By Earl Hunsinger You've dreamed about it your whole life. You've been planning it for months. But how special is your special day going to be? You've seen elaborate celebrity weddings on television, weddings at beautiful tropical island resorts or featuring exotic themes. But you probably don't have the money of a celebrity; you can't afford to have the groom come riding in on an elephant, even if you wanted a wedding with an Indian theme. How can you make your day unique without spending your life savings or going into debt? We live in the era of the superstore. Many have complained that large retail store chains have driven the small 'Mom and Pop' stores out of business. Of course, people shop in the large stores because the prices are cheaper. They have lower prices because they buy huge quantities of the same thing. This means that wherever you go you can find the same item. This may be convenient, but if your special day is like the special day of 100,000 other brides, how special is it? There is an alternative, a middle ground between mortgaging your house to pay for an elaborate wedding like the stars, and buying generic items at your local chain store. Small specialty stores have not all gone out of business. Unique, handcrafted, or even customized items can still be found, on the Internet. The Internet contains thousands of stores with items for the prospective bride. You can find everything, from invitations to dresses, to expensive items such as rings and honeymoon trips, to small items such as favors and confetti, on the Internet. If submitting your credit card information to a store that you've never heard of makes you nervous, you can even shop for wedding items on the Internet's biggest shopping mall, eBay. If there is safety in numbers, then the over 100 million users on eBay should make you feel very safe. If you still don't feel comfortable submitting your credit card information to eBay, many eBay sellers will accept money orders. Of course, this means a longer wait for your items, so you have to plan ahead. But what's available on eBay? Consider as an example the eBay store Tessa Rhew's Bridal Creations. With several different lines of themed wedding items, anyone should be able to find something that matches their taste. These themes include: Cinderella, renaissance, medieval, beach, butterfly, Victorian, and western. They sell guest books, guest book pens, photo albums, ring pillows, flower girl baskets, card boxes, etc. Most of their items are handcrafted, so you can be sure that you won't find them in your local chain store. These items feature various colors of bridal satin, satin and sheer flowers, clay flowers, ribbons, picture frames, rhinestone buckles, and various styles of Venice lace appliqués. Since they also sell a full line of feather products, these will often show up in their unique creations. As an example, for something completely different, why not consider a peacock guest book? They also sell wedding guest book pens made with genuine ostrich feathers, along with marabou feather shoe clips. For a truly unique accessory, why not try a pair of their feather and gemstone earrings? Since feathers are a natural product, no two are exactly alike, making a pair of these earrings a truly one of a kind purchase. Still not convinced? The other attraction of eBay, and the Internet in general, is that you have the world at your fingertips. This gives you the ability to browse through a hundred stores in an afternoon. Even if you aren't ready to purchase, I guarantee that you'll enjoy this kind of 'window' shopping.