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PLANNERS: Helpful books give advice, keep you organized when planning
By Beth Kujawski
Bridal Guide
You,
my friend, have a wedding to plan, details on which to decide, vendors to vet. Sure, it may seem overwhelming, but as with any large task, if you break it down into smaller steps,
you'll be walking down the aisle of your dream wedding in no time. A wedding planning book can help you keep your bearings and your sanity as you travel down the road to "I do,"
and you'll find many planners on your bookstore's shelves.
To save you from having to leaf through each and every one, here's a roundup and review of the four best-selling
planners as ranked by 2003 sales reported via BookSense, representing 500 independent bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association.
1 -- "Easy Wedding Planner, Organizer & Keepsake"
By Elizabeth Lluch, Alex Lluch National Book Network; Spiral edition
(Jan. 15, 2000) $29.95
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At
318 pages, this wedding planner (one of a family of planners produced by the Lluchs) is the heftiest of the four reviewed here. Six tabbed dividers (which are also double-sided
pockets) and a ribbon bookmark help keep things organized. A small plastic bookmark is tied to the spine of the book, but with its sticker touting "Travel Guide, $350 Bridal
Package & This Handy Bookmark FREE," it's more about promotion than practicality. 
A divided sheet for business cards is handy, as is the included booklet on wedding and honeymoon
destinations, but the Lluchs' business isn't called Wedding Solutions for nothing. The first page is an ad, offering brides "four fabulous offers," chances
to save on wedding invitations, wedding accessories, a wedding planning upgrade on WeddingSolutions.com and a discount on a personal wedding Web site. The next four pages
are quotes from brides and planners, gushing about how terrific the book is.
As you'd expect in a planner of this length, there
are pages and pages of charts and lists to be completed with every detail imaginable. In some instances, though, the amount of space allotted
for each piece of information may require small handwriting or abbreviations. Some lists seem a bit superfluous: two pages are devoted to pew
seating arrangements through the ninth row, and under the Bride's Attire Checklist, there's space to describe your full slip.
The photographs are printed onto nice plastic-coated stock, but as most of the book is printed
on plain paper, photography sometimes comes at the end of a section. For flowers, for instance,
22 pages are devoted to text descriptions of the flowers, but the pictures of the flowers come later, requiring the reader to flip back and forth.
This is just one of several wedding planners that the Lluchs have penned. Brides-to-be may want to peruse the other titles, too, before making a decision.
2 -- "Martha Stewart's Keepsake Wedding Planner"
By Martha Stewart Living Weddings, Editor
(Clarkson Potter, 2003) $29.95
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The staff at Martha Stewart Weddings left no stone unturned in creating its wedding planner. The
large, three-ring binder is clothbound at the spine for durability and features an e lastic band on the back cover that can be used to secure the entire book closed. Inside, 10 tabbed dividers
separate 112 pages. Two zippered plastic pouches and a divided sheet for business cards are tucked in front of four double-sided pockets. If you have
a three-hole punch handy, the three-ring design allows you to add your own pages.
The gorgeous black-and-white and color photography is more of what you've come to
expect from Stewart's publications, which are designed to appeal to the senses. Stewart revels in the delicate details – elegant favors, how to tie
a bow tie – and aesthetics of a wedding, such as type styles and calligraphy samples for invitations.
You'll find all the necessary worksheets and
record-keeping pages, but photography and illustrations are liberally peppered throughout the book, giving your eyes something pretty to rest
upon, while giving your brain a chance to absorb the plentiful information. A top-notch effort, well worth the price.
3 -- "Planning a Wedding to Remember, Sixth Edition"
By Beverly Clark
(Wilshire Publications, 2002) $21.95
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There probably isn't a detail from a wedding in the history of matrimony that isn't covered in
Clark's spiral-bound, hardcover planner. The sheer volume of information is dizzying. Some
margins are made purposely wide – so they can be filled with more information. Immediately
following the table of contents is a six-page checklist. There are five pages of suggested wording for wedding invitations.
But first things first: In "What's Your Wedding Style?" Clark offers a Cosmo-style quiz that will
reveal if you're a Zen Bride, a Classic Traditionalist, Hopelessly Romantic, an Adventurous Trendsetter, a Polished Sophisticate or a Glamour Queen. Inside each chapter, cheeky,
casual headings such as "It's a Chick Thing – Selecting Your Bridesmaids" and "Wording No-Nos" set off chatty text, which might account for the vast
number of words in this volume.
On the plus side, Clark outlines four weddings and budgets for each, which should give most brides a
good sense of what can be accomplished, no matter how much money is earmarked for the big day.
At 262 pages, this planner would greatly benefit
from some divider tabs to aid brides-to-be in finding sections in a flash. Clark's inclusion of her catalog of wedding accessories, bound in the back
of the planner, might strike some as helpful, but it struck us as crass.
4 -- "Emily Post's Wedding Planner, Third Edition"
By Peggy Post (HarperResource, 1999) $22
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Peggy Post is the third generation of Post authors, and this wedding planner – part planner, part
etiquette book – offers plenty of signature Post guidance. Spiral-bound and hard-covered, this
smaller book (about 8 by 9 1/2 inches) lays flat, making it easier to fill in charts and lists. One
small pocket in the back of the book will hardly be enough room for all the contracts and paperwork you'll amass while planning, but it's a nice gesture.
A notable inclusion is Chapter 4, "Legalities and
Other Matters." Before delving into the airy-fairy selection of flowers and cakes, Post discusses the practical side of marriage, touching on prenuptial
agreements, the legality of same-sex marriages, what you need to know (or find out) about getting married in other countries (including the
requirements of eight international wedding locations) and who can perform your ceremony.
Noticeably lighter on lists than other planners, this
260-page guide still offers plenty of space for detangling lots of details and it groups information logically. The back of the book features an
address book: an all-in-one-place area to record the contact information for everyone involved in the wedding, from the accommodations for your
attendants to where your wedding shower(s) will be held and by whom.
Since this is an Emily Post book, you'll also be able to find suggested wording for your invitation if
your parents are divorced, an order of ceremony, a seating chart for the head table at the reception,
suggested photo lists, even a form to use a guide if you'll place a wedding announcement in your local paper.
As with Roney's planner, you'll still need another folder or file to contain all your contracts and such, but this guide is an excellent mix of planning advice and etiquette. §
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