Customer Reviews

How to Have the Wedding You Want (Not the One Everybody Else Wants You to Have)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was surprised at how helpful this book was. After reading half a million books provided by loving friends and family, I expected the usual: how to arrange a guest list, tell people kids aren't invited, yadda yadda yadda.

However, like a breath of fresh air, this book was a pragmatic look at the emotional dilemmas of being a bride. It discusses the way to compromise and the way to assert yourself with regard to specific aspects of wedding planning, as well as giving tips for combatting tactless but well-meaning family members.

I think that many wedding books have more than covered how to outline the duties of attendants, but this book spends time on the *feelings*, which can start to get steamrolled when you are going through the drama of planning a party for 200 of your nearest & dearest. However, I credit the book with being pragmatic and rational, because it makes for a soothing read, like bridal meditation.

Definitely worth perusing for stressed out brides with wacky families -- like myself.

When I was married, my mother was on chemotherapy and I had a hostile mother-in-law-to-be; hence, I had little support and a great deal of stress. By following Ms. Claro's advise, I had a beautiful wedding and enjoyed every moment!

Ms. Claro not only advises to get word-of-mouth referrals, she reminds us that those with our taste in other areas are most likely to recommend the most compatible vendors. More importantly, Ms. Claro's discussion of the mother-in-law problem was the sole voice assuring me that it was not in my head.

The best feature of the book is that Ms. Claro does not feel that her's is the only way. She discusses her inexpensive reception but proceeds to advise those with a larger budget to maximize their spending power. There are also handy suggestions on dealing with apathetic bridesmaids(dump them), rude vendors (walk away) and wedding cakes (if it's tasty, it works!). If I had Ms. Claro's address, I'd send her flowers, but I'll have to settle for recommending this book to everyone I know.

Skip the "Save Money on Your Wedding" books. This is all you need.

Want a tiny, intimate gathering of friends and family in the county park? Prefer an all-night-long extravaganza with everyone you know? Whatever you want (or think you want), Danielle Claro has interviewed someone who did it that way. Learn from other brides - and grooms - and avoid their wedding nightmares, or duplicate their wedding successes.

Claro shuns the formula of most "bridal guides" by giving brides AND grooms a voice in this book. The strength of the book is the anecdotes, and they are plentiful. I was rolling with laughter, both before and after the wedding. Whatever your style, it's ok with Claro. If you want to avoid all the wedding cliches, she's got you covered. But what if you really do want to be Cinderella for a day? That's ok too. She's on your side, because it's *your* wedding. (No, really - she means it.)

Beyond entertaining, this book actually has useful guidelines (not just cliches) for dealing with rude vendors, overbearing parents or parents-in-law-to-be, and spineless boyfriends. Her second-person voice makes the book feel like a chat with a good friend, rather than a session with a wedding coordinator (especially when she starts telling you about her own wedding). Practical and down-to-earth, this book is indispensible.

I would strongly reccomend that all brides-to-be purchase this book. It is full of advice written in an approachable, funny and warm manner. No silly lists of what order to do things in or what to register for. You can get all that planning information for free. This is real advice on how to emotionally prepare for your wedding and how to deal with all related parties in a maner that keeps you sane. It helps you think through what you want for your wedding and work with what all of your relatives want too. I feel a lot less anxious, but very excited about my upcoming wedding. I am so glad this is the first wedding related book I bought - I won't need to buy many others!

Little did I know that a book about weddings would turn out to be the most entertaining book I've ever read, not to mention incredibly helpful in planning my wedding. Danielle Claro covers everything-- stuff I hadn't even realized I'd need to know, but definitely did-- and she gives great advice. I ended up saving a serious amount of money by following her suggestions--the chapters on flowers and dresses were particularly helpful, not just in terms of money, but for really detailed, creative ideas as well. This writer also is amazingly insightful about people, which is great when you've got to deal with so many of them. And her writing is so funny, every time I'd read (and re-read) it, my stress level would take a nose-dive. I would recommend this book to anyone--I can't wait for her next one.

Anyone who claims to dislike this book is just jealous because they didn't find it until after their future mother in law had talked them into silk flowers and a dress with poofy sleeves the size of their head.

If you've ever planned your own wedding you know how pushy and opinionated even the least involved people can be. This book encourages brides to actually stand up for themselves and plan a wedding they won't have to look back on and cringe.

My only suggestion is to the publishers to PLEASE get a new cover. I almost didn't pick the book upon seeing it. It looks like the cover for "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and what's with the dog?

At last! A wedding book that cuts out the sappiness and is practical, realistic and straightforward. For example, I thought I was weird to continue using the word boyfriend (instead of fiance)when referring to my intended. Early on in the book, Ms Claro validated my choice by stating that she prefers the use of boyfriend as well. Quite frankly, I felt as if Ms Claro was writing from out my head. Best of all, this book gave me the most useful gift of all - it made me LAUGH!

Thank-you, Danielle Claro!

I love this book. One Amazon review trashed it for focusing on all the negative aspects of getting married but I can't see how the reviewer would have come to that conclusion unless she stopped reading after the first chapter. The book shares stories of other weddings--good, bad, and okay but we would have done something different--that serve as inspirations and cautionary tales. Danielle Claro's writing style is very down-to-earth and readable without being insultingly simplistic.

I honestly don't foresee our respective families having a lot of problems with our wedding. That may be naive of me, but time will tell. Despite not considering myself really the target audience for this book, I still got a lot of ideas from the different stories, which were funny, sweet, and entertaining, as well as validation for some of the ideas I already had. The book offers much advice for ways around the wedding industry machine and supports any wedding participant's decision to do things a little differently.

Don't let the pink cover fool you. This is an entertaining and informative read that's useful even if you think you're family won't care that you want to have wedding pie and get married on a pirate ship by your yoga instructor.

I just got married a few months ago, and am now reflecting back, calmly on the disaster that I made of last year. I read A LOT of wedding books and spent a lot of money on books that scared me. I picked this one up for $0.50 at a book sale at my nieghborhood library. It was my favorite. This book won't help you figure out your budget, and there are none of those helpful little calendars, but this book will help you keep your sense of humor and your sanity. Buy this book. It's short, it's funny. You will be glad you did. This is the one I give to my friends when they call me with the big news.

I was the first child in my family to get married, and I hadn't been to a wedding since age 9. I knew I didn't want the standard Mafia wedding (or the standard bill of $16000 plus tips), but I wanted it to be classy. This is the only wedding book I used, and it helped me plan and carry out a beautiful ceremony and reception halfway across the country. In a breezy, refreshing style, Claro helps you pick your battles and decide just what has to be traditional or expensive and what you can do without. The attitude here -- and there's lots of it -- is that nothing is mandatory. Very liberating. Once you've decided what you want and negotiated it with your loved ones, there are plenty of tips on how to pay for it all without cashing in your prized collection of rare Star Wars action figures, and last but not least, actually having a good time. This is the perfect book -- the only book -- for anyone who's not Martha Stewart.