of brides as they navigate wedding planning, ask for advice, and share experiences. This Facebook group will help you feel understood and be there to answer any questions you may have while wedding planning.

The Knot's Style Quiz:

If you're not sure what your wedding style is, we have a fun tool for you to try! The Knot Style Quiz will help you understand what you like when it comes to a theme, color, dress, and decor. It's really fun to try, and it will uncover style preferences you didn't even know you had!

Wedding Dresses & Wedding Party

When it comes to picking your dress, where do you even begin? With countless designers and styles to choose from, the options are endless. On top of that, you also have to decide what your bridesmaids will wear - and what color! To help you out, we’ve compiled some of the most helpful resources.

Wedding Dress Designers:

The Wedding Shoppe has put together guides on its favorite wedding dress designers. Read about Allure, Casablanca, Maggie Sottero, Mori Lee, and Watters here! These blogs will help you to better understand styles, sizing, and pricing of each designer.

Bridesmaid Dress Designers:

Like the wedding dress designer guides, the Wedding Shoppe has put together guides on the top bridesmaid dress designers it carries. Learn more about Bill Levkoff, Dessy, Kennedy Blue, and Mori Lee! These blogs will help you to know the top colors and styles that each designer offers. Plus, they also offer guidance on sizing and price point, making sure every bridesmaid is comfortable with the decision.

Real Weddings for Bridesmaids:

Getting real wedding inspiration for bridesmaid dresses is so important! Here, you’ll be able to visualize what wedding color scheme to go for. Plus, you’ll be able to see how different styles look at an actual celebration. Check out Kennedy Blue's Instagram, or view the real wedding gallery for our favorite bridesmaid looks.

Wedding Planning Tools

So, you’ve been inspired! Ready to start getting down to the nitty gritty? Lucky for you, there are countless resources to help you plan your wedding. Here are a few of our favorites!

Virtual Wedding Planner:

Virtual Wedding Planner: Want to know exactly how to plan your wedding day? The Wedding Planner Organizer and Guide is a customizable resource to help you nail down dates, budgets, and vendors. This interactive tool allows you to plan for up to a year out, while providing advice for saving money!

Wedding Registries:

When planning for your wedding, adding a gift registry to the list is so important! Your guests will want to know exactly what you need - and you don't want to risk getting duplicate items. Set up a registry at a few different places so that your guests can have options. One of our favorites is Amazon, the most popular and convenient choice. Or, if you're looking to add to your registry from multiple different retailers, Zola and the Knot are amazing options!

Wedding Websites:

An amazing way to stay in communication with your guests (especially as plans are shifting) is through a wedding website. This is where your guests will come for information about the location, schedule, and updates. You and your fiancé can also share your love story and photos here! Our top choices for free wedding websites are, again, the Knot and Zola.

Wedding Timelines

There's a multitude of factors to remember when it comes to wedding planning. From booking your hair and makeup appointments, to the day-of itinerary, you won't want to forget any vital steps. Here are some of our top resources to help you stay ahead with your planning!

Wedding Beauty Timeline:

Something that's often overlooked in wedding planning is skincare. On your big day, it's likely that you want to have glowing, perfect skin! So, how do you achieve it? Penny & Pine set up this amazing Wedding Beauty Timeline - complete with skincare and beauty recommendations. This will help you know when to schedule appointments and what products to use. We swear by it!

Wedding Planning Checklist:

For a more general wedding timeline, we recommend checking out the Ultimate Wedding-Planning Checklist from BRIDES. This will give you advice on when to send invitations, when vendors should be booked, and a good time to buy your dress! Staying on track with wedding planning will help ease a lot of stress leading up to your big day.

Day-of Itinerary:

Make sure that your most magical day isn't a stressful one. Plan out your wedding day in advance, from the time you'll start getting ready to when the photographer captures your first look. Sticking to a planned schedule will help your day go smoothly. Plus, sharing it with your vendors and wedding party will help keep everyone on track! This customizable wedding planner includes example itineraries, while the Knot offers a build-your-own option.

Helpful Wedding Planning Blogs

Did you know that the Wedding Shoppe has an extensive list of blogs to guide you through wedding planning? With our thorough industry knowledge, we want to help inform you about what to expect - and how to handle - every wedding planning possibility.

Color Scheme Inspiration:

For those who are indecisive about choosing their wedding color scheme, we want to help! From our most popular color choices, to month-by-month inspiration, here's our guide to picking the best wedding colors. You might just fall in love with a color you never even considered.

Coordinating Your Wedding Party:

Choosing bridesmaid dresses is only half the battle. Figuring out what the groomsmen will wear is another challenge. Plus, how do you make sure the whole wedding party matches?! Check out this blog on how to coordinate your bridesmaids with your groomsmen.

Post-Wedding Resources

Believe it or not, there will be several wedding-related tasks to accomplish even after the celebrations are over. Here are a few tools to help you wrap up your to-do list.

Preserve Your Wedding Dress:

So.. what do you do with your wedding dress once you've gotten hitched? While some sell, many brides decide to keep their dress. Make sure that your dress is thoroughly taken care of instead of shoving it to the back of your closet! This Wedding Gown Preservation and Cleaning Kit will ensure that your wedding dress is cleaned and stored correctly for years to come. Who knows - your daughter may want to wear your dress on her big day!

Thank You Cards:

One thing you can't forget is to send thank you cards to your wedding guests! After all, they took an entire day to come celebrate you, and likely gave you some pretty wonderful gifts. A helpful tool to help you keep track of your guests' information is the Knot's Guest List Manager. So, when you're ready to send out the cards, all of the names and addresses will be easy to locate.