Throw a Party…But Plan a Wedding

A few weeks ago one of my cousins got married. So, I started thinking about the popularity of spring and summer weddings and how much work goes into the planning and execution of a successful wedding ceremony. This in turn, made me think about wedding planners and the job they do. Did you know that there is a certification for wedding planners? Here is a list of resources to help you become a wedding planner or to help you plan your own wedding.

Books
Essential Guide to Wedding Etiquette
The Everything Mother of the Bride Book: A survival Guide for Mom
How to Start a Home-Based Wedding Planning Business
The Knot Little Books of Big Wedding Ideas
Plan the Perfect Wedding on a Small Budget
A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration
The Wedding A to Z: Everything You Need to Know—*and Stuff You Never Thought to Ask
Wedding Planning for Dummies
Wedding Planning: The Complete Guide to Wedding Planning
Weddings: From Snapshots to Great Shots

DVDs
Inside Weddings: Plan Your Wedding from the Dress to the Cake
Martha's Complete Weddings
Martha's Wedding Ideas
Say Yes to the Dress. Season 3: Viewer Favorites

Websites
Better Homes and Gardens Weddings – This site has great tips that should enable you to stick to your budget. I really enjoyed the article “15 Secrets from a Wedding Planner.”

little wedding guide - This is a very comprehensive site. Good advice is given about how to choose a dress, should you or shouldn’t you hire a wedding planner, the reception etc… Even though they don’t have a good list of vendors in Alabama, I would definitely use this as a resource for planning a wedding.

mywedding – I found this website to be very interesting. It is free and it has various tools for creating a free wedding website where you can post your wedding pictures, create your registry, and keep a guestbook and contacts. You can also use their wedding check list and budget planner. You can look at their ideas, contact a vendor, and look at honeymoon destinations. I liked the layout of the website. In order to log onto mywedding, you must have Facebook account.

For those of you who are tying the knot or helping someone else do so, I hope these resources enable you plan a wedding to remember.

Maya Jones
West End Library