The Knot Book of Wedding Lists
Hello again, everyone! Sorry for the long silence! Although Becca and I both had breaks from school/work over the holidays, something else has been keeping us pretty busy: wedding planning! I will be getting married in California next summer, and Becca is my maid of honor.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks, because my fiancé and I were trying to fit in as much wedding planning as possible while we were in California, with lots of help from Becca and Mom. It has definitely cut into my book reading time, although I’ve been reading a lot more magazines and other wedding-related texts.
TheKnot book
One book that I have actually read several times and continue to refer to is The Knot Book of Wedding Lists from Carley Roney and the editors of theKnot.com. It was an engagement gift from Becca and our mom, and although as the title would suggest, it is not really a book of prose, I actually read it cover to cover when I started planning.
This book is intended to be a reference for wedding planning, and is organized as a reference book. I find it very easy to use. You can go to a relevant chapter, for example, “The Menu.” The first page will have a list of things you should already know when you start that part of the process (e.g. the wedding date). Next comes a series of questions to help you get an idea of what you want. Then there are sections on finding and interviewing vendors. I find these particularly helpful, since the business aspect of planning an event is unfamiliar to me. It is really nice to have a list of suggestions of what to ask about and points to include on contracts.
Another aspect of the book that I find really fun are the little trivia facts in the corners of the pages. I am a history buff, and I enjoy learning about traditions, especially from other cultures. (You should see the number of New Year’s traditions my family manages to fit in to every January 1!) Some of the facts are familiar, like the fact that white wedding dresses come from the Victorian era, and others were completely new to me. Did you know, for example, that bridesmaids used to wear exactly the same outfit as the bride in order to confuse evil spirits?
Most of the book is set up with actual boxes that you can check as you complete tasks and lines in the margins to write notes on. It’s definitely an interactive book, great for brides like me who want to physically check items off an a to-do list (but wouldn’t necessarily know what to put on a complete and detailed list.) It’s also small enough to fit in most purses, in case you want to take it with you to appointments. I’d definitely recommend (or give) this book to anyone who is planning a wedding. ★★★★
-Elizabeth
Of Print and Prose 