A Perfect Home Wedding: Inspirations for Planning Your Special Day (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The idea of having a home wedding is an appealing one: it seems fitting to have an intimate, private setting for one of the most intimate gatherings of a couple's life. The reality of planning a home wedding, however, can be a bit daunting. How to decorate without spending a large fortune? What to do if the weather turns less than ideal? Is an at-home wedding really the right choice?

A Perfect Home Wedding aims to answer these questions, as well as provide inspiration, solutions, and examples of some lovely home weddings that incorporated the couple's personal style into their special day. After all, one of the biggest advantages to having a home wedding is that everything can be tailored to the bride and groom's specific tastes--the day and time of the event, the setting and colors, and the service, right down to the food, flowers, and music.

The book offers advice on hiring a wedding consultant, planning a menu, renting a tent for an outdoor ceremony or reception, deciding on the right place for the ceremony, and "outmaneuvering" the weather. The color and black-and-white photos sprinkled throughout cover a wide range of wedding styles, from country casual to city townhouse. The last chapter of the book profiles eight very different home weddings, including a beach wedding, a Western wedding, a rose garden wedding, and a terrace wedding, while a resource guide includes contact information for wedding planners, florists, caterers, and bridal-wear specialists within the U.S.

Those contemplating an at-home wedding will find that A Perfect Home Wedding addresses those special concerns in a friendly, realistic way, so that hopefully, even if the special day doesn't go off without a hitch, you'll be prepared for every possibility.--Kris Law

Product Description

What could be more intimate-and potentially intimidating or anxiety-ridden-than planning a wedding at home? Here, at last, is the complete guide to planning and enjoying a worry-free wedding in the comfort of one's own home.

The Perfect Home Wedding proves that a wedding at home can be lavish or simple-and still fit into any budget. Whether readers envision a large or small event, a formal or casual affair, a traditional party or one sprinkled with many personal touches, The Perfect Home Wedding will escort them through each stage of orchestrating a perfect day-from selecting flowers and gifts for the wedding party to making arrangements for parking, zoning, insurance, and other mundane but necessary matters that require advance planning.

Inspiration abounds, from pictures taken at actual home weddings to a chapter that connects readers with such resources as caterers, stationers, florists, and photographers.

At once a time-saving reference tool and a lavishly illustrated stylebook, The Perfect Home Wedding works for everyone, from young brides-to-be to older couples marrying for the second time and planning the event themselves.

Though Kerry Eielson has never planned her own home wedding, she spent years watching them unfold through the skill and imagination of her mother, Sandra Eielson, a caterer in New England. Kerry has written about culture, lifestyle and fashion for various publications, including Self magazine, The New York Times, and Fitness magazine.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Stewart Tabori & Chang; illustrated edition edition (February 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556709285
• ISBN-13: 978-1556709289
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #951,501 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent source of inspiration for wedding planning!, March 21, 2000

By	Bride-to-Be Extraordinaire (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

Even though I'm not getting married at home, I found this book very useful. I didn't find it a good planner book, but with it's many beautiful pictures it was great for creative ideas. It probably won't be useful if you're getting married at an all inclusive reception site, but if you are getting married at home or somewhere with more freedom, check it out. It's not budget conscious, but I was definately able to incorporate some of the ideas into my wedding by doing-it-myself. I flip through every so often just to see if anything strikes me...so it was definetely worth the purchase. But, if you don't buy it...at least take a peek at the bookstore and see if anything sparks your creativity.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Perfect Home Wedding" fulfilled its promise, April 10, 2000

By	Barbara Grasso (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews

Don't let the soft-focus photos and frou-frou design fool you - the author's matter-of-fact tone and frank advice helped me plan a wedding that suited my sensible style. So many of the guides are written like filler for ad pages, but the language of this one kept me entertained throughout the entire planning process. (P.S. Getting hitched went off with barely a hitch!)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth buying used & less than $20, September 10, 2001

By	Trace oConnor "Traceroo" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Lovely pictures, and the book does a good job of keeping things diverse and multi-cultural. As some have criticized, the pictures are often of sumptuous, very expensive weddings, however.

The advice is down to earth and useful for anyone. I found several excellent hints for a home ceremony & reception that I wouldn't have thought of on my own.

I bought my copy used for $..., and I think it was well worth it. If you can find a used copy under $20, I recommend it. New at the full price near $...? A waste of money, I think.