Mark Ingram dicusses wedding gown trends, New York City, N.Y.

Wedding Calendar

At the very start of your wedding process, haul out your calendar. It will keep you going along in a flow so you do everything on time and don't rush anything, which will save you money. The calendar should cover the whole shebang, including ceremony, receptions and bridesmaids. Here are the "must hit" deadlines you should include:

• One year ahead: Announce your engagement and begin booking vendors such as caterers and wedding planners.
  
• Nine months ahead: Finalize the guest list and select your wedding gown. If you're hiring a consultant, finalize the contract.
  
• Six months ahead: Register for gifts and order your wedding cake and flowers. Send out "save the date" cards, but only to people who will definitely make the guest list.
  
• Four to five months ahead: Start planning the honeymoon. Grooms, pick your formalwear.
  
• Two months ahead: Buy wedding rings and arrange for the wedding-day limousine.
  
• One month ahead: confirm guest head count. Call the guests who haven't RSVP'd!
  
• Two weeks ahead: Confirm, confirm, confirm! Re-check all the details of the reception, the ceremony, the flowers, you name it. Finalize the seating chart for the reception.

Whether you're teamed with a consultant or are a bridal Lone Ranger, you'll also need one other critical weapon in the fight against chaos: the all-important wedding binder. This is where you'll put all your swatches, business cards, magazine tear sheets — and any info that will help you get where you need to go, when you need to be there

Wedding Budget

The average cost of a wedding, from the first chords of the wedding march to the last dance, is $22,000. But these budget percentages should work for any style of wedding and any size budget, from the casual backyard shindig to an all-out country club extravaganza:

• 50 percent reception
  
• 10 percent flowers
  
• 10 percent attire
  
• 10 percent music
  
• 10 percent photographer or videographer
  
• 10 percent favors, invitations, gifts, etc.

The Wedding Planner

There are three advantages to hiring a wedding consultant — experience, contacts and assistance. A wedding planner will be able to think of things that you won't think of and that's important. With her contacts, a planner might be able to get discounts from certain vendors. And a wedding planner can tie up loose ends and just be in charge throughout the day so you can relax and be a bride.

To find an appropriate consultant, contact professional groups such as the Association of Bridal Consultants (www.bridalassn.com). Most wedding industry folks have these organizations — there's even an American Disc Jockey Association!

If you feel like you can plan the whole wedding yourself and still enjoy the day, you might want to just bring in a consultant for the home stretch — the last few weeks before the wedding. The planner will get to know your wedding-day schedule down to the last minute. Then, while you're busy walking down the aisle, she's running the show, making sure the deejay shows up, the centerpieces are right, and so forth. For this invaluable service, expect to pay $800-$1,000 dollars.

Bride's Magazine
Millie Martini Bratten, Editor-in-Chief
www.brides.com

Martha Stewart Living
Rebecca Thuss, Style Editor
20 West 43^rd Street
New York, NY 10036
212-827-8000
www.marthastewart.com