iDo

With online polling, brides-to-be are turning to a new type of wedding planner -- a few hundred of their closest friends.

By JENNIFER SARANOW
May 3, 2008; Page W1

Their friends weighed in on every hookup and breakup. Now, as the MySpace generation begins to marry, everybody's invited to help plan the wedding.

Using online polls, wedding guests are deciding on nuptial details traditionally hashed out behind closed doors by brides, grooms and their parents. Guests used to pick between chicken or fish. Now they face questions about the cake, the cocktails, the band and the honeymoon.

Even hairdos are up for a vote. Nesrine Njeim polled guests on wearing her hair up, down and curly or straight for her August wedding. "They know how my face looks," says the 24-year-old consultant in Holland. John Mauro, 27, a balding New York law student, thought he'd like to shave his head for his July wedding. His fiancée wasn't so sure. They took it to an online vote: "Without hair" trounced "with hair" by a landslide.

These couples are part of a Web generation accustomed to sharing minute-to-minute details of their personal lives online and getting instant feedback and comment from friends. As the Facebook crowd reaches marrying age, they are holding on to their social-networking habits. Collaborative wedding plans are only a part of "the wikifying of everything," says Carley Roney, co-founder of The Knot, a firm that helps nearly two million couples plan their weddings each year.

Click here to read entire article from The Wall Street Journal.

We are looking forward to discussing these and other trends during engage!08 -- perfect timing!!!