Monday, May 03, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
ONLINE GUY: Wedding bells? These sites do well
I can't imagine how couples planned weddings before the Internet and its accompanying technology.
E-mail, Web sites, spread sheets and databases teamed with lap top computers, printers, personal digital assistants, digital video disks and digital cameras to make my recent wedding and honeymoon much easier to pull together.
The wedding industry is well represented on the Web, as my bride, Diane, and I discovered when we began planning in June. Yahoo! and Google searches were the launching pads for just about everything, from reception locations to honeymoon hideaways.
Our wedding had its own Web site (sorry, that URL is personal), which answered many of the basic questions, such as dates, times and locations, as well as providing a forum for our guests to share information with each other.
Our invitation and reply lists were always with me, thanks to Documents to Go, a program by DataViz (www.dataviz.com/documents). My Treo 600 Smartphone held the Microsoft Word and Excel files, which I updated often on both the PDA and my computer. I synchronized files and printed master lists that were triple-checked as snail mail was sent and received.
Other ways we used technology during our planning include: shopping for invitations; buying and downloading a printing font used in mailings and place seating cards; researching flowers and music; ordering an Elvis impersonator for the reception; creating customized maps with driving instructions for our visitors; dozens of directory look-ups; and putting together a DVD slideshow of photos shown at the reception.
Some of the sites we used in the past several months:
• WeddingChannel.com (www.weddingchannel.com)
A site for everything wedding related, from tips for brides and grooms to gift registries from Macy's and 18 other merchants. This was a great way to let guests know what was on our wish list, giving them an easy method to purchase and send gifts directly to our home.
• Men's Warehouse (www.menswarehouse.com)
Tuxedo shopping and information for my groomsmen, all of whom lived in different cities, but were able to see the exact styles they would be wearing.
• Grooms Online (www.groomsonline.com)
A source for unique, customized gifts. The service, quality and prices were top-notch.
• Hawaii.com (www.hawaii.com)
Honeymoon research and bookings for hotel and activities.
• Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com)
Find a condo or rental house that fits your needs. They have more than 2,400 listings, including a house we rented in Hawaii.
Share your Internet story with me at: agibes@reviewjournal.com and be sure to visit The Online Guy Web site at: (www.reviewjournal.com/columnists/onlineguy)
