The Elegant Wedding and the Budget-Savvy Bride: How to Have the Wedding of Your Dreams for Half the Price

Rating:
Summary: Some good tips, but...
Review: ...I liked the section on wedding cakes but I found some of Ms. McCoys' suggestions inconsistant. For example, she criticizes what she considers to be tasteless choices such as "Cinderella's castle" type wedding invitations but then presents information on how to make your own invitations which are every bit as cutesy as the kind she deplores. Besides, unless the creative force behind handcrafted invitations is a trained artist of some kind, I would wager most recepients would automatically assume the bride could not afford "real" invitations.

Rating:
Summary: Some good ideas, but a bad attitude
Review: Deborah McCoy plays the role of the M-I-L from hell, whose advice you might appreciate, but whose snarky tone just sets your teeth on edge. You can practically hear her telling a bride, "Oh, dear, you DID plan on loosing some of that weight, didn't you?" Some of her tips on cutting costs without sacrificing quality were very helpful, but she just can't rein in the judgmental attitude that says, "Any bride who doesn't do it MY WAY is a horrible horrible person whose friends will all hate her." McCoy toots her own horn as a wedding planner over and over again, giving us at least one story per chapter about how she single-handedly saved some poor clueless bride's wedding day. Her tips would have been much more helpful if she were less rigid in her (often contradictory, often old-fashioned) etiquette and "elegance" rules. Her views on what is mandatory and what is unnecessary are completely out of touch with what most brides want, but she sets them down as absolutes that should not under any circumstances be deviated from. (For instance: Videographer, mandatory; limo, unnecessary. Hello???)
That said, she does offer some good tips, for instance recipes and instructions on making your own wedding cake and a great chapter on selecting engagement rings. If you can get this book from your library, you might glean some good ideas from it, but I would never recommend that you rely exclusively on this book when planning your wedding.

Rating:
Summary: Some good ideas, but a bad attitude
Review: Deborah McCoy plays the role of the M-I-L from hell, whose advice you might appreciate, but whose snarky tone just sets your teeth on edge. You can practically hear her telling a bride, "Oh, dear, you DID plan on loosing some of that weight, didn't you?" Some of her tips on cutting costs without sacrificing quality were very helpful, but she just can't rein in the judgmental attitude that says, "Any bride who doesn't do it MY WAY is a horrible horrible person whose friends will all hate her." McCoy toots her own horn as a wedding planner over and over again, giving us at least one story per chapter about how she single-handedly saved some poor clueless bride's wedding day. Her tips would have been much more helpful if she were less rigid in her (often contradictory, often old-fashioned) etiquette and "elegance" rules. Her views on what is mandatory and what is unnecessary are completely out of touch with what most brides want, but she sets them down as absolutes that should not under any circumstances be deviated from. (For instance: Videographer, mandatory; limo, unnecessary. Hello???)
That said, she does offer some good tips, for instance recipes and instructions on making your own wedding cake and a great chapter on selecting engagement rings. If you can get this book from your library, you might glean some good ideas from it, but I would never recommend that you rely exclusively on this book when planning your wedding.

Rating:
Summary: Waste of $20
Review: In my opinion, this book was very unuseful.I found it to be a waste of $20. In the first few pages the author states..."A wedding is not a time to have it your way." She also feels that having portraits of the bride and groom or running videos of their love story in the reception "..is vulgar. A wedding is not supposed to convey a message to the guests that says, "I'm Queen For A Day," or "Look At Me!" Personally, I found this to be insulting. Of course the wedding day is supposed to be the bride and grooms' day to shine and to hare that day with the ones you love. In my opinion, you can find friendly and realistic advise in "Bridal Bargains" by Denise and Alan Fields or "How to Have a Big Wedding on a Small Budget" by Diane Warner. These books realize how important this day is to the couple and also present useful information on how to make it your day without the wasted money.

Rating:
Summary: Some good tips, but...
Review: The author gives great advice on cutting the bills and keeping the frills. For example, our wedding looks like it cost the average $20,000+, but it is only costing 7,000 or less. The book is extremely detailed and gives step by step instructions and ideas on the wedding from start to finish. I really got a lot of use out of the wedding checklists, the recipes, and the suggested vendor list. I've read it cover to cover a few times and have found this resource to be *Extremely Helpful*. I've only bought one wedding planner book - THIS ONE! :)

Rating:
Summary: The Wedding of Your Dreams on a Shoestring Budget
Review: The author gives great advice on cutting the bills and keeping the frills. For example, our wedding looks like it cost the average $20,000+, but it is only costing 7,000 or less. The book is extremely detailed and gives step by step instructions and ideas on the wedding from start to finish. I really got a lot of use out of the wedding checklists, the recipes, and the suggested vendor list. I've read it cover to cover a few times and have found this resource to be *Extremely Helpful*. I've only bought one wedding planner book - THIS ONE! :)