Want to make your wedding -- a.k.a. The Happiest Day Of Your Life -- spectacular for everyone involved, not just you or your husband? Consider these guidelines:

Invite everyone to the rehearsal dinner, in which case it would be a good idea to make the rehearsal dinner a barbecue in the backyard of the bride's parents. This one won't seem to be budget-friendly, but it will certainly add to the enjoyment for everyone attending -- not to mention make the whole trip (particularly for those coming from far-away places) seem even more worth it. It allows for even more socializing with long-lost college friends and more introduction time for your boyfriend to get to know said long-lost college friends, so that by the time the wedding and reception roll around the next day, he's already got some relationships started and conversation topics in mind.

Grow up near an amusement park. If you haven't grown up near one, you've still got time to relocate to one or ask your parents to do so. Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pa., is just one suggestion. Such foresight allows your guests -- those who don't have a lot of actual wedding responsibilities -- to make a little vacation out of the trip. It particularly helps when some have to take vacation time to come to the wedding. Not that they are upset about that or anything, just that it's a bonus.

Get special hotel rates at hotels near the amusement park. You'll get bonus points when your guests staying at these hotels discover that the hotels offer discounted admission to the amusement park.

Have the wedding at 3 p.m. It may just be the perfect time for a wedding. Such a time allows for two or three hours at the aforementioned nearby amusement park before guests need to begin to get ready. With the reception to follow, the cocktail hour lasts from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and the whole thing is finished at 9:30 or 10 p.m.

Break up the reception. This is done by having some of the "official" dances after the soup, salad and intermezzo (a refressing lemon sorbet is a good suggestion) yet before the main course of chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. Your guests will eat more because they'll get a chance to digest a little before the main course, and they'll drink more economically -- that is, more slowly in some cases, preventing some from getting too drunk too soon.

Hire a kick-ass band. If you're going the band route, make sure it has 1) soul, 2) a horn section, 3) a female singer to sing the Jackson Five's "ABC" and to balance out the cool male singer.

Hire the best caterers around. A no-brainer, I know, but when your guests don't even know where the bar is because the ubiquitous wait staff brings drink orders efficiently, they'll surely take notice.

Go with a white chocolate cake with strawberry filling. It may be the best wedding cake you've ever tasted.

Make sure one of the hotels has a bar with karaoke. With the reception over by 10 p.m., you're sure to get many of the guests to congregate at the bar and immediately peruse the extensive song selections available. Even guests staying at some of the other hotels -- some of which are just down the street -- will come to the main hotel with the bar for the fun. It helps when the bar has Harp and Bass and Yuengling among the drafts on tap, all for the unbeatable small-town price of $2.75 a glass.

Finally, go to your friends' weddings. No matter what people say, there's no rush. Just because you've been dating for two years and people -- including co-workers whom you'd rather not ask such questions -- are starting to ask, "So, when are you two getting married?" more frequently doesn't mean you're lagging behind the crowd. Take your time, make sure it's the right time, make sure you can do it the way you want. So in order to plan your perfect wedding, take advantage of all those invitations from all your other friends who've invited you to their nuptial celebration. Go to their weddings, and bring a notebook. Write down all the good stuff you like and consider incorporating it into your Big Day.