I can’t believe we’re halfway to our wedding day. I feel like I’ve accomplished so little, yet so much. Whenever I start feeling like I’m behind where I need to be, I remind myself that some people begin their planning at this point, and everything goes fine. Not sure how much longer I’ll be able to work that line though.

Luckily I’ve been able to streamline a lot of the process by using the web and social media as an “extra bridesmaid” of sorts.

Here are the tools that have been most valuable to me:

1. Twitter
I have crowdsourced so much info for our wedding, including our venue, caterers. Why, just last week I tweeted this:

Anyone have a recommendation for a kickass caterer in Memphis? Have a few leads but my ears are open. Nothing stuffy.

and got a bunch of leads. I’ll probably be using Facebook to gather folks’ addresses as well.

2. Weddington Way
This is a cool website that has tons of bridesmaid dresses. You can sort them by length, brand, color, you name it. You pick a lineup of your favorites, and then invite your bridal party to rank their favorites. Since my “lady posse” (that’s what I call them because “maids” and “matrons” kind of creeps me out) live in three different cities this is a great way to keep it democratic.

3. Yelp
This is good for background checks on vendors. Gotta keep it drama-free! Also good for finding services that aren’t always online, like tailors.

4. Pinterest
I believe Pinterest was made for brides. There is also a site called Loverly that is essentially a Pinterest designed specifically for brides. I signed up for it but I was already so entrenched in Pinterest I haven’t used it much. Here’s my Wedding Ideas board.

5. Etsy
Lots of affordable, quirky crafty wedding stuff on here: signs, ring pillows, jewelry (lady posse gifts!) and more. I’ve been favoriting a bunch of things: some to buy, and some to flat out rip off and make myself. There is a lot of vintage stuff too. Like the 45 record case I’m planning on getting as a card box. There is an indie shop similar to Etsy called Wedzu that specializes in wedding stuff and has a lot of good stuff too.

6. Wedding Paper Divas
This site rocks for paper goods! They’re very affordable (even for letterpress!) and have so many designs. They do free samples. They’ll probably be printing our invitations, as soon as we settle on a design. One of our samples arrived earlier this week and I’m expecting the rest any day now.

7. The Offbeat Bride, 100 Layer Cake, A Practical Wedding
All of these sites are geared toward DIY brides and provide a lot of inspiration. The Offbeat Bride is for “alternative” brides and they showcase a lot of creative weddings. I gotta hand it to the couples refuse to give up who they are for the “wedding industrial complex.” For example, this “sci fi eco wedding” with a TARDIS would probably make my mom faint. (They were married by a guy dressed as Princess Leia!)

A Practical Wedding has tips from “wedding graduates” who share what they’ve learned from their weddings. Their “Ask Team Practical” advice column helps brides with awkward situations. And 100 Layer Cake is great because of its “pop up shops.” Their “real wedding” pics are always stunning. Offbeat Bride has a book and APW has one that will be out in early 2012.

8. The Knot
I thought I was going to use this site more. In fact one of the first things I did when we got engaged was start an account. I get more inspiration from the sites I listed above. But the tools — the checklists, the planners, and the website builder — are really helpful. The website builder is a cinch to use and it’s free.

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