Google is your new best friend

People always ask me how I find cool stuff and how I find out about everything..well the answer is Google and  Google Images. I'm addicted to Google Images. I'm very visual and it helps me to cross reference when i see a photo of what I'm looking for because it usually leads me to another photo of something that leads me to another and on and on it goes.
When i do research for a wedding I spend hours looking at images for inspiration and techniques and colorways that relate in some way to the wedding I am designing. I create color boards and idea boards so that my brides and I can share a common visual dialog. it's these details that make a wedding personal and it's what you see in the best wedding photos, magazines and blogs.

So as an MOB I was on Google overdrive. I looked at venue sites, caterers, dresses dresses and more dresses, shoes, photographers , etc etc etc..I need to educate myself on what was out there in every category and to find out ballpark pricing so I had something to base my estimated budget on. I needed advice about our potential date ( the night before Easter)
Literally everything you can think of is somewhere online, but i never really found specific advice targeted to the MOB, everything is targeted to brides..In my situation, my daughter wanted me to be very hands on, she of course became a little google obsessed herself ,but she know i knew what weddings are all about .We made a good team. She taught me how to find some awesome deals on hotels and limos...it's all out there!


some very important sites you need to know:
http://www.theknot.com/ set up an account for yourself and read read read. Also get the bride & Groom to set up their free wedding website here.its fun and informative for your guests. They have a gift registry too.

http://www.weddingwire.com/ good info on finding vendors and some handy tools like a budget maker

http://pinterest.com/ the visual equivalent of a kid in a candystore! of course i got totally hooked on here myself http://pinterest.com/andreastieff/

http://www.paperlesspost.com/ I adore this site for gorgeous invitations and notes, all virtual! I send beautiful notes to people and we did our last minute Sunday Brunch invites through here. There is still no replacement for a real wedding invitation in the mail...that is such a landmark event..putting the stack of envelopes in the mail and waiting each day for the piles of replies...ohh I loved that. But more and more of our world is happening online and for anyone under 30, email is the way to communicate...too hard to text message an invitation!

gmail : email from google  if you don't have a gmail account..get thee one! The labels are easy to use and you will need a filing system for all the emails you have pertaining to the wedding. it's easy to attach files, photos and links and it's the most user friendly mail client I have ever used.
Don't get all tricky with your screen name,use your name, people are trying to contact you and fastcatflower2285@...is not professional and who can remember that bulls--t!

http://www.myregistry.com ok so this one is more geared towards the wedding couple, but here is the place for the B&G to register for things that are not available at the big stores as well as one stop registry for all stores. Lizzie registered for paintings on here and she got them! And here's a tip to pass along..Williams -Sonoma and Pottery Barn are under the same family, so if the B&G need to return a gift from one , they can get credit at either AND if you register and don't receive the gift, they will let you purchase it at a discount for a time period after the wedding.. I don't have the specifics but good to know for things like furniture.


http://www.stylemepretty.com/  this blog has it all..advice, gorgeous photos of real weddings... DYI ideas, fashion, vendor search.. so much to look at and aspire to!

I'll see you again when you return from your online searching..it's addictive.