I'm in the planning process of my wedding with my fiance, and it has been an absolute struggle trying to agree on anything. It's not for lack of trying, either; we just don't have the same tastes. Luckily, our engagement is long and will continue to be long, so we have a lot of options to work with. There are many ways in which you can prepare for your wedding, especially if you've got a long time before your wedding really needs to be planned in a serious way.

1. Order a thousand wedding invitation samples

I'm not kidding about this. Order as many as you can. I might be just crazy for stationery, but my reason for this is so that I can A) get a feel for how an invitation should look, B) how a stationery company treats it's customers with regard to how long it ships, how clear everything is communicated, and C) just so you can have pretty things with you. If you are a woman, keeping sample invitations is a great way to keeping your options open. If you are a man, ordering samples (especially when your future wife/husband has not asked about it yet) is a good way to not only stay in her good graces but to also get a feel for the work a bride's family typically does to put on a beautiful wedding.

2. Order as many color/fabric swatches as you can

This is a little harder because companies like to charge for their color and fabric swatches. The bet deal I have found so far is from Union Station, who will let you order six color swatches for free. The next best that I have found is from David's Bridal, where if you buy five swatches in any kind of fabric, you get a sixth swatch for free. Having these handy will help you decide if you want your colors to be the ones you have. It will also help you decide on the fabric of the bridesmaids' dresses or any other dress or clothing you want in your wedding for that matter

3. Keep a box for everything

After you order a thousand wedding invitation samples and all of your color/fabric swatches, you're going to need a secure place to put them. Personally, my mom's bandage boxes are a perfect hiding place for all of my stationery and wedding samples. I even have some DIY wedding decor stored in them as well.

4. Taste all of the cakes

Cake tasting is important because it will show you which bakery has the best quality cake for the best price. You can ask a lot of questions about how a cake is made, what kind of flavors would be best for a wedding cake, what kind of icing will work best for the venues you're looking at, etc.

5. Ask all of your questions

Seriously, the period of time before you do any hard planning is the best time to be asking questions. What kind of cake do I want? Where would the best venue be for this wedding? Is 300 people too many? What kind of theme are we looking for? Which vendor has the best deal? What are the ratings and reviews for a certain dress shop? These are all very important questions that should be asked now before you can stress about it later.

6.Don't be afraid to ask for help!

Your friends and family are there for a reason. They aren't asking you questions about your theme, the date, etc. just to annoy you. Nine times out of ten, they want to help you in some way so that YOU don't have to carry the weight that stress can carry, especially when you are planning something as big as a wedding.

7. Start setting up a registry early on

You don't even have to make your registry public or official yet at this stage of the planning process. Just sitting down with your fiance and creating a list of all of the things you're going to need when you move into a new home after you get married is a great first step.

8. If you aren't prepared to do so, DON'T TELL ANYONE WHAT THEIR ROLE IS IN THE WEDDING PARTY YET

I cannot stress this enough. Until you are 110 percent positive that you want them around THAT MUCH during the process, do not tell anyone that they are involved. Make as many lists as possible for who you might want in the wedding, but don't go blabbing. It'll just cause you unneeded stress.

9. The most important: Have fun!

Wedding planning can be a fun process if you let it be one! I'm having the most fun right now picking out samples to look at a time. The whole point is to prepare for a fun marriage. Don't let the process of wedding planning stress you out.

BONUS TIP:

You know those gift codes you get when you receive your samples? USE THEM! Use them within the time period so that you can get a purely customized sample for yourself, especially if you think you can get something better from a company. And utitlize those sales that various stationery websites have daily, or even weekly! They will save you a ton on invitation, save the dates, thank you cards, etc.

Weddings don't have to be stressful, especially when you plan them right.