Customer Reviews

The Wedding Book: The Big Book for Your Big Day

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While I appreciated the information in the book, if you are considering a medium to small event then this is not the book for you. The author specifically states that weddings of around $5,000 can not be done and look good. This is a good book if you are going extravagant, but not if you are looking for simple.

I am the type of girl who loves to educate herself on anything new going on in my life. Any new endeavor I consider trying, I need to buy 20 books on the subject beforehand! I was the same way when I got engaged. I went online and made a list of about 30 books (ridiculous, I know!) that I planned to buy about weddings. I purchased a wedding planner and then this book. As soon as I got it I threw away my list of other wedding books to purchase (I may end up purchasing one of those books of lists, though, simply because I am a list-aholic). This book really does have it all! Granted, Mindy Weiss is used to planning weddings of a certain caliber and not all of the information may be geared toward you specifically. Most of the information in the book (and there is a lot of it, this book covers EVERYTHING) is general and not specific to "fancy" or "celebrity" weddings, though. All in all, it's fun to read and extremely informative. She includes drawings of different dress styles, different tuxedo styles, etc. The best thing about this book is that it covers absolutely everything wedding-related and you can use what you need and just consider yourself well-informed regarding the rest. Happy Wedding Planning!

I'm glad I bought this book, because it really is COMPREHENSIVE. She details things like what to eat the week before your wedding, what kind of eye shadow works well in different lighting situations, good arm exercises, as well as the normal things about how to word invitations and things like that. In the introduction, she says that what she set out to do was to put all of the information any bride would need in ONE place. I think she does a really great job at that. But if you're having an non-traditional, DIY, or lower-budget wedding, this won't be the only book on your bookshelf.

Two things to note:

1. This book prepares you for traditional weddings, assuming you'll be hiring a florist, makeup artist (though she does give other options), and things like that. That said, people who want non-traditional or DIY weddings shouldn't be put off, though, because she has plenty of wisdom about things that will still be relevant to you, and it's all in one spot. I've read a lot of wedding books at this point, and this one is the most complete.

2. This book won't help you if you're trying to work on a smaller budget (under $15,000). For budget help, I can't recommend enough is Bridal Bargains: Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget, by Denise and Alan Fields, which is the best book out there for it. (You might need to find the most recent edition). But "Bridal Bargains" isn't sufficient; you probably need a book like this one, too.

I bought this book as a gift for my fiancé (mostly so she would stop bugging me to get it for her). I actually read some of it too and really found it helpful. The book even had some sections geared towards guys which I thought was kinda cool - especially the list of what to stock the bar with and the different types of suits to wear since that's all I will get a say in anyway.

This book totally saved me. After feeling overwhelmed about planning my wedding for weeks and weeks, I can finally take a deep breath and say that my fiance and I are REALLY EXCITED after reading Mindy's book. There are so many great ideas in here that I would have never thought of, and so many of them are absolutely inspiring. This book is so comprehensive, it really talks about everything you want and need to know about planning your wedding. It's like Mindy is right there guiding you through every step of the way! The BEST part though, is that there are so many fun facts and cute details in the book...I couldn't put it down :) If you're a bride-to-be, I highly recommend Mindy's book...you'll absolutely love it. If you're a bridesmaid, do the bride a big favor and pick this up for her!

I am a non traditional bride and was a little concerned that this book wouldn't address the questions and concerns I was having. To my surprise this book is perfect for all different kinds of brides and wedding styles. its the only wedding book you're going to need!

I am getting married next spring and just bought Mindy's book and I am obsessed! I read it cover to cover and couldn't put it down! My fiancé read it too and thought it was really helpful and it helped him get more involved in the planning process. The Wedding Book has every piece of information that I need to plan my wedding - how to do a budget, who to invite, what to wear, what to serve, what flowers to choose, how to pick your cake, it has helpful diagrams, checklists and even a section on planning a honeymoon...there isn't a thing this book doesn't have! Who needs a wedding planner when you have Mindy's book! This is a must-have for anyone who is getting married and a great gift for a recently engaged friend or relative!

I had read other reviews of this book on here that called it stuck up and not realistic for a bride on a budget. Being one myself, I was turned off and decided that the book would not be worth it for me. However, after hearing a number of other people talk about this book with nothing but glowing reviews, I decided to give it a shot. I am SO glad that I did! This book covers every single aspect of a wedding, top to bottom & start to finish, and the advice contained therein is useful for a wedding being planned on a $5k budget or $50k. The authors cover every aspect of the day- announcing your engagement, invitations, catering, music, photography... everything!- but they never pressure you to spend a certain amount or say that one option is better than the other. Instead, they present you with ALL of your options, including some cultural or religious points you may not have thought of, in order for you to make a fully informed and thoughtful decision. They also include lots of helpful charts and indexes in the back regarding seating, budgeting, lists of questions to ask vendors before you book them, etc. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone involved in the planning of a wedding!

This book has a ton of practical advice and ideas about planning a wedding - things I had never really thought about but really matter when planning such a big event - how to distribute your budget, how to approach the guest list, what your vendor contracts should include, etc. It also has a ton of fun stuff, like lots of diagrams of different veil types, pictures of male formalwear, different seating charts, and of course dress types. Wedding mags are fun to flip though, but this book was WAY more useful.

PS - I read another review that said this book was geared towards extravagent weddings, and I totally disagree. I thought it was super useful in the budget planning.

My fiance and I are currently planning a low-budget, fairly untraditional wedding all on our own, sans wedding planner, and since wedding books nearly all cater to a more mainstream, high-budget crowd, I haven't found the majority to be helpful or necessary. Even the ones with titles involving "bargains" and "green" have either assumed a much more traditional scenario than what we've got going, or have relied too much on common sense to be useful.

THIS book, however, has been my go-to resource when we have any questions of process or etiquette, and has been enormously helpful for answering questions related to things like timelines, types of fabrics, tipping vendors, and figuring out seating charts. It is extremely comprehensive and detailed, with information about every single aspect of a wedding, and it looks much more at the PROCESS of putting together a wedding rather than the PRODUCT of what the wedding will look like at the end. It's like having a wedding planner in your pocket. So even though I was initially afraid the book might only apply to formal weddings, I definitely think it could be relevant for anyone's planning process, no matter how small the wedding or unique the plans. You might end up ignoring 90% of what's in the book, but you will love it for the 10% that you do need to know.