Checkout these nine new online wedding planning tools designed to make your special day, well, special.
Weddings are the most popular activity on the Texas coast, next to fishing.
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1. Zola
Be gone, boring china patterns! There’s a new kind of registry in town. Zola, founded in fall 2013 by a group of former Gilt employees, allows couples to add products, cash sums, experiences and services to their wedding gift wish lists.
This versatile one-stop wedding shop boasts some other unique features, including a “Group Gifting Option” through which guests can pool funds for more expensive items. Going on honeymoon or moving soon? Not a problem. Recipients can choose when they’d like to receive their gifts.
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2. Little Borrowed Dress
Brides and bridesmaids rejoice — the dreaded bridesmaid dress doesn’t have to be so dreaded, after all. Dress rental service Little Borrowed Dress allows bridesmaids to save big on their pal’s big day by opting for temporary attire, instead of collecting closet-clogging, never-to-be-worn-again frocks. Brides select a color palette (there are 18 available), and from there, they can choose specific styles with plenty of room to mix and match; there are 12 style options in each color.
Once the bride sets her preferences, all bridesmaids have to do is order — rental prices range from $50 to $75, depending on the length of the dress. If you’d rather play for keeps, there’s also the option to purchase unworn dresses from the line.
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3. The Black Tux
The Black Tux was created in 2013 after founder Andrew Blackmon’s wedding … and a disheartening tuxedo rental experience. The L.A.-based website streamlines the headache-inducing rent-a-tux situation.
Groomsmen are spared from musty rental chains and shoddy materials — tuxes are 100% merino wool, shirts are real cotton and shoes are genuine leather. Antiquated design and ill-fit are also no longer threats; The Black Tux has developed an at-home measurement system to assure that those outfitted will look dapper, not fusty.
There are several styles to choose from, and prices start at $95 with free shipping both ways.
Image: @theblacktux on Instagram -
4. Guesterly
Founded just under a year ago by Rachel Hofstetter (formerly of O, The Oprah Magazine) and her husband Lorne, an engineer, Guesterly offers a truly unique product: a wedding yearbook, of sorts. Because wedding weekends are so special (and so short!), Guesterly aims to optimize the “getting to know you” phase, connecting guests in a miniature magazine, complete with photos and optional fun facts.
Pricing starts at $5 per book, and there are hundreds of different design combinations to choose from.
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5. Lover.ly
Pinterest-like site Lover.ly highlights wedding trends, and the engaged can curate their favorites to “bundles,” to share easily with friends, family and more. These selections are linked to vendors — Lover.ly is an ecommerce platform at heart.
Image: Loverly.ly -
6. Wedding Spot
Wedding Spot facilitates one of the biggest pieces of the planning puzzle: finding the right venue. Launched in August 2013, Wedding Spot displays relevant info side-by-side, allowing users to search for and price out their options. The site will soon include vendors, further consolidating the many moving parts of getting hitched.
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7. AllSeated
Gone are the days when the stressed bride-to-be pores over a mess of index cards, seeking the perfect seating arrangement for an ever-changing pool of guests. With AllSeated, couples have the option to import potential guests from their social networks, email files and Excel docs.
Image: Flickr, Eileen Rivard -
8. Jetaport
Jetaport, an online travel agency, specializes in booking hotel blocks (nine or more rooms at a time). It streamlines the process, negotiating on your behalf. Better yet, its services are free (its compensated by the hotels). All you need to do provide is the date and city of your wedding, and your hotel preferences and Jetaport will get to it. Because a party that stays together … stays together.
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9. Nearly Newlywed
Hoping to say yes to the dress on a budget? Nearly Newlywed is here to help. Brides can buy their gowns at a discount — some are samples, some are used. Upon receiving the dress in the mail, customers have five days to determine if it’s the one.
via 9 New Tools to Plan Your Wedding Online and CinnamonShore.com/weddings