WITH THIS SITE, I THEE WED

Got a wedding on your mind after a New Year's or Valentine's Day engagement? This is the prime planning season for nuptials, as brides-to-be look to the coming months, with August and September being the busiest in the Twin Cities, according to the industry-tracking website the Wedding Report.

There's a lot at stake in getting everything right, too. Of the approximately 20,000 weddings in the metro area last year, budgets for the big event averaged an estimated $16,700 but actual spending averaged an estimated $39,000, the Wedding Report said.

A host of websites can help you come up with ideas, register for gifts, create to-do lists and more. You'll probably still stress out, but at least you'll be better organized and perhaps make better spending choices.

www.theknot.com

Where do you start at the overwhelmingly comprehensive wedding-planning site the Knot? The choices numb the mind. The best bet is to enter your wedding date as part of the free registration process to get a personalized to-do list for the coming months. (I entered my niece's September date recently and was informed that 49 items on "my" to-do list were already overdue. Yikes!) The niftiest thing about the interactive checklist is that it includes links to more information for particular tasks. So, for example, the prompt to decide on a budget refers to an informational article and a budget calculator, while a tip to start thinking about your gown has links to dos and don'ts on how to find the most flattering shape for your figure. The to-do list cleverly feeds you the volumes of material stored on the site, but only as needed so it doesn't overwhelm you. That said, you could poke around the site for weeks, including chatting in its forums, and probably never have to look elsewhere. You can even create and personalize a micro-website just for your wedding. If you want to compare, you could check out similarly aimed, but less comprehensive, sites such as Wedding Channel (www.weddingchannel. com) and the new Bride's Pub (www.bridespub.com).

www.brides.com

Gowns, gowns, gowns -- that's the forte of Brides, the virtual version of the popular magazine. Peruse thousands of photos in the site's wedding dress gallery to find your look. More eye candy comes in the form of additional galleries for cakes, hairstyles and more. They all scream hip, fashionable and trendy: Where else would you find a cosmic wedding planner, which helps you plan the big day based on your astrological sign? There are loads of planning tools, too, of course.

Lots of wedding sites, virtual gift trackers and individual stores offer ways to create a gift registry online, but MyRegistry.com goes supernova on all of them. It allows you to add gifts from any store, whether it's a major online retailer or a little store across town owned by people who have never heard of the Internet. The site includes a price-comparison search engine and gift ideas by category. It also offers sample registries and the option to personalize the look of your registry with various wedding themes, plus planning tools.

www.thegroomguide.com

"Yes, you do have to do more than just show up for the ceremony," the Groom Guide says. Although husbands-to-be might sometimes feel the least involved when it comes to planning the actual wedding, this site makes sure he knows what he should be doing. That includes arranging the honeymoon, making sure the best man is prepared and more. Something tells me, though, that many brides might want to rewrite the last step on the groom's checklist: "Plan a surprise for the reception -- for example, fireworks, special music, monkeys, elephants, etc."

www.weddingmanor.com

Wedding Manor is a catch-all site whose main mission is to serve as a vendors directory. So you'll find things for sale such as scoops for the reception's candy buffet (all the rage these days) and car-decorating kits (complete with window clings) for the couple's grand getaway -- and lots of great ideas even if you don't buy anything through the site. For example, wouldn't it be cool to send invitations using real postage stamps that have photos of the bride and groom? Tools include a music checklist form that you can fill out, print and give to the band or DJ for song selections. The site is a hodgepodge but worth exploring. For a good laugh, be sure to check out the don't-let-this-happen-to-you wedding horror stories, such as the chafing pans that caught fire while the reception band was playing the Bangles' "Eternal Flame" and the blushing bride whose gown's zipper burst open in front of everyone, she said, "as if I was wearing a hospital gown exposing my white thong underwear." Ah, great stuff.