Good Read - A Love Story for Wedding Lovers: The Bride Quartet Books

I was one of those kids who inhaled every book that I got my hands on. One of my favorite books of all time is The BFG by Roald Dahl. In elementary school The Babysitter's Club was my second book crush. I had every single book in the series lined up on my book shelf - and let me tell you - there were quite a few of them! Then I moved on to Sweet Valley High and the beautiful blond twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. In middle school I somehow changed directions and devoured Dean Koontz and Stephen King books - until I scared myself silly. Once high school rolled around I found another favorite book, Love in the Time of Cholera. I am a sucker for a good love story.

When I was pregnant, I picked up my reading habit again. My BFF introduced me (kicking and screaming) to the Twilight books. She even let me borrow them and drove them to my house she was so sure that I would like them. I really didn't believe her, I mean come on, vampires!?!? I'm too old for a story about vampires. But of course, I fell madly in love with Edward and Bella and I will admit, I have read Breaking Dawn five times - I just can't get enough.

After I finished the Twilight series, I was at a complete loss as to what I should read next -nothing could compare! My mother in law handed me a book that she said was just perfect for me. And it was.

And it will be for all you wedding industry peeps and fans of a good wedding filled love story. Again, I struggled with the stigma attached to romance novels, but Nora Roberts hooked me with this book series.

It's about four fab women running a wedding planning business. Now, don't get me wrong, it is pure fluff! You will not be learning any secrets of the trade here, just fun reading about 4 adorable gals and their quest for love as they plan weddings. It's full of silly romance that just had me melting. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but I think it's because as a lover of all things wedding, it's another way to get my fill. So go pick up The Bride Quartet Books, only books 1 through 3 are out...I'm on pins and needles waiting for number 4! If anything, it is a great book to take to the pool or beach this summer.

I'll be honest with you - I was a bit embarrassed to write this post, as these books are not filled with deep thought provoking literature, just a good fun read about an industry I love working in. A few friends and colleagues talked me into sharing these books and I am glad I did. Thanks much - you know who you are. And if you have read them, let me know what you think! :)

Photo source: Amazon.com

5 Tips for Selecting a Wedding Planner

I was honored when Ruby of Amy Kuschel asked me to write an article for them on how to choose the all important wedding planner. And now I am excited to share it with you! You can go here to see it live and in-person on the fabulous Amy Kuschel site or I also have provided quick and easy reading below.

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Five Tips for Selecting a Fabulous Wedding Planner

Searching through hundreds of amazing yet sometimes overwhelming wedding websites and blogs you become slightly cross-eyed from staring at the screen as you search vendor listings for a wedding planner. Where to start? You received some word of mouth referrals from your just married BFF, you hit up Wedding Wire as well as visited your favorite blog to see who designed that stunning wedding you saw posted last week…but now that you have names, how do you select the one person that will be managing your big day?

1. Listening Skills – You call up a potential planner and she yaps on and on about this wedding she did and that venue she loves and never gives you the opportunity to share what YOU are looking for. As the client, you need to be able to express your wants and desires and a good planner will ask you the right questions to find out what your needs are.

2. Trust – Once you’ve got a planner that listens, meet with them. A lot of planners have complimentary consultations so you can get to know each other better. Meet up over coffee, chat about all things wedding, and do a gut check. Does this person seem trustworthy? Do you get that good vibe and are your personalities clicking? Are they on time and do they seem organized, poised and confident? Remember, this person needs to manage you, your wedding party, your family,and your guests as well as all the vendors making the magic happen – do you get the sense they can handle the job?

3. Experience – This one goes a little deeper than the question “How many weddings have you done?” Make sure you also ask about the type of weddings they have experience with, for example if your wedding is on a yacht ask if they’ve dealt with anything similar. Or ask about any tricky or atypical situations they may have been in and how were they resolved? This will show you their problem solving skills in action.

4. References – A good planner will have quite a few references and will be open to sharing them. Past brides of fabulous planners love to share rave reviews so get those email addresses and use them. Ask past brides how the overall experience was working with that planner.

5. Design Aesthetics – Even if you are simply hiring a planner for Month-Of Services, make sure that your design vision and your planner’s vision somewhat match. If there is a situation on the day of your wedding and the planner needs to make a call about something, you want to be able to trust that their design aesthetics are relatively aligned with yours. If you're looking for a planner to manage logistics and design it is even more important that you like the look and feel of their events.

One last piece of advice…don’t forget to breathe! Planning a wedding is a huge job –which is how us wedding planners came to be in the first place. Good luck!

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Photo source: Laura Hunt Photography

Style Me Pretty + Google Docs = Bride & Wedding Planner in one?

Style Me Pretty, one of the best sites (and one of my favorites!) for all things wedding, has just announced that it teamed up with Google to create an amazing array of wedding planning documents for brides and grooms. These documents allow them to be as organized and together as possible when it comes to planning their big day.

At first I thought - these docs are great! Free access to well designed templates for engaged couples - what a huge help to them. Then, upon reviewing the documents I started to feel...well, a bit uneasy as a wedding planner.

Due to the current economy, planners tend to be one of the first budget items to get cut. As much as we try to educate brides that planners are a necessity to help with one of the most important (and often expensive!) days of their lives go off without a hitch, some brides tend to over look this fact by having a friend or family member attempt to run their dream day - which can end in disaster! Leila Khalil of Be Inspired a Wedding PR agency wrote a fantastic post about such situations here.

This new partnership between Style Me Pretty and Google makes me think...will these documents lend themselves to have the bride believe she can do it all - dream, plan and then execute on her wedding day while trying to actually enjoy her wedding day?

There are still brides that understand the importance of a planner and everything we have to offer them, and I know these documents will not replace the role of a planner. And I believe they will be incredibly helpful - they are pretty nifty I must say! It just makes me realize that our industry still needs to work hard and continue to educate brides and grooms about the repercussions of trying to do everything themselves instead of working with a team of vendors that can ensure them an amazing disaster free day!

Photo by Anna Kuperberg
Wedding: Love in Las Vegas by Trisha Dean Events
Venue: Four Seasons, Las Vegas