MULLINS Special Occasions
Candelabra and Wedding
6 Free Tools to Make Wedding Planning a Breeze
Posted by: Sarah Lawen Smith Oct 19, 2024

Wedding planning can be a stressful time between settling on dates and themes, finding vendors, and creating lists…lots of lists. As stressful as wedding planning is, there are lots of tools out there to help take some of that stress off your plate and aid you in the planning process. Best of all, many of these tools are entirely free! You are already paying a pretty penny to execute the wedding of your dreams, so don’t feel like you need to dish out big bucks on the planning and designing process. With a little bit of effort, you can find tools to help you with every step of the process. Here are some free wedding planning tools to get you started.

Google Drive

You have most likely utilized Google Drive before in your educational or professional life, as its use as an organizational and collaborative tool is unmatched, but its use can also extend into wedding planning. Since Google Drive is accessible through the internet, it can be accessed from your computer, tablet, or smartphone anytime, which is incredibly convenient when you are meeting with vendors, taking tours, or otherwise planning on the go. The ability to share documents and collaborate in real time is also helpful as it allows everyone involved in planning (you, your partner, parents, friends) to stay up to date with decisions and compile important information all in one place.

Wedding Websites

Wedding websites like The Knot and Zola were built FOR YOU to help guide you in the planning process and package all your important information up in one personalized web link to share with your wedding guests. These websites have timelines and checklists to guide you, as well as budget trackers, guestlist and virtual RSVP tools, vendor recommendations, and an integrated gift registry. Each website is slightly different in the way they are put together and has elements that it does better than the others, so feel free to browse through the different options to find the site that works best for your needs. 

Bridal Directories

The wedding industry is a saturated market, so finding the right vendors can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. Word of mouth is always a great way to find vendors for your wedding, but if you want to cast your net a little wider, bridal directories are a fantastic way to see what’s out there and connect with the top-rated professionals in the field. Wedding websites, like those listed above, provide an extensive list of vendors searchable by type and location, and they often include star-ratings and reviews as well. For a more curated list, picking up a physical (or digital) copy of your local printed bridal directory can be a good place to start (click here for the 2024 North Alabama Bridal Directory).

Color Palette Generators

If you have a general color scheme in mind but struggle with picking accent colors and creating a cohesive color palette, then a color palette generator might be of use. If you are the type of person who is good with colors and has had your wedding colors picked out since the 8th grade…check it out anyway! True palette generators like this one by Colormind are great for when you’re not sure where to start. We like the Colormind generator because it allows you to lock the colors in the palette you like or even choose your own starting color, then it fills in the palette with colors that fit with what you have chosen. Adobe Color is another fantastic generator. This generator allows you to choose the color harmony mode you prefer (complimentary, monochromatic, analogous, etc.), then by choosing a starting color the generator provides you with harmonious accents. Both these programs are completely free and great for solidifying your color scheme.

Virtual Showrooms

Once you have a color scheme picked out, you have to assign those colors to all the different elements of your wedding, including your linens. While we love for our clients to visit our showroom to see linens in person, we understand that this is not always possible when creativity strikes. If you find yourself wanting to test out linen colors and textures together on your lunch break or late at night, a virtual linen showroom is the way to go. Our primary linen vendor, A1 Tablecloth Co., has a free virtual showroom that is accessible to everyone without need for an account. In this showroom you can try out endless combinations of their entire stock of linens, viewing table mock-ups in both 2D and 3D. If you fall in love with any of the linens while you’re there, let us know! If we don’t already have them in stock we can order them for you.

Floor planning Assistance

If trying to put together a floor plan with pen and paper seems daunting, don’t sweat it! We offer professional floor plan creation assistance through our CAD system, and we are happy to help you make sense of your venue and optimize its available space for what you need. Our floor plan assistance is included in our services and is free for clients to utilize upon request.

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