Most photographers have portfolios you can browse online. Choose one whose style you like.

2. Do you have an assistant?

It's nice to have an extra person shooting from a different perspective and capturing special moments the other photographer might have missed. After all, he or she can't be in two places at once.

3. How much experience do you have photographing weddings?

You'll want a photographer with enough experience to know what to expect and where to be at the right moment to get the best pictures.

4. How much will the audience see you during the ceremony?

Some photographers like to be front and centre so they can get good close-ups, while others are relatively unobtrusive but still manage to get great photos. Neither way is right or wrong, but it's good to talk about your preferences ahead of time.

5. Can you come to the wedding rehearsal?

Rehearsal night is a great time for your photographer to scope out the venue and get a feel for the lighting, backgrounds, and possible obstacles like pillars or pulpits.

6. Will you stay for the entire reception or leave right after we cut the cake?

It's important to establish precisely how many hours of your photographer's time you are paying for, especially if you want to capture every last minute of your special day.

7. Can we get digital images instead of prints?

You can save a lot of money by printing your own photos. With today's technology, you likely won't notice a difference in quality, and you can use the cash you save to buy some nice picture frames and a special wedding album or scrapbook.

8. Would it be all right to give you a list of photos we definitely don't want you to miss?

Obviously, you want your wedding photos to include the people and moments of your wedding that are most important to you. Don't assume that your photographer knows what these are! It's a good idea to write them down ahead of time. If you're not sure what to include, try searching online for "wedding photo checklist" ideas.

Wait! Before you sell your car (or house... or yacht) to pay for that dress, read these tips. Here are a few suggestions to help you find a wedding dress that fits your budget.

1. Think outside the box

If overly fancy gowns aren't your style, you need not limit your search to wedding dresses alone. Many bridesmaid dresses also come in white or cream, and besides being somewhat less elaborate are often less expensive too. You could also opt for a white evening dress instead. Skip the veil and tiara too; flowers in your hair could be a simple yet beautiful alternative.

2. Buy off the rack

Instead of ordering a custom-made wedding dress in your exact size, you can save a bundle by buying one of the bridal shop's display models when they are marked down to make room for new stock. Most bridal stores have their own seamstresses who can alter the dress to fit you, but it's often cheaper to hire your own -- see #5 below.

3. Look for going-out-of-business sales

Sadly, bridal stores do sometimes go out of business. If you know of one that is closing down in your area, you may be able to get a great deal on their clearance inventory. Again, refer to #5 on finding someone to do your alterations.

4. Buy used or borrow

You can also save money by wearing someone else's dress... after she's done with it, of course. Many brides sell their wedding dresses in online classifieds like Kijiji or Craigslist. Some of the gowns haven't even been worn, for whatever reason. (Sometimes it's best not to ask.) Another possibility is to wear a dress that was previously worn by your mother, or sister, or cousin, or friend. Why not make it your "something borrowed"?

5. Find your own seamstress

Whether you're buying a discounted or used dress, chances are it will need some alteration. Look in the yellow pages or Google "sewing alterations" in your area, and get recommendations from recently married people. If you're lucky enough to have a friend or relative who sews well, even better! If possible, bring them along when shopping for a wedding dress. That way, they can tell you whether the amount of alterations required is reasonable or not, according to their expertise.

The new design resembles your management interface to keep things consistent. In addition to the fresh new look, we have added some new features your guests will love:

Shopping List: Allows guests to bookmark items they are interested in purchasing. They can also print or email the list to themselves.

Email Item: Pretty self-explanatory. Guests can email an item's details to share with someone else or for their own future reference.

Contact the Couple: Allows guests to send a message to the couple who owns the registry, in case they need to ask for more information about anything on the registry. This is a great way for your guests to request your registry's password if they forgot it.

Couple Photo: You can personalize your registry with a photo of you and your fiancé(e).

We think your wedding guests will be impressed with how easy it is to browse your online registry at the newly improved Just1Registry.com. Let us know what you think of the changes!

For both premium and standard users, the new statistics feature graphically shows you how many items you have on your registry, as well as how many of those items have been purchased. This way, you can make sure that you have lots of items available for guests to purchase. To view your purchase statistics, simply click on the Statistics option in the top menu bar when you sign in to manage your registry.

Sample Purchase Statistics:

As always, you can also view a list of who purchased what... after your wedding date, of course! You can click on View Purchases right on the statistics page. Or, to get to this list from the registry management page, click on View Purchases in the top gray menu bar.

Finally, the new visitor statistics feature allows you to see where the people who have been viewing you registry are coming from. If you have a Just1Registry Premium account, you can access this feature by logging into your registry. First click on the Statistics option in the top menu bar, and then click Visitors in the gray menu bar (or just click here).

Sample Visitor Statistics:

If you've ever wondered whether your wedding guests are actually viewing and buying things from your registry (thanks to those cards you sent with the invitations), then you'll definitely find these statistics useful. It's just another way we're trying to make your Just1Registry experience even better. Stay tuned for more new features coming soon!

The invitation inserts are downloadable in pdf format, so you can either print them yourself at home or take the pdf file to your favourite professional printing service. The document contains 8 cards per letter-sized page (8.5 x 11 inches) - the perfect size to hand out to your friends and family or to tuck inside your wedding invitations.

Sample invitation insert: Download PDF

Another thing you'll notice when you upgrade to Just1Registry Premium is that the ads have been removed from your registry page. For some, this is an appealing reason to upgrade. If you think your guests might appreciate an ad-free experience when they view your wedding registry, the one-time fee of $5 is a small price to pay. After all, happier guests just might equal more gifts!

You can now:

Personalize your wedding registry by uploading a photo of you and your fiancé(e). You can also add a personal message to your registry for your guests to see.

Track activity on your registry, including statistics on which items have been purchased and the locations of people who have viewed your registry.

Create printable invitation inserts with your own unique registry web address to share with your wedding guests.

While the personalization and purchase tracking features are available to all users, visitor tracking and the invitation insert generator are part of the new Just1Registry Premium. In addition, premium users will enjoy an ad-free registry.

Whether you choose to stick with the free, standard account or upgrade to Just1Registry Premium for a one-time fee of only $5, Just1Registry is still probably the cheapest part of planning your wedding. And with the recent improvements, we've done our best to make sure it's an enjoyable experience.

To upgrade to Just1Registry Premium simply sign in to your registry and click the upgrade button which is in the top menu bar.

Title: Living Room Decor
Description: My living room has taupe walls with chocolate brown furniture. The accent colours are black and rose.

By putting these two simple sentences on your wedding registry, you open the door to a multitude of creative gift ideas. Gifts such as: A dusty rose throw pillow and throw blanket, an area rug with shades of brown and accents of rose and blue, and solid black picture frames. All of which happen to go great with your living room's decor, even though you probably never would have thought to put them on your wedding registry.

Without your guidance, guests might choose to purchase purple throw pillows, a green throw blanket, a Hawaiian themed area rug or lime green picture frames. These gifts are creative all right, but not so appropriate for your colour scheme.

Just1Registry gives you the ability to share colour scheme information with your guests to give them a "big picture" idea of your house's decor. Let your guests fill in the blanks and be creative! Who knows what great gifts you may receive? By sharing this information, you can also help prevent your future mother-in-law from purchasing that hideous orange gingham throw pillow for your modern white and lilac bedroom. YUCK! Anything to avoid that situation, right?

So many stores offer various incentives for registering for gifts, that by the time you sign up for them all, you forget which items you have added to your list at which store. "No problem," the smiling salesperson says, "just login on our website or at this kiosk and view a list of the items you scanned." Sounds simple enough, right? WRONG! Who has ever heard of a "C M Windermere SS Salt MI Danesco"?? If I don't even know what it is, and I picked it out, how on earth are my guests going to find it?

This is why Just1Rregistry was created, to make life simpler for brides like you. Create one registry, all in one place, all online. It allows you to add real, recognizable items to your list with descriptions that actually make sense, and just in case, includes pictures and suggested stores where you could find each item. What more could you and your guests ask for? Grooms will want to be part of this process too, because they can add the stuff THEY want.

One of the best things about it is that you can add, edit, and delete items from home or work. You'll never have to visit those busy department stores, book an appointment, wait for an item scanner (that rarely worked half the time anyway) or go out in a winter blizzard or summer heat again - at least not to create your wedding registry, that is.