Top 10 Wedding Planning Books For Brides (…And Grooms!)

If you’re getting married, then chances are you’re you’ll be exploring wedding planning books soon.

You’re probably wondering which ones have the best information, the best examples, the best pictures, and which ones do the best job of covering everything from A to Z.

You may also be wondering if there are any wedding planning books that are just about a particular niche within wedding planning.

Well, if wedding planning books are on your radar, then you’ve definitely come to the right place!

Here are my top 10 wedding planning books. (And I bet when you’re done looking these over, they’ll be your favorites, too!)

 

Top 5 General Wedding Planning Books

#1 – One Stop Wedding Kit

I was very impressed with this book the first time I checked it out from the library. It is loaded with all kinds of ways to save money on your wedding, and it’s never too early to start looking for those sorts of tips. It also has oodles of checklists and lists of questions that you can use when you’re interviewing vendors and possible officiates. It even provides your to-do lists for you! That alone impressed the heck out of me. I mean who doesn’t want to have all the hard work done for you? Another plus in my opinion is this book is only 292 pages — so you’re not going to be weighted down with information overload like you would be with some wedding planning books. The simplicity of it alone is worth a look.

 

#2 – How To “I Do”:
Planning The Ultimate Wedding In 6 Weekends Or Less

This is another one of my favorite wedding planning books mainly because it takes into fact that not everyone has the time to allow their wedding to take over their life. (Can you say Bridezilla?) This book is cool because it lays out for you exactly what to do and how to do it for each weekend leading up to your wedding day. By the end of the 6 weekends, you really are done with your wedding planning and ready to get married! For the workaholic bride and groom who have busy schedules, or even the harried single parents who have to keep their own schedules and their children’s too, this is a really great wedding planning book.

 

#3 – Anti-Bride Guide:
Tying the Knot Outside the Box

If the whole idea of planning a traditional wedding is a complete turn-off for you, you’re not alone. The author, who also discovered that she was an anti-bride, was able to turn her turn-off into something very useful — not only for her own wedding but for thousands of other anti-brides out there as well! Combined with the Anti-Bride Wedding Planner, these books have some very hip ideas and realistic ways to handle the planning of your wedding. On top of that, both books provide places for the bride-to-be to doodle notes and pockets to put all of your wedding planning goodies in. So, if you find any articles or brochures that you want to hang onto and look at later, these pockets are perfect for that! The book also covers things like what to do if you get a lipstick stain on your dress or you have to deal with the caterer from hell — to name just a few wedding day scenarios. I really like the idea of the anti-bride, because that is so me. And I know there are others out there who are as befuddled by the traditional wedding industry as I am.

 

#4 – Martha Stewart’s Keepsake Wedding Planner

Now, I’m not normally a big Martha Stewart fan — but that’s mainly because I’m not what you’d call a girly girl. Still, I was really impressed with this wedding planner. Of all the wedding planning books I’ve come across, hers has some of the most gorgeous pictures I’ve seen. Also, it is lightweight — which makes it really easy to carry. Some of the wedding planning books I’ve looked at are so heavy, that I pass them up based on weight alone! I mean, who wants to lug around a heavy book from place to place? Not me! Another plus is the fact that this wedding planner has folders to keep papers in and a plastic holder for business cards and other small things. When you’re planning a wedding and talking to dozens of vendors, having a place (other than your purse, where things can easily get buried!) is a real advantage. Finally, this wedding planner has lots of really solid planning information, and it’s told in the very straightforward style that Martha is known for. She really impressed me with this book.

 

#5 – Wedding Planning For Dummies

You have to love that title! Fortunately, not only is the title dead-on but the information contained inside is as well! This truly is the book for the bride-to-be who doesn’t have a clue. If you have no idea where to begin, who to call, what vendors to look at, or just anything that pertains to wedding planning, then this is the book for you. It has a very easy and simple reading style that I really like. Also, there are sections that are marked with “caution” — so you know this is something that you need to pay really close attention to. This book covers the traditional wedding in full and answers any and all questions a bride might have in simple and easy-to-understand language. Of course, its price tag doesn’t hurt either.

 

Top 5 Specialized Wedding Planning Books

#1 – To Have & To Hold:
Magical Wedding Bouquets

I have to say, I absolutely love this book! Of course, I’m a big flower fan anyway, and I usually have a bouquet in a vase in my living room and my home office at all times. This book, in my opinion, is the best for helping any bride-to-be get a handle on the type of flowers she wants for her wedding bouquet. There are a number of less-traditional ideas as well — such as carrying a book with a flower in it instead a typical bouquet of flowers. You’ll find lots of unique wedding bouquet ideas here — like adding berries and feathers to bouquets of flowers, which is one of my favorites. Plus, there are dozens of beautiful full-color photos that show different types of wedding bouquets with different wrappings around the stems. The photos are so incredibly detailed that you (or a florist) would have no problem duplicating these ideas. The photos alone are worth buying this book.

 

#2 – How to Buy Your Perfect Wedding Dress

This is the perfect book for the bride-to-be who is clueless about what to buy for her wedding dress. Written by the owners of Kleinfeld (a bridal store that helps thousands of brides pick out and buy the perfect wedding dress each year), this one really is from a very good source. The book details one of my biggest bugaboos; that is body type. So often, you see all these photos of skinny brides in their wedding dresses, and I keep wanting to shout, “But I want to see a not-so-skinny bride!” I’m not what you would call slender, nor are any of the women in my family, so I think it’s unrealistic to expect that all brides are going to be teeny tiny. This books covers all body shapes and sizes and includes ideas for wedding dress styles that suit all body types — not just the model thin ones. This book also covers all those pesky accessories such as lingerie, gloves, shoes, and veils. All in all, there are tons of great examples of different types of wedding dresses and accessories to suit every bride-to-be.

 

#3 – Your Picture Perfect Wedding:
A Bride’s Personal Guide To Wedding Photography In The New Millennium

As someone who doesn’t know a whole heck of a lot about photography, I found this book to be really useful. It is specifically designed to educate the bride and groom on how to pick the right photographer for you. There is a lot of information out there that is incorrect when it comes to getting together with a photographer and talking to them about what you want. This book gives brides and grooms the low down on what is possible for the photographer to do, and what is not — particularly if you don’t give them enough time to take photos. Understanding what a wedding photographer does and how they do it goes a long way in terms of being able to choose the right wedding photographer for you. This book gives you that information.

 

#4 – Wedding Cakes You Can Make:
Designing, Baking, and Decorating the Perfect Wedding Cake

I’m a complete novice when it comes to making a wedding cake — which is why I found this book to be so enlightening. Since one of the ways that you can save money on your wedding is to make your own wedding cake, I found this book makes that task completely doable. Another thing I really love about it is the fact that there are all kinds of recipes — not just the standard butter cream wedding cake that you see so often. This book includes recipes like orange essentia cake, and chocolate covered caramel cake. Also, the way this book is written, you don’t have to be a baking expert because it lays out very clear and concise directions for each recipe. This book also covers how to transport your wedding cake — which is one of those must-know things if you’re making your own wedding cake. For me, this book is a must-have because of the photos, the recipes, and the amount of information all in one place.

 

#5 – The Everything Wedding Vows Book:
How to Personalize the Most Important Promise You’ll Ever Make

If you’re planning on writing your own wedding vows and you’re at a loss for what to say, then this book is definitely one you want to get! It helps you find the words to say exactly what you want in a unique and beautiful way. After reading this book, one things’s for sure: your wedding vows will be unlike anyone else’s! Plus, it’s packed to the gills with fun ideas and unique things to include in your wedding vows —  like your favorite poems and/or songs. This book also has famous love lines from movies, as well as information on ethnic vows from all over the world. Personally, as someone of Native American heritage and one who likes to use ethnic ideas, I found this section to be especially enlightening.

 

Without a doubt, I loved all these books. In my opinion, these are the best wedding planning books that every bride-to-be should take a look at. They will help you plan your wedding down to the last minute detail.