If you’re like most brides, chances are you are tight on time, money, and maybe even patience, wedding planning is no joke! You will feel like you got a second job once you are in the full swing of keeping track of all the details that are going to make your wedding day dream come true. Luckily, like many other Generation X and Y-ers, I’ve been exposed to the best ways to not only multi-task, but to use the internet and electronics to my advantage. While your Grandmother might roll her eyes or give a giggle at the idea of planning a wedding through your phone or tablet, I am here to reassure both you and her that it is totally possible.
Whether you are a dedicated Apple or Android user, there are more than 2.2 millions apps to search and download. I’ve taken the hard work out of the hunt and gathered ten of my favorite wedding planning apps. From creating your guest list to creating your ideal wedding palette, there is an app for that. Nearly all of these apps will work great for stateside and destination wedding brides alike. My suggestion is to grab a glass of wine, cozy up on the couch, and download all of these ASAP.
1. Joy
I love the concept of Joy as a wedding planning app because it's a great tool for open communication between brides and their guests. In addition to that, Joy also gives you a free website to use in conjunction of the app. Pretty much, Joy is a private social network for wedding guests only. It’s a great way to share photo memories without worrying about someone from your high school days creeping on your special day.
2. Honeyfund
According to TripSavvy, more than 91% of wedding couples create a gift registry for their wedding. While it’s no surprise that registries are still a big trend, its important to know that the type of registries are changing. Honeyfund has paved the way for honeymoon type registries where guests can contribute to the couples’ travel costs. I love this app because its easy to use for the couple and for the guest! It reassures guests that their contribution goes toward travel no matter what. Aunt Judy can be reassured that her $100 gift to a beach-side couples massage isn’t actually going towards a new coffee table at home.
3. The Knot
Let’s be honest, The Knot is the queen of everything wedding planning. The Knot paved the way for wedding websites and virtual wedding planning. The Knot’s app is a gal’s best friend from “YES!” to “I Do!” I am a one-stop-shop kind of girl and I love that this app has a budgeter, checklist, vendor search, countdown, and inspiration catalogue. What more could you ask for?
4. Spotify
Build up the anticipation of your wedding day’s soundtrack. I suggest making notes about your dream playlist for all things wedding related. Spotify is going to be your BFF when it comes to the entire wedding day. Get organized by creating playlists for everything from the bachelorette party to getting ready for your Grand March into the reception. Spotify will allow you to add songs whenever you feel like it, and if something becomes overly played on the radio to the point you never want to hear it again, removing songs is just as easy. My favorite concept of Spotify is that you can download your playlists which works wonders when you are hosting a destination wedding and opt for a sound system over a DJ.
5. Wanderable
A new twist on a wedding classic, a registry isn’t something that should be taken lightly! Wanderable allows couples to add a more personable touch to their honeymoon and travel registry requests. Couples can share photos and stories that give greater meaning to their guests’ gifting. My favorite part about this app is that it helps you send thank you cards to guests while you are on your honeymoon. It’s as easy as snapping a photo, write a message about how you are enjoying your ‘gift’ and hit send. It’s totally noteworthy to mention that Wanderable also addresses, prints, and mails the cards for you.
6. Pantone Studio
While wedding inspiration can become overwhelming quite quickly, it is important to remember to have a starting point. After you consider your wedding venue and time of year, picking your color palette will be one of the most fun, yet challenging aspects to early stage wedding planning. Pantone Studio is great because it will allow you to customize a color palette by extracting colors you find on photos from Pinterest, Instagram, or even Facebook.
7. MyFitnessPal
Alright ladies, we salute those of you who are #weddingready but for anyone who feels like they may need to participate in some #sweatingforthewedding fear not, I have an app for that! MyFitnessPal is a great tool to use anytime, but is extra fantastic when you’re trying to stay in or get in tip top shape for walking down the aisle. Not only is it free, but MyFitnessPal is an easy to use, honest, and reliable tracking app for both dietary and exercise intake and output. Feel great about making baby steps towards your ultimate goal by using this app everyday leading up to your wedding.
8. Pinterest
I know, I know, you don’t live under a rock. But you’d be surprised at how many brides don’t use Pinterest to their wedding planning advantage. Oftentimes, brides who may be against ideas of social media platforms stay away from Pinterest. I am here to tell you that it isn’t like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. It’s more private, it’s easier to search, and super easy to stay organized. I love this app because it allows you to organize inspiration on separate boards, and then organize within those boards! If you want to keep certain planning ideas a secret you can turn any collections to Secret with a click of a button.
9. Paperless Post
This app was hard to fall in love with, only because I am truly such an advocate for traditional wedding invitations. I love the idea of having a thoughtful, tangible, invitation to an event. I am totally old school though and will admit that I still send cards in the mail on a regular basis and am the only person I know that carries stamps in their purse. Back to the point, Paperless Post takes away from the tangible paper product while adding to the online user experience. Paperless Post (owned by Paper Source) offers couples to save a little extra in their budget by investing in online invitations rather than paper ones. If you’re like me and just can’t breakup with sending things in the mail, maybe make a compromise to send Save the Dates electronically and then follow up with a formal invitation suite in the mail prior to the wedding. The best part of all of this is that you can actually preview what the guest experience will be like when using Paperless Post.
10. thredUP
This app is great for the bride who is willing to let her bridesmaids have some flexibility when it comes to what to wear. I continually see the trend of mismatched bridesmaids dresses on the rise. I may be bias but I think this concept for destination weddings is great. Why? You probably shouldn’t ask your best ladies to spend $1,000+ on travel and then another few hundred dollars on attire for just one day. ThredUp allows ladies to find a great dress that is at a bargain price. Plus, they will also likely be able to wear it again, or sell it to keep the recycling trend alive. My favorite part about using this app is that it will ask you personalized questions about sizing options, save favorites, and you can qualify for free shipping!
