'Something new' for big day

The power of the internet is taking a lot of the stress out of CHRIS DANIELS' wedding plans.

Summer is here, and with it comes the summer bride. And yours truly is soon to become a summer bridegroom, tying the knot on January 26.

Although planning that big day - flowers, music, food, suits and, of course, the booze - is a task similar in scope, complexity and expense to organising the D-Day landings, the power of the internet has come to my aid.

Michele (the bride to be) says she would be lost without it. After all, neither she nor I have done this before.

And with the eye-watering expenditure involved, it often seems that the wedding vultures are circling - cake people, flower people, car people, invitation people, all sniffing around an open wallet.

But the internet has put some of the power back in the hands of those about to take that step into the world of the wedded.

Take wedding dresses, for example (or gowns, which I have learned is the correct term).

Despite an extensive wardrobe, Michele has never bought, owned, or worn a wedding dress.

Enter the internet. With pictures of thousands of wedding gowns, she was able to work out what was on offer - what looked good and what looked like a toilet-roll holder a grandma would make.

But a wedding dress is no good without the services of the celebrant. Some of them are making good use of the internet to show prospective happy couples the sort of service they can provide.

Auckland celebrant Bruce McGrail set up his website three months ago. He says it is the best way for people to "approach" him without feeling uncomfortable.

"I am aware that more and more people are doing initial looking on the internet," he said. "One of the factors of having the website is that people can have a look in their own time, without having the personal contact that sometimes makes people nervous."

People ringing up and checking a celebrant often had no idea what questions to ask, so the website was a good way for them to find out what Bruce was all about without feeling strange.

"The internet also gives me the opportunity to post a photo - they immediately can see that I'm a man, how old I am, what kind of a feel there is there," he said.

His website is also a bonus for New Zealanders living overseas, but wanting to tie the knot closer to home.

"People who live and work in London or Australia use it - it means we can have everything to do with the content of the ceremony sorted with the celebrant before they even land in New Zealand," he said.

"They can be on a tour of Turkey or whatever, but we can still be working on theceremony."

Nelson man Kelvin Cox, who runs, says that when it comes to weddings, soon-to-be brides want advertising and special offers sent to them.

His "bridal club" service sends reminders in the months leading to the big day, reminding them to book things such as a venue, a make-up artist, a hairdresser, a DJ.

"It is amazing the amount of money spent on weddings," he said.

"We decided there was a real need for a one-stop wedding shop - all of the information on our site is completely free."

One feature of the NZ Wedding Planner site is the "create your own wedding homepage", which allows couples to put all the details of their impending nuptials on the internet.

You can even peek at the pages of people you don't know - type in "Brown" in the surname and you can get all the details of how soon-to-be wed Palmerston North couple Celia Brown and Luke Jochem met.

"We were both studying at polytech and I had seen her in the computer labs and thought she was pretty cute.

"One day I passed her in the hallway and said hi (she said nothing, just looked surprised), the next I asked her out to a movie. And we took it from there."

Aaaahhh, something for even the most hardened cynic when it comes to weddings online.

Bruce McGrail

NZ Wedding Planner