Wedding Book Recommendations?

[beautifuldisaster]

Alright, so I am planning a little bit ahead…that aside......can anyone recommend any books that they have on weddings, ceremonies, flowers, receptions, etc? I see there are a million on amazon but have no idea where to begin. I would rather order them online then go into a bookstore so I am looking for ideas.

Let me know if you have read any good ones.

Thus far I have bought a wedding planner and one other book on receptions and I am very pleased but want lots more ideas!

Thanks

 

[MelissaSue]

I recommend Bridal Bargains.. its just good to read even if you aren''t trying to pinch every penny. Its good to aware of how the wedding INDUSTRY IS

As far as wedding planners. there are about a BILLION.. and I have three.

The only one I recommend is called The Ultimate Wedding Workbook and Organzie by Weddingsolutions.com. There are about 4 versions of this book.. they all have basically the same planner in it.. but this one has a big fle fold attached to it, so you can stick all your paper work in there. The other ones have liek one pocket.. not nearly enough for everything you need. It also has a lot of good planning info in the workbook part... but i definitely recommend getting the one with the file fold.

I also have the knot series. But I bought them off amazon because they were way cheaper there. I really like the knot "Guide to wedding vows and traditions" Its got llots of nice ideas for vows, readings, first dance songs.. etc. I don''t love thier "planner" though.. because it doesn''t really have enough space for things.. I have the knot guide to weddings in the real world.. but I wouldn''t call it a must have.. Its fun to read.. but if you have the other planner, and bridal bargains.. i don''t think you need it..

Oh.. and if you feel like laughing at yourself.. the best one I''ve bought so far is called "My First Wedding" by Jim Mullen.. It really makes you take a step back from all the wedding madness and think WHAT AM I DOING!

 

[Buena Girl]

I have bought a couple of books cheap (like 50-80% cheaper) that I thought looked interesting. For the money that I paid I think they were well worth it. I have also lent them to friends who are currently planning weddings and they loved them.

They are:
Anti-Bride Guide:Tying the Knot Outside of the Box
http://www.indiebride.com/interviews/antibride/

and

The Best of Martha Stewart Living Weddings (copyright 1999)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609604260/ref=sib_rdr_dp/102-3993747-9771329

I personally would not have wanted to pay full price for them, though. If they sound interesting to you, then see if you could borrow them from a library, or a friend, or purchase them cheap.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hey - I would also recommend considering making your own wedding planning binder. I did this and have found it be really useful so far, plus cheaper than getting a pre-made thing. Here''s what I put in mine:

3" binder with the plastic sleeves front and back and on spine (have only decorated the front so far, but its a nice way to personalize it)
dividers labeled things like "food/beverages" "flowers" "cake" etc...
a pouch in the front (plastic - $0.99 at Office Depot or something like that) that holds pen and pencils and a small calculator
several folders with pockets to hold stuff
plastic sleeves for business cards
a pad of graph paper that is hole-punched - good for making lists and sketches, and drawing out all kinds of stuff

I may also add plastic protector sleeves for stuff when I have stuff that is more delicate i.e. invitation samples, and/or some kind of calendar to keep track of appointments once I start scheduling them.

Its so helpful to have - everything I could possibly want so far can get filed in it. GL and let us know if you find any really good books

 

[beautifuldisaster]

Thanks for your replies thus far…very helpful. I am checking out the books suggested and so far I like what I see. I have a wedding planner but I am thinking of doing as AmberGretchen suggested and create a three ring binder to hold things as well. I know then I will have two binders, but unless I walk around with a filing cabinet I probably won’t be able to have everything all in the same place

All that is coming to mind right now is that scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding when she goes with her fiancé to his parents house and whips out her wedding binder that is all decorated with feather boas and stuff, LOL

Anyways…..

I plan to get married overlooking the beach on Hilton Head Island, but I don’t necessarily think that I want a “beach theme” if that makes sense. I have my share of bridal magazines and catalogs and have ideas from those, however, I need more

I am a very visual person, so it helps if I can actually see photos of something and then tweek it to however I want it.

In addition to the suggestions, here is what is on my amazon wish list…if anyone has any of these and hates or loves them, any ideas would be much appreciated!

Preston Bailey’s Design for Entertaining by P. Bailey
Bridal Flowers & Arrangements for the Perfect Wedding by Maria McBride-Mellinger
Bouquets: A Year of Flowers for the Bride by Marsha Heckman
The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers
Centerpieces and Table Accents by Kathy Passero
Weddings by Colin Cowie
Preston Bailey’s Fantasy Weddings by John Labbe
The Perfect Wedding Details….More than 100….by Maria McBridge-Mellinger
The Perfect Wedding Reception by ?

Also, Can anyone recommend a good place to find images of wedding cakes and hair dos? Be it a book or a website? I have seen some here that I really like as well and have printed those out.
Thanks again so much!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 5/18/2005 5:22:34 PM
Author: MelissaSue
I recommend Bridal Bargains.. its just good to read even if you aren't trying to pinch every penny.

I can't even begin to second this recommendation highly enough!!! We paid for our own wedding and even if you're not pinching pennies as MelissaSue said, it's an AWESOME book. I passed mine on to my best friend, and then to a second friend for their weddings and they just raved about it as well. It's got great ideas in addition to great cost-saving ideas.

I also second the recommendation to start your own wedding binder. I bought lots of "wedding ****" while I was engaged and the mags accumulated FAST! I would cut out pictures or articles I liked and wanted to save and put them in my binder, along with receipts and whatnot. It helped IMMENSELY!! I had sections for dresses, hair and makeup, bridesmaids, etiquette, reception ideas, ceremony ideas, flowers, etc.

ETA: Martha Stewart (jailbird or not!) has awesome cake pictures and she's got a 10th anniversary (or something commemorative) Weddings magazine edition out with the best pics over the life of her Weddings magazine. Definitely worth a look! It's on newsstands now. My cake was made to copy one of the designs in her Weddings mag.

 

[flopkins]

I ''third'' the bridal bargains book!

I have two planner books, both from my bm, and they''ve been okay. I can''t remember the names exaclty now, I''ll try to post it later.

I have a big binder too... FI says he is scared when he looks at it.
I''ve also be going thru all the wedding ****, cutting out all the pics/ideas I like, and putting that all in the folder, so I don''t have to go through the mags again.

For cake/flower pics, I would recommend here there are a million knot bios, and some are ''specialty'' bios (scroll down on the homepage), so you can look up an orchid bio, for example, and it will have all pics of orchid stuff...