[.uk] The Everything Wedding Book: The Ultimate Guide to ... (ISBN 1593371268)

Don't bother:
This was one of the first books I bought for weddings because I thought it would give me a general overview. It's also one of the books I refer to the least. I wasn't ready for a planner at the time since I was still figuring out my wedding, but in retrospect, I wish I'd just done that. There is some interesting background about certain traditions, e.g. the meaning of the wedding ring, but not enough for those really craving that kind of content. I think the usefulness of this book is summed up in the beginning where they have the "Top Ten Utterances of the Brides Who Didn't Consult This Book." It includes things like "What do you mean I should have registered?" or "Thanks for Coming to My Shower, sorry I can't invite you to the wedding." If you're a total newbie without any basis in etiquette, or if you've actually never been to a wedding and are really starting from scratch, this book is for you. If it never occurred to you to make a budget, or if you want a list of suggestions for your first dance that includes suggestions by 98 Degrees, Shania Twain and Kelly Clarkson, go for it. But if you have even a vague sense of what you want, skip this and buy yourself a planner that will help you get an idea of what to look for, what to ask vendors and will help you keep track of contracts and business cards. I bought the Martha Stewart Keepsake Planner and have used it much more than this book.

VERY HELPFUL BOOK!:
We just used this book to help us plan our wedding and it was very helpful. It was easy to read, practical and had some GREAT ideas!

Useful Overview:
I was given this book by a friend who recently got married. I found it entertaining and extremely easy to read. This book is most useful right when one gets engaged to help you sort of piece together how the whole planning process should go. It has a lot of background on wedding traditions- both in different cultures and superstitions. All advice, when taken with a grain of salt, can help you see the kind of decisions to consider. The back section has checklists and suggestions on registry item. I was happy to read it, but also happy to pass it on to one of my friends when she got engaged.

Good but there are much better.:
A easy to read, informative book with great lists and sheets but preachy to say the least. The authors of the book seem more concerned how your guests want the wedding to be than what the bride wants. For example, they suggest a French manicure, light pink or another pale color because "Fire-engine red might be fun for the honey-moon, but it will probably raise eyebrows during the ceremony." They go further by saying wearing perfume for your wedding is a bad idea because one of the guests may be allergic. While practical this is the couples wedding, not the guests wedding. If you want you wedding to truly be you "own" skip this book. However, if you like to be told what to do, right down to the underthings you wear then this is the book for you.

A nice overview of how to plan your wedding:
I have only read half of this book so far, but it has had quite a few tidbits on ettiquette that I didn't know and lots of great suggestions on how to do different things for your wedding. It is very readable and it gets to the point. It also has many worksheets and checklists to help you keep organized. I would recommend this as a nice book to cover the basics of planning a wedding!