Customer Reviews

Weddings

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Colin Cowie's book begins with examples of weddings that most people could never afford, which can be frustrating. However, once he moves into designing your own wedding, the book becomes much more exciting. As a matter of fact, I suggest reading the wedding examples after everything else, to provide a better sense of how Cowie puts his ideas into action. Cowie offers some basic ideas that really do help you plan your wedding in a unique way. His approach is incredible, and his book is worth buying for that fact alone. This book is a must for anyone who has read the magazines, seen the planners (i.e., any girl who has dreamt of a wedding all her life), and is ready to create something very personal and special. Don't buy this book off the bat; buy it 3 months into your wedding planning. This book is a lifesaver for anyone who is burnt-out on the wedding plans and needs a source of inspiration!

The photographs and ideas in this book are absolutely gorgeous! A few previous folks have given the book a bad review because they say that it is unrealistic and that the suggestions are too "expensive," to which I respond, "Bah, Humbug!" The goal for most of us bride-to-bes is to put together a wonderful celebration with friends and family, not to replicate someone else's event. This book should be used as a motivational and inspirational tool, not a cookie cutter! Enjoy this book for itself- a beautifully photographed and well written wedding "album," not a how-to list.

After all the money I have spent on wedding books and magazines, I need only have bought this one. I find myself referring to it again and again. Bless Colin Cowie for his panic-free, pretence-free, commonsense approach to weddings. There are detailed examples of some beautiful weddings, some quite lavish, but full of great ideas. In addition "Weddings" covers all the issues you need to know about, in a sophisticated, yet unembellished way. Some really good advice about "the dress", catering ideas for various types of weddings, music, invitations, rehearsal dinners, flowers and most everything else.

It really put the fun back into my wedding planning. All kinds of weddings are covered here, and ideas for every budget. This gorgeous book is very modern and full of style.

This book had more planning detail than did Martha Stewart's, which was excellent. Like Martha Stewart, it also had excellent advice on traditions, etiquette and menus. The decorations were very extravaggant, sometimes it seemed a bit much, but basically it is a matter of taste and budget, if you plan to use this book for decoration ideas. If you want simple elegance go with Martha, if you want a more lavish and abundant look, go with Colin. Both are comparable, the biggest difference is decoration style.

While it is true that the weddings in this book are almost incomprehensibly extravagent, there are still many ideas that can be translated into a smaller wedding with a realistic budget. The ceremonies and receptions in the book run the gamut of wedding styles, and the absolutely gorgeous pictures will get your creative juices flowing!

(Plus, I must admit it is a guilty pleasure to read about the amazing weddings of the rich and famous)

This book is a useful tool with which a bride can communicate ideas to her florist, caterer, etc. As one who often caters weddings, I have found that showing pictures from this book to brides can help me determine the overall mood they are trying to invoke for their wedding.

It is expensive, true, but you will enjoy reading it even after your wedding is over, and will want to lend it to anyone you know who is getting married. For those whose work is in any way connected to the wedding industry, it is a helpful and inspiring reference.

While I enjoyed reading Colin Cowie's book, and found much of the photography breathtakingly beautiful and somewhat addictive, there does not seem to be very much real, practical advice for today's bride (unless she has [$$}0 or more to spend on her wedding and can guarantee perfect weather on the wedding day!). Cowie has a section for "Planning Your Own Wedding," where he suggests that the bride and, if possible, the groom, answer some personality questions (included in the book) that will help the couple personalize their wedding and truly make it their own -- and this is probably my favorite part of the book (other than the stunning photographs). While Cowie has some terrific ideas, I do not think they are feasible for real brides who work full-time jobs and don't wish to take out a second mortgage on their home to finance the day. But I did get some good ideas from the book, and Cowie truly encourages brides to really, really, REALLY think outside the box when planning the wedding and reception (the brunch idea, complete with Mimosas, was great, as was the idea for using flower-bedecked baskets full of ripe fruit as centerpieces). I found this one at my library, and did enjoy it. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever be able to hire Colin & his brilliance for my own wedding!

I really enjoyed this book. The real life weddings gave me some good ideas. I thought that the time schedule which Mr. Cowie gave was practical. I also thought the suggestion that we really examine our likes and dislikes such as favourite movies etc a good idea. The book highlights the use of one's individual style. There is no one so called correct way to do things.

In the midst of my desperate search for ideas during my wedding planning, I grabbed a copy of this book at the local library. The pictures were stunning and the ideas looked great... But the ideas are only possible for people with fat bank accounts. His idea of "creative" and "chic" is BIG BIG and BIGGER flower arrangements topping at thousands of dollars each, probably. It's a nice eye candy to flip through... you may learn a few things and it may spark a few ideas of your own, but not worth the price tag. Buy it used or borrow it from the library. I found that the handful of Bride magazines I obtained had more creative ideas, and I could tear the pages out of those and copy them for vendors... you wouldn't want to bend a page in this pricey book.

While the weddings presented are opulent (and absolutely gorgeous!), there are practical ideas in this book for all budgets that every bride can cull from. From the small city wedding to the ranch-style weddings featured, all have wonderful suggestions to pick up on. There's also a great section on the right questions to ask vendors and suppliers... and even more valuable is the template for setting up a schedule for the event day (timing is everything!). Colin Cowie is a fantastic event planner and I'm looking forward to using some of these ideas to make my special day elegant and memorable.

Colin Cowie's book is an amazing piece of eye candy for the bride. There are definitely ideas to be lifted and adapted here that make the book more than worthwhile. HOWEVER, the book is extremely expensive and if you want to purchase more content than fluff (beautiful as it may be) it may be best to borrow this book or page through it for ideas. There are very few practical contributions that this book can make to your planning process (although I did keep referring back to the wedding day timetable).