Planning Your Wedding Sucks

Bling. Flowers. Tulle. The three things that every little girl dreams of when she pictures her wedding day. What she doesn't consider is the stuff of nightmares: Overdrawn checking accounts. Drunk relatives. The seating chart that looks like a road map. In this book, Joanne Kimes and Elena Donovan Mauer expose the tedious (and often traumatic) tasks that really go into pulling off a wedding. From dealing with overbearing mothers-in-law and making time for their lovable, but clueless, fiancés to suffering through endless alterations and meetings with the con artists known as "vendors," there's a lot that you need to know. After all, a wedding is supposed to be something you look forward to—not something you have to endure before the honeymoon! Armed with Kimes' trademark, no-holds-barred humor, Donovan Mauer's bridal industry know-how, and copious amounts of wine, you'll get through the stress of planning your weddings with style, humor, and grace. Or, at the very least, without beating members of the wedding party with that $500 bouquet.

Finally, a wedding-planning book that cares about you. Much like getting your socks wet, planning a wedding is universally accepted as being the worst. But what if it didn't have to be? Thankfully, Wedding Planning Sucks assures you that it's okay not to feel "okay" about wedding planning. Written by a wedding-industry outsider, this candid (and often hilarious) book is on a mission to help you create a less stressful wedding-planning experience. Unlike your father-in-law's impromptu wedding speech when he gushes over your partner's ex, Wedding Planning Sucks has your back. By combining scientific research with lessons learned firsthand, this book delivers a one-two punch to wedding-planning stress. Just think, some poor soul (hi!) had to learn all these lessons the hard way. Aren't you glad it won't be you? Look inside to find: help selecting a venue and vendors, as well as over 250 questions to ask before booking, practical and proven stress-reducing techniques, deep dives into budgeting and organization (with several free downloadable spreadsheets to get you started), negotiating tips that actually work, how to stay productive, even amid negative feelings, the ins and outs of save-the-dates, invitations, and guest counts...and so much more!

A companion to the popular website APracticalWedding.com and A Practical Wedding Planner, A Practical Wedding helps you sort through the basics to create the wedding you want -- without going broke or crazy in the process. After all, what really matters on your wedding day is not so much how it looked as how it felt. In this refreshing guide, expert Meg Keene shares her secrets to planning a beautiful celebration that reflects your taste and your relationship. You'll discover: The real purpose of engagement (hint: it's not just about the planning) How to pinpoint what matters most to you and your partner DIY-ing your wedding: brilliant or crazy? How to communicate decisions to your family Why that color-coded spreadsheet is actually worth it Wedding Zen can be yours. Meg walks you through everything from choosing a venue to writing vows, complete with stories and advice from women who have been in the trenches: the Team Practical brides. So here's to the joyful wedding, the sensible wedding, the unbelievably fun wedding! A Practical Wedding is your complete guide to getting married with grace.

Use the tools and techniques the experts use for stress free planning Every wedding moves through the same series of planning steps, but the time, money, energy and emotion invested can vary tremendously. Couples who use the tools and techniques the experts use are prepared to do what matters, when it matters most. With the logistics in order, they have the freedom to enjoy the events leading up to their special day as well as time to relax and plan their future life together. As they work their way through the planning stages, couples will find that their initial stress over planning their wedding day has disappeared. Couples committed to creating a memorable, meaningful wedding day will come to view the wedding planning process not as an ordeal to get through, but as a fun experience. Judy Allen is a professional event planner and shows brides a step-by-step approach to minimize the complexity of planning the wedding day. When an event is planned in these 10 stages, whether over six weeks or a year or longer, the planner will always be in control of the process, will not go over budget and will find the whole process relaxed and stress free. The 10 stages: 1. Visualization: Wedding-Day Dreams 2. Decision Making: What Matters Most 3. Designing a Realistic Blueprint 4. Choosing the Perfect Wedding and Reception Site 5. Selecting the Right Wedding Vendors 6. Before You Sign on the Dotted Line: Questions to Ask 7. Organizing Wedding-Day Timelines and Wedding-Day Flow 8. Wedding-Day Flow Sheets 9. Wedding Supplier Previews and Wedding-Day Rehearsal 10. On-Site Wedding-Day Orchestration

An Insanity-Free Wedding: It Can Happen! Getting engaged is exhilarating...until it sets in that a wedding costs three times what you thought, and takes five to ten times the effort it reasonably should. And then there are the expectations: from calligraphy invitations to satin chair-covers, all those things that Must Be Done or everyone will be Horribly Offended. Or will they? A Practical Wedding helps you create the wedding you want-without going broke or crazy in the process. After all, what really matters on your wedding day, what you'll remember 'til you're old and gray, is not so much how it looked as how it felt. In this refreshing guide, expert Meg Keene shares her secrets to planning a beautiful celebration that reflects your taste and your relationship. You'll discover: The real purpose of engagement (hint: it's not just about the planning) How to pinpoint what matters most to you and your partner DIY-ing your wedding: brilliant or crazy? Affording a wedding without having to cut your guest list How to communicate decisions with your family Why that color-coded spreadsheet is actually worth it Wedding Zen can be yours. Meg walks you through everything from choosing a venue to writing vows, complete with stories and advice from women who have been in the trenches, the Team Practical brides. So here's to the joyful wedding, the sensible wedding, the unbelievably fun wedding! A Practical Wedding is your complete guide to getting married with grace.

The bestselling wedding planning guide—now updated! Congratulations, you're planning a wedding! Besides obtaining a fancy tuxedo and a stunning gown, organizing a wedding ceremony takes creativity, planning, and diplomacy. The whole ordeal can seem overwhelming at first, but with lots of guidance, you'll plan a wedding people will remember for ages. Wedding Planning For Dummies demystifies and simplifies all the details that go into the Big Day, providing inspiration and innovative ideas to personalize your wedding celebration and, of course, make it fun for everyone--especially you! Expert wedding planner Marcy Blum walks you step-by-step through everything you'll encounter as you plan your wedding, from choosing a reception site to picking a photographer—and everything in between. 20% new and updated content Keep track of expenses with a wedding budget Negotiate contracts and surf online for wedding deals Get those pesky financial technicalities out of the way Plan a weekend wedding, a themed wedding, same sex wedding, and other celebrations Plan for various wedding customs and rites Throw a great reception with music, food, drink, and cake The 4-1-1 on the latest and greatest trends in wedding registries, rings, photos, and the honeymoon Packed with tips for saving money and common kitsch you should avoid, this is the ultimate guide to satisfying everyone on the Big Day—while making all of your fairytale dreams come true.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

Let Dummies be your wedding planner and get hitched without a hitch Planning A Wedding For Dummies covers everything you need to know to pull off the perfect celebration on your big day. This book even makes it fun! We take the stress out of wedding planning, simplifying the whole process and giving you the tools you need to plan and execute a memorable day. Send out those save-the-dates, manage any crisis that might arise on the day of, and everything in between. Dummies has your back. This friendly For Dummies book is your guide on the exciting journey of planning all the events leading up to the wedding, as well as post-wedding activities. Planning A Wedding For Dummies includes tips and checklists to keep you organized, whether you’ll have 10 guests or 1,000 guests. Break down the wedding planning process into simple steps, so you can stay on track Laugh along as you read stories about real-life couples who have gone before you and gain insight into wedding day outcomes and scenarios Keep everything in perspective to keep your wedding stress-free Find worksheets and checklists to help you through budgeting and beyond With this perfect guide, you can plan a perfect wedding—and say “I do” on the best day of your life!