My favorite wedding tools

Hiring a wedding consultant will help simplify the planning process immensely but if you decide to take on many of the details yourself, make sure to take advantage of all the great tools and Web sites available. Here are some of my faves:

• My Seating from Wedding Wire will help you save time and stress when it comes to assigning seats at the reception. Instead of breaking out the eraser each time your in-laws ask to move Uncle Eddy, just use the drag and drop function instead! When it's complete, print out the seating chart and hand it off to your coordinator.
• Wedding Mapper is a super easy tool that allows you to create a map that highlights special locations for your guests, from the ceremony location to the reception site and even fun destinations like the beach or the local bar where the bride and groom met. Just add icons for each location and add directions, then import the map on your inviation "directions" card.
• Wedding Web sites are almost always used nowadays. Some of the best, most customizable sites are NearlyWeds.com and WeddingWindow.com.

 What planning tools do you love?

Destination: Puerto Rico

When it comes to destination weddings, one of the obvious choices is Mexico. But if you're on the lookout for another location that's just as affordable, beautiful and not too far away, then look no further then Puerto Rico.

My husband and I recently went to Puerto Rico to celebrate our one year anniversary. It was our first trip to PR and we stayed in Fajardo, a town about 45-minutes from San Juan. We booked through a third party travel company and weren't quite sure what to expect, so we were extremely excited when we pulled up to our hotel El Conquistador. 

Driving up the long winding road, my husband was in awe of the golf course while I was pumped to see the spa up ahead. The resort is huge and absolutely gorgeous. There's no beach because it's located above a marina, but guests can take a free boat ride to a private island just 10 minutes away. Being located on a clif and above the marina, you get a fantastic view of the surrounding area - just check out the photo from our hotel room balcony.

What makes this such an ideal location for a wedding - besides the views - is that there's so much to do for you and your guests from a casino, several large pools and Coqui waterpark. There are three casual restaurants, a steakhouse (it was closed during our stay) and a seafood restaurant down by the marina. But, my favorite restaurant during our stay was by far La Estacion, what looks like a run-down shack from the street but was the perfect combo of authentic Puerto Rican food in a casual, fun setting. It's just a 5-minute drive from the resort. Don't miss out on the mofongo - it's unreal!

What is your top pick for a destination wedding?

Off the Shelf: My new favorite wedding mag!

Have you seen Get Married the magazine? Let me tell you, it is amaaazing! I have always loved flipping through wedding mags, but the one major flaw I’ve found in them all is that the products they recommend are often too expensive for the average bride. But Get Married has really nailed the concept of offering real brides affordable ideas to make their wedding as special as they always dreamed.

I received a copy of the first issue in the mail and was pleasantly surprised, because I’ve seen the TV show by the same name that airs early weekday mornings on WE TV (check your local listings for airtimes). The show is full of valuable info and makes wedding planning seem doable even to the novice planner. However, the show’s content actually works better in a magazine format, because they’re able to offer the bride so much more information at one time. From invitations to bridal gowns and table settings, I can’t get enough of their fresh and reasonably priced ideas.

Flipping through Get Married, I was psyched to see that for every product featured, they offered a website where you could purchase it. Most items are available on the magazine’s site, http://shop.getmarried.com/index.jsp, which makes comparing options even easier. The site is a perfect companion to the magazine and TV show, giving stylish, budget-conscious brides a one-stop shop for all their wedding needs. Register for your free issue or view the October issue here: http://www.getmarried.com/magazine/.

Have you read Get Married? Tell me what you think!