I love finding games and virtual planning tools on the web. They’re great for playing, and some of them are also useful for doing serious planning. From color inspiration to figuring out the best time of year to hold your outdoor wedding to playing with virtual paper dolls, these tools and games can amuse and instruct any bride to be.
http://www.weather.com/activities/events/weddings/setthedate/?from=wed_mywx_prefs
Enter your zip code in the box, and you’ll get an overview of how the weather generally runs in the area where you’re getting married. Check average high and low temperatures and levels of precipitation. You know who could have used this? The couple I saw on Bridezillas recently who planned a beachside wedding on the New Jersey shore in April, and then were distraught when it rained! I could have told them it was a bad idea.
http://www.i-amour.com/
If you still love paper dolls in your heart of hearts, head on over to this site. There are literally dozens of games to choose from. Pick a designer, wedding party member, even a Hello Kitty wedding, and dress dolls up to your heart’s content.
http://www.weddingsolutions.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=planning&fuseaction.planning=weddingBudgetAnalysis
Enter your total budget, approximate number of guests, and the sales tax rate for your area and this will give you a budget breakdown based on average spending patterns, along with columns to organize your actual intended budget, and how much you go over or under on each item. It’s not perfect (‘reception’ is one cost, for instance), but if you haven’t got a clue how much money to put where, this could be a good way to start figuring it out.
http://www.games.com/game/dream-day-wedding/
A virtual game of hide and seek in which the player looks for hidden items in wedding-related pictures. Harder than it sounds. You never know where that darned koala may be hiding…and I never did find the firecracker at the wedding shower.
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/colors.php
Upload a photo in the color range you like, and this handy tool will give you a convenient set of virtual swatches to help you refine the colors you’d like to use. Even checking out the samples shown could inspire you to color greatness.
There are dozens of tools and games out there on the web to help you plan your wedding and let off steam. Go have fun with them!