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It's probably no surprise that weddings represent a huge amount of annual spending in the United States, in fact around $70 billion! But online sales are a mere fraction of this number. Even those of us who often pump credit card numbers into forms to order shoes, books, and other goods hesitate when it comes to Web shopping for a wedding. Those cyberstores just don't seem as real as the brick and mortar ones for something this important.

Christy Terry, author of iDo: Planning Your Wedding With Nothing But Net highlights the advantages of wedding shopping online. The first is convenience. Online stores are open 24 hours a day, so you don't have to wait for Saturday or explain to your boss why you took yet another 3 hour lunch. The Web also allows you to browse infinitely more products for ideas and inspiration than could possibly be held in your average bridal shop. Finally, the Internet makes it easy to search, find, and compare prices without wasting gas by driving around town. Online shopping can also be safe, especially when you follow these tips.

Here's another great tip from Christa Terry, author of iDo: Planning Your Wedding With Nothing But Net. There's a lot of good stuff on the multitude of wedding websites out there, but if you're going to be a big-time browser, you're also going to end up having to register on some of those sites. Registering basically means you're giving your contact information to those companies so they can (and they will) market their products, their friend's products, and their friend's friend's products to you as you plan your wedding and well beyond. One of the great things about the Internet, is you can set up a separate e-mail account (for free) to collect all those "extra" solicitous e-mails for easy disposal. Take the time to visit Gmail, Yahoo! or Hotmail and set up an e-mail account to use when you're registering with wedding sites online. This will keep your regular personal or business e-mail account free of all those spammy ads.

You woke up at 2 a.m. last night and decided that you absolutely must have those cute little favors you saw online a few weeks ago...only now you can't remember which of the thousands of favor-selling Websites had it. Finding that Website again is even more frustrating than finding a needle in a haystack -- at least the haystack has a finite amount of hay to search. That's why Christa Terry, author of iDo: Planning Your Wedding With Nothing But Net, says that if you're going to do any of your idea gathering and shopping on the Internet, you're going to need a way to manage the Web pages you save as favorites or bookmarks. Spend a few minutes now to set up a file system for yourself. Create a folder in Bookmarks (if you use Safari or Firefox) or Favorites (if you're on Internet Explorer) for all of your wedding stuff. Within that folder create sub-folders for each major part of your wedding: dresses, flowers, favors, and so on. Terry also recommends having a way to mark the things you really super like (versus things that you just kinda like), such as putting asterisks around the name of the bookmark (***gorgeous gowns***). With a basic filing system, you'll save yourself the hassle and frustration of lost Websites. You've got enough to do anyway.

Christy Terry of Manolo for the Brides fame brings us iDo: Planning Your Wedding WIth Nothing But Net. In other words, using the Internet to your utmost advantage when putting your wedding together. This book proves to be a huge Web resource for everything wedding from money to monogram and fashion to photography, with tips on how to get the most from your surfing time and how to feel confident buying online. Written in Christy's witty style, it's anything but a boring read. As a bonus, each chapter ends with a great list of websites so you're not lost in cyberspace wondering if you'll ever resurface with anything that resembles a pretty flower display. The book is undoubtedly worth the admission price (around $16) for the list of websites alone, and you might pick up a laugh, a good idea, and some great advice as well. I will be bringing you a small smattering of these good ideas in a series of "computer-savvy bride posts," but get the whole book. It's a three-point "nothing but net" shot for every bride who intends to click and type her way through any of the wedding plans.