As the semester comes to an end, students are finalizing their plans for the summer, and for some, that means wedding bells.

Shopping online can help alleviate the hassle of going to different stores looking for the perfect invitations, flowers and dresses for many college students.

Marna Parker, co-owner of Classique Bride, has a Web site with information about her Ames shop at 212 S.E. 16th St.

Although people cannot order anything directly off her Web site, it explains the services available at Classique Bride and offers links to manufacturers’ sites of the dresses her shop carries.

“I love my Web site,” Parker said, “but I don’t know how long I’ll keep it.”

The site is expensive to maintain, she said, at $65 per hour. Although customers often come in and say they saw the Web site, she doesn’t think it has affected her business.

Parker said she started a Web site for Classique Bride because “everyone else had one,” although she recommends ordering everything in person.

“I would never trust ordering something as personal as a wedding gown off the Internet,” she said.

Even if future brides or husbands don’t plan to buy anything for their weddings online, there are many sites available to help plan the special day.

Rebekah Peterson, sophomore in English, is getting married Aug. 10 and has found the Internet a useful way to find ideas for her wedding.

“I go to the Martha Stewart Web site a lot to get ideas for cakes and flowers and music,” she said.

Peterson also used the Internet to order her bridesmaid dresses after she found a dress in a Chadwick’s of Boston catalog. She went to the Web site, found the same one, and ordered it.

Although it will be an evening wedding, Peterson said it will be somewhat informal. She said the Internet was a good place to find what she was looking for because she wanted something inexpensive.

“You can get expensive dresses over the Internet,” she said, “but mine was only $40 and $7 for shipping.”

Her bridesmaids are from all over the United States, so she said she thought it would be easier for them to order their own dresses, she said.

“Doing it off the Web was a lot easier than ordering all the sizes myself,” Peterson said.

Shana Foss, freshman in chemistry, recently got engaged and the wedding date is set for December 28.

“I’ve mostly just been looking on the Internet,” she said. “I’ll probably wait to do most of the planning over the summer.”

Foss said she looked for bridal and bridesmaid dresses at www.theknot.com, and found a wedding gown she liked.

“I might end up ordering that one,” she said, “but it’s a little scary ordering off the Internet.”

Foss said a shop in her hometown also carries dresses by that designer, so she will see if they have the one she found online in the store first.

Tracy Hoffman, senior in child and family services, has everything planned for her August wedding.

She ordered everything in person, including her dress.

“It would be nice to do on the Internet,” she said, “but at the same time, it is good to see it on.”