Planning your dream wedding? Making it perfect can become a nightmare of details. For your altar ego, a few tips:

Planning
Make your plans for the big day with un-bridaled creativity. Start by hitting up this weekend’s Wedding Expo at the Hawaii Convention Center , where hundreds of local vendors are all in one place. You can get an up-close look at samples of countless invitations, cakes, dresses, and photos.

For more ideas, head to the Wedding Café at Manoa Marketplace or Ward Warehouse. It’s sort of mini-wedding expo open all year-round, with walls and shelves lined with information on local wedding services. The staff is always around to answer questions, and you can snack on sandwiches, smoothies and yummy desserts.

Invitations
You won’t be celebrating your I-dos at a run-of-the-mill hotel ballroom, right? Make sure your invitations aren’t the usual plain vanilla either. Colors that pop, creative accordian and pocketfold designs, and all kinds of custom ribbons and other embellishments make the invitations from Bliss Design Studio one of a kind.

Dresses
You already know about the perfect bridal line produced by Maui designer Tamara Catz. But there are other options too. Head to the Bridal Boutique to see designer dresses, and take advantage of their occasional off-the-rack sales.

Favors
No embarrassing toasts, no dance floor antics ­– if you ask your friends and family to be on their best behavior, repay the favor by sending them away with a worthy goody bag. Let Shop Toast do your favors and your guests will take home adorable love fruits, soda snacks or any of their other fun little items.