Tech Tools for Wedding Planning

Wedding planning is now going high-tech. Technology has wormed its way into the wedding planning industry. From save-the-date e-cards to live wedding Webcasts, the Internet and other computer technology is making wedding planning simpler, yet at the same time making it easier to reach out to more people.

It's easy to plan your wedding online. Most wedding vendors have Web sites that let you see what they have to offer and compare prices. You can buy anything and everything online, from invitations to your dress, favors, decorations and cake toppers. For-hard-to-find, unique and one-of-a-kind items, eBay is a wedding-planning wonderland.

You can also reach out to faraway family and friends via the Internet and keep them up to date on wedding planning happenings and goings on. You can send save-the-date e-mails and e-card announcements through evite.com. You can even send e-mail invitations, although many traditionalists frown on sending the actual invitation via e-mail. The newest tech tool for weddings is the live Webcast. Now all those faraway friends and family can still be a part of your wedding, even if they can't make it in person.

The internet also offers the ease of creating registries at online retailers. No more going to the store to pick out everything on your registry. Now you can create your wedding registry at 3 AM in your pajamas at any of hundreds of retailers. Your guests can also shop online to purchase your gifts and ship them right to your front door.

You can buy music online and create a personalized playlist for your ceremony or your wedding, which can save a fortune since you won't have to hire musicians or a disc jockey. After the wedding you can put your wedding videos on discs, along with still photos, and send them to friends and family. If you are really good with the computer or know someone that is, wedding video, still photos and music can be combined to make a really beautiful keepsake of your special day.

Another great tech tool for your wedding is the digital camera. Digital cameras take great still and moving photos that can be edited on a computer, printed at home, put on disk and shared with others. Having great photos and videos from your wedding no longer requires a photographer and videographer. You can have some friends and family that have good digital cameras take great photos and videos for you.

Other tech tools that can ease wedding planning include software that can help you plan and make checklists, seating charts, guest lists, budgets and menus. There are also other programs available that help you design and print customized invitations and other wedding stationery.

Once it took a lot of fancy, expensive equipment and someone well trained in using that equipment to create custom things for you, and it didn’t come cheap. Now designing and printing invitations and making custom CDs, photo CDs or movie DVDs is easy and relatively cheap if you have a computer and the software and accessories to do it.