Wedding Books

This book is a wonderful, much-needed reminder that yes, you can have a beautiful wedding without spending exorbitant amounts of money while also offering practical advice for managing your finances before and after the big day. Highly recommended for every bride.

This has been a great tool throughout my engagement for planning my wedding! I plan to pass it along to another engaged friend.
For girls (and guys!) looking to plan a wedding that is more meaningful than elaborate, this is your book. I'm a fan of anything that helps me organize, and this book's checklists and budget sheets were extremely useful. The other books (and magazines) I'd considered were more about including every possible tradition and fad into my wedding, whereas this one helped me take a look at what would mean something to my now-spouse and myself.

I'm really glad this book exists -- it does have some smart suggestions for how to avoid the vortex of spending encountered any time one comes remotely near the wedding industry. Davis does a good job cutting through some of the haze that bridal magazines create around what you "have to do" to have a happy wedding day. That said, pay attention to the subtitle: a church wedding. The author's game plan is all centered around having your wedding at a church, using the church's fellowship hall for your reception, and enlisting the assistance of fellow parishoners to pull the event off. If you're a less traditional couple, trying to plan a wedding outside a church, and don't belong to some kind of club with comparable facilities, there are no other suggestions for alternative venues. If you're looking for some planning tools, there is stuff included here, but most it is pretty common sense.

This book has some great ideas and tips for having a budget-conscious wedding. I like that the author gives the 'bargain', 'budget', and 'bling' ideas for each category depending on how much you want to spend. It has good advice about talking to vendors and even alternatives to the traditional things. Using the suggestions in this book, you can have a fabulous wedding with exactly what you want for $5000 instead of $30,000. Excellent!

My husband and I got married last year and our wedding cost under $4000. I thought we were an oddity until I read this book. I believe the most important idea in this book is that big, expensive weddings are a fairly modern invention and are not necessary to have a meaningful wedding. Cara Davis presents three different "levels" of wedding planning, in both cost and logistics: bargain, budget, and bling. She encourages brides-to-be to choose carefully the wedding elements most important to them and their grooms and offers suggestions and tips for how to plan for each element according to their level of importance.

I believe this book will be most useful to brides who are feeling the pressure from mainstream wedding periodicals full of advertisements for the biggest and most expensive everything. "Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot" offers refreshing alternatives, and even peace, for wedding planning.

I really loved this book. It refocused me on what was important before the wedding. It encouraged me to stop worrying about all the little details and instead focus on the three-way relationship between me, my future husband, and God.
I saw another review below that mentioned she had premarital sex. Yes, it is suggested that she did, but she did not encourage it or condone it. I admired her for admitting her sin and talking about how she worked to repent of it.
The only negative aspect is that I wish she had brought Christ into the picture instead of just God. Still, I highly recommend it for any couples preparing for marriage.

I was shocked when reading some of the things she wrote. Do not waste your time! This is not a Christian book...some things hinted at her being Jewish, but her values were not Biblical. She talked about they had sex until a time after the engagement and how they thought they were very admirable for abstaining for a short time before the wedding. There are many other books that are much more beneficial!

Don't listen to ANY negative reviews about this book! This book is EXCELLENT. It's a true page turner. Her information is timeless and will help you keep your focus on what's important...maintaining your marriage. In this day and age, people give the wedding soooo much more attention than how they're gonna LIVE with each other when it's all over.

This is a purchase you WON'T regret.

I received this book as a gift, and I know that it was God-sent. It reminded me that good luck traditions showed a lack of faith in me for God to handle everything. As if I needed luck! I have God, and He will provide blessings beyond everything else.

Because I wasn't worried about getting all the traditions right so I'd have a happy marriage, I honestly enjoyed my wedding more than most I believe ever do!

The producers of Touched By An Angel wrote this, and I can see why the tv show was on so long!

This book is wonderful! My husband and I read it together in the months before our wedding, taking turns writing our responses, praying together and talking about some issues that may not have come up otherwise (like "past loves"). This book really places the focus on the marriage and the sanctity of that covenant, and on keeping God at the center of the relationship. We can also now go back and read the notes we made to each other in the book, and remember how special that time was leading up to our wedding. Buy this book!!

This book certainly is a must have for every clergy and officiants that performs wedding ceremonies. It covers every aspect from the wedding plans to the ceremony; it also offers some wonderful counseling tips and perspectives. If you are a minister and are tired of doing the same ceremony wedding after wedding, then this book is certainly for you. It offers a variety of 20 different ceremonies to choose from. Whichever you choose to perform I'm sure the bride and groom will be purely delighted.

Was not impressed by the actual book. The interior of the book did not provide enough information on what it takes to become a good Wedding Planner. It would be a good book for someone who has been in the Wedding industry for some time and the person was just looking for additional pictures to provide inspiration.

It was not exactly what I was looking for but it was O.K. I will keep the book

This book is nothing but AWESOME starting with the detailed cover flowing through the most vibrant pages one could ever image in a book. As a up and coming Professional Wedding Planner this book was helpful mentally and spiritually. It's not just pretty pages, and flawless creativity but D. Valentine also tells her story of how she came up in the industry starting out with nothing but accomplished a lot. This is a must add to your collection if you are getting married or interested in pursuing event planning.

Ms Valentine I am reading your book and I am enthralled, I am a registered nurse. I have helped friends plan there wedding. I always receive abundant complements about my work from banquet managers and wedding guest. Finally I decided to make weddings and events my business, so I set out to read everything that I could find on weddings and the business end of wedding and party planning. So I got on amazon.com and ordered over twenty books, Preston Bailey, Colin Cowie, David Tutera, Maria McBride Harriet Cole and some I wont mention because they were to put it diplomatically disappointing in their lack of useful content...Ms Valentine you struck a chord I read your book and I was listening to me... a more advanced me. A friend of mine teasingly refers to me as a gay man in a woman's body because she says I am fabulous (by the way she did not say this in any way to be offensive to gay men). Ms Valentine, you are fabulous. Thank You for being dedicated to excellence it is apparent in your work and your enthusiasm. I have learned a lot from your book. Harriet Cole did a great start in Jumping the Broom. Preston Bailey is wonderful but unrealistic to the common budget. However you Ms Valentine brings glamour to the African American urban young professional you "BRING IT". Thank you for laying down the gauntlet.

I am an Event Decorator located in Los Angeles; I must tell you that I was excited when I heard that Diann was coming out with a book on weddings. I purchased my book right away, I didn't care how much it cost, but to my surprise! The book was very affordable. The photographs are absolutely amazing and I loved the articles in the book. Diann style seems to be some what simple but yet edgy.

I guard my book with my life, I take it every where. I recommend this book for every event professional.

A ridiculous plot, but somewhat fun to read. Ms. Clark needs to know more about gambling, since she has the bad guys shooting craps in Atlantic City, then the Rileys interview the dealer-uh?! I pictured a guy throwing handfuls of dice around.Also at craps, you win or lose-no other player wins money from you. And I suspect going thru Nebraska isn't the shortest way from NYC to Vegas.Now I will be wading thru "Laced" Hope it is better.

This story of a top designer's April brides losing their wedding dresses to an inept pair of thieves was an interesting read to me. The Bridezilla theme was overplayed a bit, but one hussy does redeem herself helping to rescue one casualty of a dangling subplot. The bank robbery second mystery didn't quite jell. However, the flashes of humor win out, such as the pet parrot Romeo whose favorite expression is "lazy bums," referring to the main culprits.

This book was bad from start to finish. Having read one of the author's mother's books and not been impressed, I should have known that this one would not be to my taste either. Although Ms. Clark did a good job of keeping someone who had not read the previous Regan Reilly mysteries up to date, her characters were shallow, there was no suspense, and there were too many subplots. Who cares who is robbing the banks, who cares what happened to this secondary character who disappeared? Ms. Clark did not need these filler subplots to bring this book together, and yet that is what she used them for. All I know is that I have been cured from wanting to read any of Carol Higgins Clark's other Regan Reilly "mysteries".

I am new to this author and I acquired the novel via my neighbor. I guess I should have known something was up because she wasn't excited about the book when she gave it to me, but I thanked her gratefully and read it.

If by chance you haven't been informed, the title is derived from the main character, Regan Reilly, a private detective from California, and her plans to marry Jack Reilly, of NYPD.

However, a short time before the wedding, Regan decides to pick up her wedding dress and low and behold, she discovers that the dress shop owners have been robbed of 20 thousand dollars in cash and on top of that, her wedding gown had been stolen. At the same time, Jack Reilly has his hands full trying to locate the person(s) that have been robbing banks.

By this time I'm a little frustrated with this story. Is it a mystery? It claims to be. Or is it a romance and a mystery? I read on, but the author's storytelling abilities never improved. The characters were a mixed bag of alphabet soup. After awhile I found them down right boring. Not one to give up (Growing up on a dairy farm taught me that quality) I was determined to finish this novel. The ending was disappointing and I felt that the author gave little or no thought to improve the story at this point. That was a shame because with a little effort on the writer's part, the ending would not have been so bland and disappointing.

I put the book down, inhaled deeply and thought about how much I value quality literary works from both well known and lesser known authors, and wondered "How does something like this novel get published?

After reading this author's other books I picked this one up at the airport to keep me company during a long flight. Let me just say I never finished the book and was very disappointed. I love Reagan Reilly but this adventure of hers was a bit too much. Don't waste your time.

This book "The Wedding Planners Daughter" is where it all starts willa or as her mom named her willafred havisham when she was born she had a dad but then when he gave willa's mom stella a card saying to come to the park on their honeymoon she came and started waiting and waiting then suddenly a police officer came and told her that her husband had died on being on a hot air balloon so since that day willa's mom never wanted to love again. But willa in the other hand wanted a father really bad and so then a poet moved in next door and he was willas english teacher. he seemed extremely nice and on open house he and stella saw each others eyes and willa seemed happy and well to read it more Will the poet "Sam" be willa's dad???

Willa Havisham may be the only twelve-year-old who reads classics, eats cherry cordials, and just so happens to be the worst wisher in the world.

Her glamorous single mother, Stella, plans the most beautiful weddings and is constantly moving the two of them around. When they finally move back to Stella's childhood hometown of Bramble, Cape Cod, Willa begins to think her wishes are coming true. She's made her first-ever best friend, is bonding with her crazy Nana, and, best of all, Stella seems to be falling for Willa's English teacher -- who just happens to be perfect dad material.

But when, after a wedding disaster, Stella is ready to pack up and throw everyone out, how can Willa stop everything from going back to the way it was?

THE WEDDING PLANNER'S DAUGHTER was a book I'd been hearing about for awhile, so when the chance came up to review it, I was excited. It ended up being one of the most hilarious books I've read in quite some time. The characters, Willa especially, were so well-developed and real. I could understand Stella's hesitation but also Willa's determination. Everything in the book was well-thought out and easy to relate to.

I'll definitely be recommending this to my librarian and friends. Now I can't wait to read the sequel!

Reviewed by: Harmony

A very entertaining and fast read. If you have a daughter and want to know what they will experience potentially, I believe this book helps.

Initially, I started reading this book to help my daughter with her book report, but as I started skimming, I really became engrossed and felt like I was watching a movie. I started to care for the characters and really hoped the ending was good and not too tragic. Definitely worth your time. It is written from the perspective of Willa (the wedding planner's daughter) and revolves primarily around her and her relationship with her mom (the wedding planner).

Worth the time and leaves you feeling warm.

This is thwe best book I have evr read n my whole entire life. It is about a girl who moves around alot because her mom is a wedding planner. She has a crush on a guy and she also tries her hardest to get her mom and her teacher, Sam, together. True romance and laughter are revealed in this book you`ll have to read it to find out if Sam and her mom get married and if she ends up with her crush!

The Wedding Planners Daughter
Colleen Murtagh Paratore


12 years old, likes eating cherry cordials, reading classics, and doesn't have a father. That describes Willafred Havisham, but there is one thing she wants to change. Her mother Stella has dragged Willa to seven different towns, because she is afraid of falling in love, and getting her heart broken again. This time, Willa and her mother are in Bramble, Cape Cod. This is where she meets her first best friend Tina, spends time with her cool nana, and she and her mother meet Sam, who is Willa's English teacher and her neighbor. The best part is that Stella is slowly falling for Sam. Will this be the end of Willa's search for a father? Or will Stella pack her bags and drag Willa to a new town?
In my opinion, this is an outstanding book. The Wedding Planners Daughter is now one of my very favorites and this I've read it about three times. As I read farther into it, the more I got into the story. This is something that I am glad that I didn't miss.
I would recommend this book to all girls who are in their preteens or even teens. Trust me you will LOVE this book and you might even read it again more than I did. When you read it, you will be glad that you didn't miss it either!

My 6 year old daughter loves weddings and can't wait to be a flower girl one day. This book was perfect for her.

This was the first Whitney Lyles book I've read, and I just loved it. It was a fast, fun, and easy read. I finished the book and just didn't want it to end.... and I found that she'd written more books! I was thrilled. If you want to relax with a book, here is a great one.

i love weddings, i love being a bridesmaid, i love chick lit. i should have loved this book, right?

i hated this book.

it felt forced - and it was not funny - i can't believe it was published.

I read some of the reviews on here which talked about how "laugh out loud funny" this book is and I couldnt wait to read it. BUT...now that I bought it and read it, I wish I had actually taken the time to read the bad reviews about it because this book is NOTHING like I anticipated it would be!
The writing is slow paced and was VERY hard to get into. This book is shorter than the usual books I read and it took me about twice as long just for the fact I WAS NOT INTO IT!!! I just kept reading though, hoping something good would was going to come like some of the reviews said.
Although there were a few funny moments, I was SOOO BORED out of my mind with this story that I seriously had to FORCE myself just to pick it up!!!
My advice is to save yourself the time and the money from reading this book. Unless you want a nice borring book to put you to sleep, I wouldn't bother!
My guess is the only reason this book has such high reviews is because the author rated herself!! Notice how most of the reviews are from "a reader" with no name? How the hell would someone give this book 5 STARS? Are you kiding me?

This book was just plain fun. Was the ending predictable? You bet, but who cares. I woke my husband up (a lot) laughing out loud. I did think the ending just a touch abrupt but it was a great ride getting there.

This book was a very "fast read". Situational parts of the book were very funny. I read them aloud to my retired father who was visiting and he asked to take the book home with him. He read it on the plane and said he really enjoyed it. This really surprised me as I can't recall that he has ever read a romance novel. I liked the fact that it doesn't contain graphic sex. Also, it was descriptive enough that I could picture "the movie" as I was reading it.

This book helped me so much...I owe my new body and health to it. The program was hard at first but oh so worth it!!!I lost 40 pounds in 3 months!!! Give it a try and you will be so happy you did!!!! AAA+++++

I would not suggest the food recommendation, but after 1 month I am loosing weight with the exercise plan and cutting back on calories. I would recommend the exercise plan for anyone getting married soon like myself.

I've been working out for several years but wanted an extra boosy before my wedding. I think the book has great chapters on food, health and training in general, although I agree with fellow readers about the recommendations for vitamins. Unless you have any medical conditions, a multipurpose vitamin a day is fine.

As for the workout, I love the program! It's a great boost and really get me to the gym and doing my workout in a good pace. As for the diet, it's not called the bridal bootcamp for nothing! Follow the plan and I promise you will see result :)

I was all excited about getting this book, until I read "Book Crazy Sam's" review. Not sure what planet he his from... but boy do I feel sorry for his wife. Undoubtedly he is one of those beer-gutted losers... and why is he giving a review for a Bridal Boot Camp? I find that so bizarre.

This bootcamp is WAY too strict. I was following both the diet and exercise plan to the "t" for only two days before I got sick and threw up at the gym and nearly passed out! I am not an overweight or out of shape person. I already considered myself to be a healthy eater and I exercise regularly. I am 5'8" and a healthy 125 lbs (size 2). For my size one packet of oatmeal, 10 cashews, and 1/2 can of tuna is not enough nurishment to keep me going while also exercising strenuously. The gym employees were ready to call the fire department, but luckily my fiance, a firefighter/paramedic, was there to check my vitals and get me back on my feet. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that the exercise program is effective. I think I'll be switching to Buff Brides in the future. I hope no one gets seriously injured from following this book too closely!

Pretty much a re-issue of every other Hal Leonard book of wedding music with one or two new pieces added. If you already own a book in the Hal Leonard wedding series, double check the song selections before ordering. Most arrangements are greatly simplified. Not to the point of being considered "EZ-Piano" apparently, but enough to make the majority of the music in the book accessible to less skilled keyboardists, and as a result, a bit dull. If you are a strong music reader, but not so adept at chord substitutions, or adding color to bland arrangements, you may want to look to other sources for thicker arrangements.