1. Gold Coast Weddings Magazine

Wedding Planner Document Downloads

http://www.goldcoastweddings.com/index.php?page=wedding-planning

This magazine is one of the Gold Coast’s leading bridal magazines that is also available as a website. Unlike the magazine, the website is more focused on giving details of vendors of wedding specialties on the Gold Coast such as florists and reception venues. There is a download section of the site where first time brides are able to download wedding planner checklists to help them plan their wedding. These checklists range from budget checklists, to a wedding week countdown checklist. It’s a great use for couples who have no idea where to start on their wedding planning.

2. The Bride’s Diary

Gold Coast Weddings

http://www.bridesdiary.com.au/reviews/reviewDetail.aspx?id=47

The Bride’s Diary is a complete listing of vendors over Australia; however it also includes reviews and articles on locations and other experiences. This link is for an article on the benefits of a Gold Coast wedding and what the Gold Coast has to offer. It promotes the coast in a positive light emphasizing the beauty of the beaches, the outdoors lifestyle, the great food and fashion and ready available accommodation. To read this kind of article would be a positive reinforcement to having a Gold Coast wedding because it really brings out the great values the Gold Coast has to offer.

3. Gold Coast Australia.com

Interactive Gold Coast Map

http://www.goldcoastaustralia.com/map-interactive-gold-coast.html

Gold Coast Australia is more of a tourist site but with an interactive map on the site, it allows you to scroll across and view all of the areas of the Gold Coast. In order to put together a Gold Coast wedding, it may be important to know what areas are around you and what areas would be nice for a wedding. This map on the site is useful for knowing what areas are surrounding and from there being able to look up the desired venue.

4. Australian Dream Weddings

Gold Coast Beach Wedding

http://www.australianwedding.com/gold-coast-beach

This site aims at designing the perfect wedding right down to choosing a theme. An article within this site is on Gold Coast beach weddings. It details how great a beach wedding can be and gives you a detailed package of a beach wedding as well as images at the end of the article. An article such as this can give ideas to couples looking for the way to have the perfect Gold Coast wedding.

5. Gold Coast City Council

Beaches and Foreshore

http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/t_standard.aspx?pid=194

Gold Coast City Council has a section within their site about having a wedding on Gold Coast beaches. It is possible to organize a beach wedding without informing the council however it is recommended going to this council site and filling out an application for a beach wedding. It is a good idea for couples contemplating a beach wedding as this site can inform about what the requirements are for a beach wedding on the Gold Coast such as guest limit and environmental impact requirements.

6. Queensland Government

Department of Justice and Attorney General: Marriages

http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/765.htm

Another official part of any wedding is having a marriage certificate. These certificates can be obtained via the government. In order to obtain a certificate using the government website, couples must fill out an application form and follow the instructions on this site. For a government site this is very easy to navigate and gives very straightforward steps to attaining a marriage certificate.

7. Queensland Brides

Real Life Weddings

http://www.queenslandbrides.com.au/features/realLifeWeddings/

The Queensland Brides is anther magazine with a website that gives you all the details of the magazine as well as articles from the magazine. There is a large section for readers to submit their own wedding stories where those with impending nuptials can read. There are plenty of Gold Coast wedding experiences that can be used to give inspiration to planning your own Gold Coast wedding. If someone has had a negative experience, it helps others to avoid such an experience.

8. Our Wedding Expo

Wedding Expos and Bridal Fairs

http://www.ourweddingexpos.com.au/qld.htm

The purpose of the wedding expo site is to give a full rundown on when wedding expos are being held, the cost and what is involved. This site is useful for couples who want to go to these expos but are unsure about when or where they are held. The site details what is in the expo and couples can know what to expect and have a reason to attend.

9. Australian Bridal Industry Academy

ABIA Award Finalists

http://www.abia.com.au/Supplier/qld-Winners-finalists-2006-7.html.html

Another prestigious bridal organization that runs bridal expos is the ABIA. This site lists events and suppliers in each state. Each year they present awards to the best in the industry and create a listing of those winners and runners up and post it on their site. This makes the site useful for finding accredited business with an organizational body behind them to reassure their credentials.

10. Weather.com.au

Gold Coast Weather

http://www.weather.com.au/qld/gold-coast

Although this site may seem to stray from the idea of a wedding, in the week leading up to the big day this site provides a forecast on the Gold Coast weather including the week outlook, detailed forecast, current conditions and a radar image of the Gold Coast. It is a very easy read site with the above mentioned links organized in a tabbed format. The descriptions are also very detailed and updated on a regular basis.

11. Gold Coast Airport

Airlines & Departing & Arriving Information

http://www.goldcoastairport.com.au/

This is a very useful site for couples with relatives travelling to the Gold Coast for their wedding. It provides details of departures and arrivals, car parking and transportation to and from the airport. It also provides links to the airlines that use the Gold Coast Airport.

12. Freeman Weddings

Hot Air Balloon Wedding: Gold Coast

http://www.freemanx.com.au/weddings/experiences_detail.cfm?prodid=371

For a less traditional take on the perfect Gold Coast wedding, hot air balloon is another option. This is a unique service offered on the Gold Coast, with the site providing all the necessary information about guests, attire, cost and availability. A very organized layout makes it simple for out there couples to book their hot air balloon wedding and even gives a profile on the company and the pilots they employ to fly the hot air balloon. I think having these details gives peace of mind to customers and wedding guests.

13. I do.com

Wedding Reception Venues

http://weddingvenues.i-do.com.au/brisbane/

This site gives a listing of venues in all areas of Queensland however it includes some of the Gold Coast’s finest venues. It is a very neat site with listings able to be bookmarked and offering a small blurb on each venue. Unfortunately there is no accompanying image with the name of the venues, but when clicked on the website of the venue opens in a new window for the viewer to get a the proper site. This makes it better for couples who might be wary about using information off an affiliated site and prefer to use the proper venue site.

14. Bride Online

Weddings on a Budget

http://www.brideonline.com.au/articles/budgetweddings.htm

I found an article on this site with useful information on the actual budget for a wedding with suggestions on how to keep costs to a minimum. In a situation where a couple may not have all that much to spend on their big day, this article gives pointers to let couples have that fantastic day and not be completely broke afterwards. I think having suggestions on how to cut costs can be very useful for the money conscious pair who still want to have a good time and be able to afford to live after the big day.

15. Beyond the Bride

Wedding Forums: Wedding Budget

http://www.beyondthebride.com.au/forum/whole-wedding-budget-164.html

Forums are a fantastic way to gather opinions from others who have already been down the aisle. This forum is a query on budgets and what a couple should expect to be paying in this day in age. I like this forum for the fact that there are a range of answers from all different years people were married and it gives a couple an idea of how the times have changed with budgets but it also gives them hints on what to plan for that they may not have factored into the budget.

16. Gillet’s Jewellers

Ladies Wedding Rings Advice

http://gilletts.com.au/information.php?info_id=43

This is an article from one of the top jewelers in Queensland about how to find the right ring. As a part of the ceremony, this article informs on how to find the perfect wedding ring to compliment your engagement ring as well as a comprehensive list of shapes, sizes and designs that couples can choose from. I found that having images to accompany this list makes it a perfect site for brides to gain an idea of what they are after before they buy and gives an insight into how to really find the perfect ring.

17. Bride Online

Wedding Planning- and Wedding Planners

http://www.brideonline.com.au/WeddingPlanners/

Another useful article from the Bride Online is for the busier woman who doesn’t have the time to put every detail of a wedding together. Although it’s only a small blurb on wedding planners, I like the fact that it includes a great deal of information in a short space. I also though it was great that at the top of the page there are links for wedding planners in designated areas.

18. Wedding Celebrant Nicole Brown

Weddings

http://www.nicolebrowncelebrant.com/services.htm#weddings

This wedding celebrant offers a very detailed site with information not only on her own services but for what can be included in a service, legal aspects of a service and where to hold a service. I found her wedding section to be very informative and I liked that there were images of wedding she has been involved in, it gave the site a feel of authenticity. I also liked that she included every aspect of a wedding into her page giving it an organized, professional look.

19. Your Wedding

Flowers: Colours, Seasons & Meanings

http://www.yourwedding.com.au/wedding-advice/flowers-colours-seasons-and-meanings.html

A constructed table of different flowers, the colours they come, when they are available and the meaning behind that flower. For a prospective bride this is a great way to but together a bouquet by having a idea of colours in your wedding and when your getting married. It is also a good way to know what the meaning is behind the flowers you want in your bouquet. I think the concept behind this article is great, but it is let down by the fact that there are no accompanying images so brides will have to take the flower name and find the accompanying image elsewhere.

20. Blossoms

Wedding Bouquets

http://www.blossoms.com.au/index.php?module=pagesetter&func=viewpub&tid=4&pid=20

For a florist web site, this is a very informative and well constructed article, which would gain plenty of customer interest. This article has listed all the styles of bouquets available to brides for their weddings and has given a small description on each with recommendations on suitability. The part I like best is that there are accompanying images so the customer knows what to expect.

21. Wedding Blog

Bomboniere ideas for all Weddings

http://weddingblog.com.au/bomboniere-boxes/bomboniere-ideas-for-all-weddings/#more-177

When I heard first heard the word ‘bomboniere’ I thought it was made up. But after a search I found an article that tells you what bomboniere is (wedding favours), and how to pick the right bomboniere to give to guests and the end of the wedding. I found this article to be simple and to the point with some good idea for couples including money saving ideas.

22. The Wedding Band

Tips & Tricks

http://www.theweddingband.com.au/tips.html

This is a site for a Gold Coast based company simply titled Wedding Band that can be hired to play for weddings. The site appearance is not exactly appealing however there is a section called tips and tricks, with some humorous and logical ideas for the wedding day which I think couples would enjoy reading when looking for the perfect music for their big day.

23. Wedding Marquees- Gold Coast

Wedding Marquee Planner

http://www.weddingmarquees.com.au/html/mplanner_content.html

I came across this site when looking at the different wedding services available in the Gold Coast. Wedding Marquees Gold Coast is such an up to date site it even has a program within the site where you can design your marquee layout. This is a fantastic program which lets you drag items you would have into the marquee and organize exactly how you want it.

24.  Your Local Wedding Guide

Preserving Your Day

http://www.weddingguide.com.au/articlesadvice/planning/preservingyourday.aspx

This would be a great site for the end of the wedding once the stress is out the way. This article provides information and ideas on how to preserve the wedding bouquet and other items from the wedding and make them into memories. I found the article had some thoughtful ideas and some sentimental ideas that brides would find touching after their wedding.

25. Wedding Update!

Latest

http://weddingupdate.oneperfectday.com.au/?p=23

I found an article within this site about timing of a ceremony which I thought was very detailed and gives couples an idea of how they could plan their night. There is a recommended layout of how exactly the night should run which I found was really informative and could be handy when planning the reception.

26. Squidoo

Great Ideas for Beach Themed Wedding Cakes

http://www.squidoo.com/beach-wedding-cakes

If you’re having a Gold Coast Wedding, what better a theme for your cake than the beach! I found page full of beach wedding cake ideas that can be used as inspiration for your own wedding cake. The pictures are fantastic and have only the best most detailed cakes on show, however there is no option for enlarging the pictures to get a better look.

27.  Itsmywedding.com

Top 20 First Dance Songs

http://www.itsmywedding.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=80

Sometimes the random articles in a site can be the most interesting. This page lists 20 of the top favorite songs a newlywed couple’s first dance together. There is a mix to suit everyone and I find sites with this sort of information good for jogging the mind. Top lists always seem to be a popular favourite on websites and this one is no different.

28. Hens Party.com

Hen’s games and fun

http://www.hensweekend.com.au/hens_night_games_funstuff.html

A Hen’s night is the ultimate night out for a stressed out bride to be. There is a site completely dedicated to putting together wild hen’s nights and they have also added an article on games to make the hen’s night that much more fun. The games they list are pretty funny and not too out there which means prospective brides could actually use them. It’s good to find a site like this for some fun that isn’t too extreme, considering a majority of people are not willing to go too crazy before their big day. It’s also a very fun and colourful site to look through.

29. Online Wedding Boutique.com

Choosing the Perfect Wedding Dress

http://www.onlineweddingboutique.com.au/articles_tips-article-choosing_the_perfect_wedding_dress

Having the perfect dress is central to making any wedding the best. This article is all about how to find the gown to suit your needs. All the separate areas to take into to consideration are broken down and explained and accompanying images on the side give the reader that fuzzy feeling about marriage. I think that more images to accompany the text would have worked well for this site but other than that there is plenty of great information.

30. Wedding Invitations by Tango Design

Beach Wedding Theme

http://www.tangodesign.com.au/site/838692/page/880022

Although this is a site for invitations, it includes a great write up about how to create a Beach theme for a wedding. For a Gold Coast wedding, the beach theme is usually the way to go, and this site tell exactly how to do that from the invites down to the cake. The information is great and even the recommendation of products is slipped in the middle well to give readers an idea on what to get to make that theme possible.