By Meghan DeMaria, Refinery29
Before smartphones were ubiquitous, planning for your big day meant using paper calendars and handwritten to-do lists. But now, getting ready for your wedding is easier than ever thanks to technology.
Push notifications remind you to order stationery, schedule your dress fittings, and track down missing RSVPs. YouTube videos can teach you and your partner simple moves so you can nail the first dance. And it's likely your guests will rely on your personal wedding website for all the details.
But which apps are the most reliable in managing all these moving parts? Ahead, we've identified some of the best to help you plan your perfect day.
The Glam App
Founded by Insta-influencer Cara Santana, The Glam App — available in most major U.S. cities and London — is the procrastinator's beauty fairy godmother. Have you booked your caterer, your DJ, your florist, and finalized your guest list, but haven't even thought about hair and makeup for your bridal party? This could be your savior.
Mint
Weddings are an expensive endeavor — you'll be burning through a lot of cash without some proper budget planning. Mint lets you monitor your spending on an easy-to-use interface. After link your debit and credit credits to the platform, your key spending categories will be spelled out to you in the form of pie charts. You'll be able to set up budgets in individual categories, and receive alerts when funds are running low. Check out this post on the app's official blog to see how you can obliterate spending remorse.
Is there anything Etsy can't do? Apparently not, because pretty much anything wedding-related that you can't find through other vendors is here. Looking for Scrabble cake toppers, custom-made place cards, custom-made marquee lights, an Art Deco mirror, footless jeweled sandals, or basically anything else you can dream up? It's all at your fingertips, and will get delivered to your doorstep in a jiffy.
GlamSquad
GlamSquad makes it super-easy to book hair, makeup, and nail services on the fly. You can book right through the app, and an army of pros will come to your house — or hotel — to make you wedding-ready. If you have special requests, you can also contact one of the company's reps and they'll get back to you speedily. There's even a catalog of bridal inspiration to peruse on the website, in case you're stumped for ideas.
Veri
Cofounder Angela Kim wanted an easier way to gather photos from guests at her wedding — and hashtags just weren't super-useful. She wanted an app that doesn't require manual uploading, and there weren't any. That's how she came up with Veri, which allows guests to use their regular phone cameras to upload images in real time to a shared album set up by the couple. Check out Veri.com for more info on how it works.
The Knot Wedding LookBook
If you're way too overwhelmed to visit a bunch of salons in person, do your preliminary dress research through this app. It makes it super-easy for you to narrow down the style of wedding dress that you want. Plus, you can look up listings for wedding-dress salons when you're actually ready to go try stuff on. The app even lets you send messages directly to shops to request your appointment.You can also search for bridesmaid, mother-of-the-bride, and flower-girl dresses by style, shape, and price. And if you're looking for accessories, you're all set here, too — plus, you can bookmark your favorites for later. If you still can't find the perfect dress, the app will give you even more inspiration by introducing recommendations based on your favorites.
iWedding Deluxe
With this all-in-one app, you can make to-do lists, budgets, guest lists, and more. It even includes a live countdown to your wedding day. You can also keep all your favorite inspiration in one spot, adding photos from your camera. (P.S. There's a special pin-code feature that lets you "lock" pics of your wedding dress from prying eyes.)The guest-list feature is super-detailed: You can track guests' RSVP status, record their meal choices, and even make seating charts for your reception and rehearsal dinner. The app notes that it supports same-sex weddings — because everyone should be able to have their wedding plans at their fingertips.
Pantone Studio
One of the first wedding-planning decisions you're likely to make is what your color palette will be. After all, with all the choices out there, "I like blue" is just not going to cut it. Pantone Studio will let you do just that and more. Did you find the perfect shade of, say, periwinkle bridesmaids' dresses? Take a photo, and the app will identify that exact color, matched from its library of over 10,000 hues — and show you others to help you out with your palette-creating.Perhaps the key part of the app is that it also helps you create a palette sourced from your Instagram or Pinterest accounts. Pantone Studio also makes it easy to share your creations on social media and via email (so you can update your mom, sister, and fiancé ASAP every time new inspiration strikes). A basic version is available for free download, and there's a paid monthly subscription model with more advanced features.
TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit lets you outsource your tasks — say, bouquet-making or buying last-minute supplies — to (background-checked) people in your area. "Taskers" can also help you do your initial research, which makes the planning process so much easier, and even help with those super-involved DIY projects.All you need to do is post a job you need help with — within minutes, you'll be matched with a qualified and vetted Tasker. You'll be happy to cross one more thing off that checklist.
iWedding Deluxe
With this all-in-one app, you can make to-do lists, budgets, guest lists, and more. It even includes a live countdown to your wedding day. You can also keep all your favorite inspiration in one spot, adding photos from your camera. (P.S. There's a special pin-code feature that lets you "lock" pics of your wedding dress from prying eyes.)The guest-list feature is super-detailed: You can track guests' RSVP status, record their meal choices, and even make seating charts for your reception and rehearsal dinner. The app notes that it supports same-sex weddings — because everyone should be able to have their wedding plans at their fingertips.
One of the first wedding-planning decisions you're likely to make is what your color palette will be. After all, with all the choices out there, "I like blue" is just not going to cut it. Pantone Studio will let you do just that and more. Did you find the perfect shade of, say, periwinkle bridesmaids' dresses? Take a photo, and the app will identify that exact color, matched from its library of over 10,000 hues — and show you others to help you out with your palette-creating.Perhaps the key part of the app is that it also helps you create a palette sourced from your Instagram or Pinterest accounts. Pantone Studio also makes it easy to share your creations on social media and via email (so you can update your mom, sister, and fiancé ASAP every time new inspiration strikes). A basic version is available for free download, and there's a paid monthly subscription model with more advanced features.
TaskRabbit
TaskRabbit lets you outsource your tasks — say, bouquet-making or buying last-minute supplies — to (background-checked) people in your area. "Taskers" can also help you do your initial research, which makes the planning process so much easier, and even help with those super-involved DIY projects.All you need to do is post a job you need help with — within minutes, you'll be matched with a qualified and vetted Tasker. You'll be happy to cross one more thing off that checklist.
