New to the site, have a few questions

Musicsigner21

 I am new to the knot, my friend is on here for her wedding. I want to start planning my own. We do not have a set date yet but we would like as much advice and ideas now so we can start planning. We live in Northern Virginia, and have a general Idea of having a indoor wedding. Was wondering if anyone knew of any contests going on to enter and what tips may you be able to offer that can be useful in the beggining stages of planning? Please and thank you!

Avion22

The first step in planning a wedding is to sit down and figure out what kind of wedding you want to have.  You mentioned indoors -- do you want a church wedding?  Hotel reception?  JOP followed by meal at a restaraunt?

Your second step is to evaluate your budget.  These days most brides and grooms pay for their own weddings, though sometimes parents can offer money as well.  If they want to offer, they will -- so don't ask them.  Keep in mind that if your parents offer and you accept, then they might have certain expectations about how the wedding goes (who to invite, which venue, etc).  Also, it's not unehard of for parents to pledge money then not be able to come up with it, leaving the bride and groom with bills for unpaid vendors....

Step three is to start thinking in general terms about your guest list.   Do you want small or big?  Do you have big families?  Lots of friends?   

Once you have a general idea of what you want and what you can afford, you can start looking at venues in your size and budget.

I'm not really sure I understand what you mean by "contests."  Are you looking to win a free wedding???