Weddings for Grownups: Everything You Need to Know to Plan Your Wedding Your Way

by Carroll Stoner

Carroll Stoner broke new ground with the original edition of Weddings for Grownups, the first wedding planner for real people. Over 21,000 copies later, thousands of brides and grooms, including second- and third-timers, have turned to this practical manual for common sense and creative ideas. With this expanded edition, Weddings for Grownups becomes even more indispensable -- now complete with a full range of checklists to speed engaged couples through...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811814211
• ISBN13: 9780811814218
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Chronicle Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 1.0" x 1.0"

Customer Reviews

If Pretty Princess isn't your thing, buy this book

I had two concrete notions in my head when we got engaged: 1. I wanted to have a nice wedding, surrounded by all my favorite people in the world. 2. And--at 30 years old--the Pretty Princess fairytale event was not my thing. But then I wasn't sure exactly what step to take next to ensure I ended up with an event that would relect us as a couple.This book proved an invaluable guide in helping me formulate what I wanted the day to look like. Both my fiance and I got our own copies, read it cover-to-cover, took notes and started our conversation about the festivities from there. I'd highly recommend Weddings for Grownups to any adult who wants their wedding to be a reflection of them as a couple, rather than some image of what the bridal industry in this country is trying to sell you.

I loved it and I was in grad school when I got married

I'm surprised to read others' reviews describing this book as limited to glitzy "Oscar-party"-type wedding ideas. There were no glossy photos in the edition that I read. There were, however, lots of ideas for saving money and prioritizing what really matters to you. I found the book very helpful and I got married when I was in grad school--we certainly didn't have tons of money to spend on our wedding.What's more, this book doesn't induce "craftmania"--you don't come from this book feeling as if the only way to have an affordable wedding is to dragoon everyone you know into a cooking and crafting marathon. So many "affordable wedding" or "non-traditional bride" books berate you if you don't seek out EVERY bargain and do EVERYTHING yourself with your trusty glue gun. This book is alot more relaxed.I loved the eloquent yet down-to-earth tone of the book. I truly enjoyed reading it. It was by far the best wedding book I read, and like most of the other reviewers, I read quite a few!

All the advice you'll need is right in this book

This book was easily the most helpful book I read when planning my wedding. Sure, Martha Stewart was ready to give advice. And yeah, Modern Brides was there with the same articles they run year after year. But this book made me realize that I could make my TRUE dreams a reality. It made me realize I wasn't horrible for not sharing the same wedding vision as my mother. It made me believe that I could do *my* wedding, *my* way (which meant including the wishes of my groom), and still have it turn out beautiful, and even better, be a good representation of who my husband and I are, and let our loved ones see the character our marriage would take on, from the very beginning.Of all the books I read when planning my wedding (and I read a lot!), this one gave me the courage to have the wedding I really wanted, and the strength to not be guilted or bullied into the wedding I didn't want.Everytime I hear that someone is planning a wedding, I recommend this book. No others. Just this one. It's really all the advice you'll need.

A perfect how-to for a woman confident in her own style!

If you want to overdose on froofy bouquets, fairy princess dresses and hard sales pitches about your wedding being "your day," avoid this book. If you've got a strong sense of style that you're not seeing in Bride's Magazine, a genuine wish to make the wedding a special celebration for all your loved ones, and a sincere longing to avoid becoming Bridezilla, get the book.It's not going to give you bouquet ideas, it's not going to tell you how to shave $1000 off your dress price, it's not going to show you how to hand-make your favors. But this book will help you keep everything in perspective and create the ceremony and reception that you want to have, not the one other people think you should have. It will give you the backbone to go your own way when faced with yet another bridal boutique consultant who seems to think that every woman wants a 12-foot train.This book is a sanity check and wedding-planning outline wrapped in one. I heartily endorse reading this before you even *think* about buying a copy of Modern Bride.

a wonderful, wonderful book--the ONE to make sure you buy

If you had to buy one wedding book, this would be it. At last a book for those of us who aren't 'princesses' and aren't planning to spend all of our families' disposable incomes and all of our time for the next twelve months on our weddings. As an example, one of the weddings Ms. Stoner describes is a potluck reception where the bride had to make a choice between having food or having a band. Now that's like the decisions most of us have to make--unlike so many books for brides. Other nice things: discussing how and where to purchase an untraditional bridal gown (if you don't want to spend 3K to look like Cinderella), decisions and budget sheets, how to plan a wedding in a hurry, etc. Practical, helpful, and best of all, reassuring.