Four weddings in three months*. All of my traveling this summer has been related to weddings.

It has been good travel, with trips to the Northwest, upstate New York and Virginia. On my list of things to do, weddings top the good times category. All the ingredients go so well together: love, friends, cheesy dance music, free drinks, free food, an appropriate climate to tear up, laughter, great toasts and an excuse to dress up and look all special. No matter how you mix it, it's a recipe that seemingly always works.

As I feel particularly saturated with weddings and their minutia right now, I wanted to offer to future wedding planners the Colin Guide to Weddings. I have taken the best parts of all the weddings I have attended and compiled a number of things to keep in mind if you find yourself planning a wedding.

1. Write Your Own Vows. I want to cry when I see people get married. Yes, I want even the men in the house to get choked up. I have found that the surefire way to make that happen is to have the bride and groom write their own vows in private, especially from each other, and speak their vows for the first time when they are at the alter.

2. Keep the Ceremony to 20 Minutes. Think of the children. And me. I've found that longer ceremonies start too loose the magic, and shorter ceremonies feel a bit rushed.

3. Put Beer in Your Welcome Bags and perhaps some good snacks for those who do not drink the suds. After driving for hours, there is nothing more welcoming than a cold one.

4. Keep It Outdoors. Whatever you can put outdoors, have outdoors. Make the bachelor party a summit trip. Have the after-party under the stars. Just be sure the ceremony is in the shade.

5. Rent Some Good Speakers, and Use Your iPod. While live bands are fun, and there are amazing wedding bands out there, a playlist filled with Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake and 80's music is all you need. The reaction to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" will make the highlight of the wedding. Make sure there is plenty of room to dance.

6. Only Two Toasts. The best man makes fun, the bridesmaid cries. It's a timeless classic that works every time. Do it before they get too drunk.

7. Beer and Wine Is Fine. No reason to get crazy with a open bar.

8. Take Wedding Pictures Before the Ceremony. This really just makes logistics much easier. The people want to go straight from ceremony to the food and booze.

9. Have a Cold Buffet, Mainly Vegetarian. Trust me, this works. Reheating always seems to deaden the food.

10. Use Bubbles. They are fun. We all love them.

11. Have Handlers for the Bride and Groom. This is their day. Everything runs smoother if there is some sort of campaign manager running the show. This is something to consider when choosing bridesmaids and best men.

12. Consider a Reusable Bridesmaid Dress. That light blue dress that they are never going to wear again? That ain't right. Christy has two of them. The only solution I have found to work so far is with black dresses, which worked with the guy's tuxes. You can always wear black again.

That's the end of my list. Any other suggestions?

*If there hadn't been overlap, we could have gone to six weddings. There is one wedding left for this season, my brother and Ammie.