by Beth Schwartz

Created on: July 18, 2009   Last Updated: March 21, 2011

If you have a ton of money, are extremely disorganized, have no interest in planning your wedding, and/or are very, very busy, by all means, hire a wedding planner. But if you don't want to spend the money and you want to have the experience of planning your own wedding, I strongly suggest you do so.

I absolutely loved planning my wedding and wish I could do it all over again. While it may have been slightly stressful, it was the good kind of stress, like the stress you feel getting ready for a vacation.

I was engaged for less than nine months, and that was still plenty of time to get everything done. The trick is to use the resources that are available to you.

There are many websites that can assist you with your wedding planning. I suggest visiting TheKnot.com. This website does everything but pay the caterers.

TheKnot.com offers a wedding checklist. It tells you what you need to do and how long before the wedding you need to do it. Once it's done, check it off and it disappears from the list. TheKnot.com also allows you to manage your guest list and track your RSVPs.

On TheKnot.com, you can get wedding ideas and browse wedding dresses. You can also browse local vendors to find reception and ceremony sites, caterers, DJs, flowers, invitations, videographers, photographers, wedding cakes, and more. TheKnot.com also provides tips on setting up your bridal registry.

Additionally, there are a multitude of wedding planning books out there. I personally used The Working Woman's Wedding Planner, which was incredibly helpful and covered everything from insuring your rings to when to open wedding gifts to what to do if your wedding gets canceled.

If you are planning your own wedding, keep a ton of notes: what's due when, what needs to be done this week, what presents you received prior to the wedding so that thank-you notes can be sent, etc. Keep copies of all signed contracts with vendors. Set up your e-mail program to send you a reminder a week or two before deposits are due. Keep a spreadsheet of your guests and RSVPs and what entree they chose for the reception (if applicable). Make a schedule for the wedding day to pass out to your attendants so that they know where to be and when.

Be sure to enlist help from family and friends. Get together and form an assembly line for stuffing the invitations. Ask for help when putting together the favors. Play some music and have some wine. Make it a fun evening.

Another helpful resource for planning a wedding is a wedding catalog. Browsing through the catalog will give you great ideas and remind you of items you'll need that you might not have thought of. You can request a catalog from Invitations By Dawn by visiting their Website. I purchased a lot of wedding items, including my wedding invitations, through Invitations By Dawn. They sell a wide variety of wedding supplies, including invitations, wine flutes, guest books, unity candles, personalized napkins, cake toppers, wedding programs, ring bearer pillows, flower girl baskets, favors, and place cards.

Whenever you have some free time, think of what you could do to alleviate some pressure later, even though it may not necessarily need to be done at that time. For instance, during a lull in wedding planning, I pre-addressed thank-you notes for after the wedding. I also ordered my invitations quite early so that I could take my time addressing them and not have to rush later.

Registration on TheKnot.com is free, the Invitations By Dawn catalog is free, and I purchased a wedding planning book for under $20. Compare that to the hefty price you'd pay for a wedding planner, and the difference is tremendous. Plus, the experience you will have planning your own wedding is priceless.

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