Hi Cricket! I have been in the same boat! We are trying to stay on a tight budget, and i had no clue where to begin. Where I started was with the ceremony & reception location (just got that finalized 2 days ago!). And from there, I am trying to settle on the colors. When is your wedding? Ours is on July 7, 2007, so when I was looking through bridesmaid dresses, I was looking for a real summery color. So far I have decided on teal, fuschia, and white...it may change :o) but after I was leaning towards that, I took both of my maid of honors to a bridal shop that I knew had a close color to the teal that I was interested in and they both loved it! But I understand how overwhelming it can be, and I didnt have mine planned out years ago either!
Just think about the season and what flowers you would love to have in your wedding and go from there for the colors.
I havent gotten many ideas from wedding magazines either...I understand what you are saying about wanting to see real weddings! On the weddingchannel.com they have real weddings posted so you can see pics and see what area they are from.
Hope this helps some! Im still in the same situation as you though ;o)
