Valentine's Day may be the day of love, but as far as the wedding industry is concerned love has three seasons.
The winter holidays right up to Valentine's Day are the most popular time for that special someone to take a knee and after engagement season ends, wedding season begins.
"We kick off wedding planning season on February 15, as the day women start thinking about how am I going to actually create this dream wedding?" says Kellee Khalil of wedding planning site Lover.ly.
Her wedding search engine lets brides find inspiration online and filter their results by color, theme, even time of year.
"Being able to look online and see photos and descriptions and ideas other people have had, has been really helpful," says bride-to-be Brynne Ward.
At Hannelore's in Northern Virginia Pamela Vito has been helping brides like Brynne find inspiration for about three decades.
Now sites like Lover.ly, Pinterest and TheKnot.com are taking the guess work out of finding the perfect dress.
"It's still so overwhelming," Vito says, "So those pictures help us focus in on what the bride is looking for."
Overwhelming is right.
The average couple spends 18 months and about $28,000 planning a wedding.
June through October are typically considered wedding season.
Wedding experts say this year elegant and classic weddings will be popular, for instance old Hollywood decor, a change from the rustic, outdoor barnyard themes of 2012.
-- Danielle Leigh reports
