Congrats on your engagement! This is always a busy time of year. It can be a little overwhelming to start planning your wedding, but this is a great way to chat with other girls going through the same thing.
Some advice that might help those starting out:
1. Set your budget and guest list first. There is no point in finding the site of your dreams only to find out it is way out of your budget or too small for your guests.
2. Get a binder! You don't have to buy a fancy bridal one. Mine was a regular binder with spots for inserts. Divide it by vendor (venue, florist, DJ, officiant, etc.) I also kept ideas there. It was helpful when gathering info at shows until I had contracts.
3. When asking for vendor advice here, scroll through the first couple of pages. There is probably a photographer post somewhere. It is also helpful to be as specific as possible. For instance, don't ask who is a great photographer. Ask who is a great photojournalistic photographer under $2k. Or ask for a venue in Northern Kentucky that holds 150 people for under $45/pp. It helps narrow it down a lot.
4. Also remember that recommendations are just that, recommendations. I felt bad when I recommended my florist pre-wedding only to be extremely let down day of. Lots of ladies come back and post reviews (example in my bio). You can also ask about a specific vendor on the Nest, the married board.
5. When considering dates, think about hotels for your guests and what else might be going on. It is practically impossible (and expensive!!) to find hotels the night of the fireworks or if something is going on in town. Think 2012, we have the World Choir Games where they are expecting 20,000 performers and 90,000 spectators. That's a lot of hotel rooms booked (it's July 4th-14th, FYI). The Chamber of Commerce is a great place to look for events.
And about The Knot in general- the local board is your friend. We don't have a lot of snark here. The month boards are great as well, they are generally friendly and can give you timelines. However, read before posting on some of the National boards. Some are friendly, and some are... not. You can also find the rules on the right of the board, above the FAQs. Really, the biggest one is vendors are not allowed to post here. Sometimes they do, but I try and delete them quickly. If they can't afford regular advertising, are you sure you want to use them anyways?
Again, congrats! And to our 2011 brides as well!! Regulars, feel free to post welcome and advice here as well. The Cincy board has always been a helpful place, and I hope everyone can feel welcome here!