I feel weird about this because it completely ignores the groom. It was very important to me that our wedding be OUR day, incorporating both of our personalities, tastes, and interests.
I would have had a very different wedding had I married another man.
I always enjoyed (and still enjoy) looking at pretty pictures and wedding magazines, but I think it's weird to actually make plans (book things, buy things, meet with planners, etc.) before the groom is in the picture.
I almost wish I was this planning-oriented. Then I would have lined up DD's kindergarten before she was even conceived instead of scrambling and stressing now.
I started chatting on the Knot before we got engaged, because I came across an article on MSN.com and then stumbled on the message boards. It was something fun to do during a very low-key job at the time, and at the same time I started keeping mental notes about vendors in my area.
MH and I had been dating several years at that point, knew we'd be getting engaged in the not-so-distant future, and were even toying around with getting married a couple years earlier than expected. When I started reading about what brides in my area were paying for weddings and shared that info with him, it just confirmed that we should wait a little longer to save more money and move up in our careers.
I did save a few ideas on my computer for the future, but I wound up going in a different direction with most things when we were actually planning our wedding. Or MH had a different idea and we ran with that instead. I'm definitely grateful for learning things like not to pick my bridesmaids too early or feel pressured into asking more girls than I really wanted, or that I didn't *need* save the date cards, or that I could negotiate with reception halls rather than just accept their prices. And I later watched friends deal with the fallout that arose from forcing their BMs to get their hair done, or deciding on the price of their bridesmaid dresses without even talking to the girls first and then wondering why on earth their bridesmaids hated them.