I'm getting married 9 weeks from tomorrow so I'll tell you what I know (bear in mind I'm a laid back Yankee, so some of this might not hold true in Gerogia!
) Please excuse the novel...
Have her get on theknot.com. The local boards are a god-send!!! I found my dj, location, seamstress, florist, transportation, guest hotel and more from recommendations of other ladies in the area. HOWEVER, do not get bogged down in all the stuff the other "knotties" are doing. People are asking for poems to go with bathroom baskets, which color ribbon to put on the favors etc etc. Sometimes it makes you feel a bit inadequate so she needs to remember what is important to her.
For the dress, think serioualy about getting it online. You can save a bundle. I tried on dresses at all sorts of salons, found the one I loved, and ordered it from pearlsplace.com for 40% less than in the salon. I lucked out and found a dress that wasn't too expensive in the first place, but if she's looking in the $1000 range then this can be a huge savings. These places are generally real bridal stores that will sell you dresses at the huge discount because you are never coming in and using their time/facilities. The ones you hear a lot about on the knot are the place I listed above, netbride.com, rkbridal.com, bridesave.com and Discount Bridal Service (dbs.com I think).
Also, this is NOT meant to put anyone down, but please consider other designers besides David's. I got my veil and tiara there, so I'm not anti-David's, I just think for the money you pay there, you can get a better quality dress. My dress is Mori Lee, she's a cheaper designer. The quality of my dress far exceeds the ones I saw at David's for a comparable price. In fact, my seamstress even commented on the quality for the price of my dress. Again, David's has some beautiful dresses! I'm just saying, if you are trying to save, don't limit yourself to just David's. If she finds her dream there, go for it, but just know there are other options as well.
As far as decor, you will save a BUNDLE because everywhere will already be decorated for the holidays!
And lastly, I think all you need for planning is to get a bridal magazine and find the To Do List. There is one in EVERY issue. It gives you a good timeline and all the stuff you need to take care of (even things like changing insurance papers). I then bought myslef a handy pocket calendar and at each month I wrote what needs to be done that month. As I do it I check it off the calendar and the list. You don't want to get too many lists going because somewhere something will be missed.
OK, I'm done I think. Good luck, don't stress too much, and have a wonderful time!!!!!!