Planning a wedding? These apps keep brides under control

Planning a wedding can be complicated and challenging, but can a handful of iPhone apps reduce the stress?  Well, you might still have issues finding the perfect gown but these wedding apps will keep everything you need at your fingertips.

A wedding planner in your pocket

When you need to keep the details available, there are several apps to consider that are much cheaper than hiring a coordinator.  With iWedding ($7.99), you can organize all aspects of your wedding.  It offers a handy to-do list, keeps you on budget, coordinates the guest list and will even suggest ideas for the dreaded seating arrangements.

Bride Guide ($4.99) is a less expensive alternative offering similar features, and was designed by a wedding planner. MyWedding ($3.99), my least favorite, is a simple time-line planning guide.  It lacks many features of the other apps, and, for the price, you might as well invest an extra dollar for Bride Guide.

For the extremely budget-conscious bride, TheWedLink (free) is a time-line planning guide and a vendor search tool, provided you live in one of the cities on its very limited list.  With some updates, this app does have potential. But what bride has time to wait?

Wedding Wire (free) is a location-based planner that provides local resources by category.  You can find DJs, dress shops, and bakeries for your cake.  As a plus, the app includes helpful user reviews.  Give this free app a try.

For the detailed bride If you want to focus on specific areas of planning, there are apps for that, too.

When you’re trying on tons of dresses from various stores, you can lose track of your favorites.  That’s where iBridalGown ($3.99) comes in handy. With this app, you can note the dresses you’re considering by keeping track of store information, style numbers, and even pictures of the dresses you liked.

For keeping tabs on your guest list, Wedding List ($2.99) is there to help.  Here you can keep track of your guest list, RSVPs, and seating chart.

For the budget-minded, Budget Invitations (99 cents) can help with DIY invitations.  This app helps you choose a design and guides you through the creation process.

For other last-minute questions that might arise, use Wedding911 by The Knot (free) to browse popular questions or post your own and get answers from other brides.  It’s a social network just for brides.

If you just can’t wait for the big day, Wedding Day (99 cents) is a simple countdown app that tracks the exact number of days, weeks, hours, minutes, and seconds until you say “I do.”

Taking a breather

Planning a wedding doesn’t have to be all work and no play.  When you want to take a break from all the planning and have a little fun, pick up Wedding Dash ($4.99).  You are the wedding planner in this game, trying to keep the couple and guests happy while avoiding wedding disasters.

If you want to have some fun with makeup, but don’t want to pay for a makeover, aBeauty Pro ($1.99) is your virtual makeup artist. Simply upload a photo from your iPhone, and you can test different eye shadows, blushes, and lipsticks.  I had more fun experimenting on unsuspecting victims, like my fiance, rather than on myself.

When the big day arrives, and you discover you have nothing witty to say to your new in-laws’ second cousins, try iConvo.  This free app helps you break the ice by picking a category that best suits the situation.  Give your iPhone a shake and a question or topic will pop up on the screen.  Of course, it might be a bit tacky for the bride to carry an iPhone, but hey, it’s your wedding!

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