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Planning your wedding day? Here are some great books to help you plan the pefect wedding ceremony!



The Wedding Ceremony Planner: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Part of Your Wedding Day
Book Description

Many couples want a spiritual but not a religious ceremony that truly celebrates their unique set of beliefs, values and life circumstances. They want their ceremony, their way but don’t know where to begin or what questions they need to ask. The Wedding Ceremony Planner is a comprehensive and user-friendly guide. It covers everything you need to know to create a beautiful ceremony text and to anticipate and address all the profound and mundane logistics with ease, grace and fun. It includes hundreds of text excerpts reflecting the many voices with which our hearts speak. There are also ten sample ceremony texts, including those used to address such situations as the inclusion of children, the telling of the couple’s story, the renewal of vows and a commitment ceremony. Checklists and worksheets are included to manage all the details. The Wedding Ceremony Planner is also an invaluable resource for clergy of all faiths, wedding planners and location coordinators. Sprinkled with anecdotes about lessons learned by couples creating their weddings, this book is filled with the wisdom of experience.

From the Author

As an Ecumenical Minister, I honor all religions and spiritual traditions and each person's right to find his or her own way in these matters. Performing weddings is one of my favorite ways to minister, for it keeps me constantly in touch with the remarkable power of love in our lives.

I have performed hundreds of wedding ceremonies and have run into just about every eventuality, from a flower girl who was afraid of hurting the flowers by pulling off their petals, to a bilingual ceremony with sign language. Whether you have children from a previous marriage to include in the ceremony, sensitive parental attitudes, or some other concern, it can be addressed in your ceremony with grace and sensitivity. The decision of two people to live in a committed relationship is one of the most beautiful things that can happen in life, and I find their choice to be united in marriage a sacred and joyous cause for celebration. It is a public declaration of love, hope, devotion and the couple’s intention to nurture themselves, each other, the relationship, and any children brought into the family by their union. My heart looks past any differences in race, creed, color, situation, or circumstance and I wildly applaud people for caring so deeply for each other. As you step across this threshold together, may you tenderly love one another and yourselves, and be blessed with a safe and happy marriage journey.

Review: From Soup To Nuts, It's All Here

As an ordained minister in a non-traditional church, I have rarely been called upon to perform weddings. So when asked by family members recently, I first researched guidelines from my own church, and then, seeking an additional point of view, found Reverend Johnson's book.
What a Godsend!

It is all there, answers to every question I had with multiple options and suggestions.
I encourage any clergy who seek to assist couples in creating their wedding ceremony either to recommend this volume to them or or use it for your own reference. Her experience comes through every page and quickly put me at ease in making suggestions to my couple.

Review: An excellent wedding ceremony resource!
This book was an amazing resource for my husband and I when we were planning our wedding ceremony. We wanted a meaningful and personal ceremony that was spiritual but not religious. This book really helped us organize our thoughts and understand the different components of the wedding ceremony. Numerous examples of each aspect of the ceremony are clearly presented and Rev. Johnson explains the types of situations where these might be used. Sample ceremonies close the book, providing an idea of what a finished product might look like. We received a lot of positive feedback after our ceremony and are thankful that we found this resource.

Review: Incredibly valuable resource for planning your ceremony
This is an incredible reference guide for planning your ceremony. There are a lot of passages, readings, and more in here, to help you sculpt a ceremony that is meaningful to you and unique. Nothing here would be objectionable to most officiants. This book is useful for people of all faiths, and people having a civil ceremony. I never expected planning the ceremony to be fun, but with this book, it really is! I look forward to our ceremony so much more, knowing it will be beautiful and personal!

Review: Got our non-religious ceremony off the ground!
Rev. Johnson's Wedding Ceremony Planner was a lifesaver for my husband and I when planning our wedding. Neither of us are religious, but we still wanted to have a meaningful ceremony to initiate our marriage. When we sat down to write the ceremony, however, we were lost at sea! Rev. Johnson's guide navigated us to the creation of a beautiful, personal ceremony. We even incororated many parts of the sample ceremonies into our own. My brother and his fiance are now in the process of planning their own wedding, and I just bought them a copy of The Wedding Ceremony Planner to help them along.

Practically Perfect Wedding And Commitment Ceremonies: Your Guide To Finding The Right Words (Paperback)

Book Description
Imagine the Perfect Wedding or Commitment Ceremony. Yours.
Your Perfect ceremony perfectly reflects your style, your beliefs and the spirit of your love. Will you tie the knot in a church, or a backyard, ballroom, hotel suite, garden, mountain-top, beach, or cruise ship? Will you make your pledges or renew your vows before a priest, minister, rabbi, shaman, or other officiator?

Where will you find the perfect words and rites to express your feelings and perspectives on marriage, love and matters of spirit?

Practically Perfect Wedding and Commitment Ceremonies is the result of nearly twenty years officiating ceremonies, teaching relationship and communication skills and training other ministers. This is not another wedding etiquette book—Practically Perfect is a source and guidebook to help a couple write their own ceremony or to create a meaningful, personalized ceremony from a compendium of non-traditional, life-affirming statements, pledges, prayers, rituals and blessings.

Provocative questions and relevant insights on spirituality and relationship will guide you to:
• Define style and clarify values.
• Create a common vision for celebrating relationship.
• Make informed decisions about the size and scope of the ceremony.
• Understand the structure and intention of each part of a ceremony.
• Know and find the ‘right words’ for the perfect expression of love.

Create your ceremony from the inside out, while exploring key elements for successful negotiating, ceremony planning and brainstorming ideas, complete sample ceremonies, parts of ceremonies, poems, special readings and rituals. There are tips from couples and ministers on writing, organizing a rehearsal, timing events, handling the family, and avoiding conflicts, as well as personal insights, quotations and illustrative anecdotes.

Practically Perfect is an indispensable planning tool for any couple preparing for marriage, honoring their commitment, renewing vows or changing their agreements, with valuable information for ministers and other officiators, too.

About the Author
Angel Stork is part of a growing field of Officiators and Ministers who provide a wide range of spiritual services and care to people living and celebrating outside mainstream religions. Angel is a teaching minister of the Church of Natural Grace, a spiritual community practicing meditation, healing and intuition development in San Francisco.

Review: A Practically Perfect Guide!

If you're planning a wedding this book is a must-buy. There are chapters on defining your spiritual values, planning the ceremony, working with the wedding party, and a section with many sample ceremonies.

A lot of your questions will be answered by reading this book. If you're nervous about the ceremony, or any aspect of the wedding, the information contained here will help.




Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner (Hardcover)

Amazon.com

Bridal Counselor Sheryl Paul offers a thoughtful alternative to "bridezilla," the perfectionist bride who acts as if a flawless pricey wedding will ensure a lasting marriage. Instead, Paul uses a workbook format to invite each woman to become "a conscious bride"--one whose pre-nuptial preparations include both emotional and practical to-do lists. The key is working through the ambivalent feelings that surround each tangible task. And here's the payoff: "Working through uncomfortable feelings while planning a wedding is an opening to joy—-an opportunity to be fully present." Each chapter pairs a practical task, such as choosing a location, creating a budget or writing wedding vows, with an emotional one. For example, in one brilliant section, the practicality of making a guest list is paired with the emotional homework of grieving for lost loves and tackling the need to please. Paul's approach creates a fascinating hybrid of anthropology (using a theory of rites of passage) and depth psychology (acknowledging the shadow side of every wedding.) She then packages these insights with a kicking set of charts and checklists. Though targeted for brides, it is not for women only. Powerful exercises urge couples to align every decision to reflect their identity as a couple. Some brides may object to a walk on the dark side of their wedding plans. But in Paul's capable hands, counsel about fear and loss, florists and white satin dresses co-exist without sounding like Dr. Phil meets the former Martha Stewart. Her advice is fresh, highly practical and optimistic. --Barbara Mackoff

Book Description
This book is designed to be both a source of inspiration and a practical tool. It guides you through the minefield of the prenuptial subconscious with an engaging series of exercises. Find solutions to your nagging doubts by creating personal rituals, holding structured conversations with yourself, and keeping a written journal of your experiences. When you’ve clarified your expectations for yourself, share them with your spouse-to-be and everyone else touched by your wedding.
The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner offers brides a unique combination of practical and emotional help in the form of an excellent event-planning and organizational resource and provides expert support and advice from an author who has successfully counseled thousands of brides. Readers will be in good hands as they are provided step-by-step guidance from the engagement through the wedding ceremony and honeymoon. This case-bound hardcover book includes beautiful art, photographs, checklists, worksheets, a 12-month calendar, tabbed sections, a section for vendor contact information, and more! Sections cover setting a realistic budget, choosing a wedding location, creating a guest list, finding the right dress, ceremony ideas, and choosing food, flowers, and music. Paul also gives the reader tools for staying in sync with their mate throughout the planning while learning how to compromise. The Planner will also serve as a keepsake journal that can be referred to throughout the wedding experience.

From the Publisher
The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner encompasses issues such as how to deal with blended families, post-bridal blues and adjusting to marriage. Readers will be guided through every step, from the engagement to the wedding day, and are given guidance on how to make the often difficult and emotionally stressful transition from engagement to marriage.

The author encourages couples, particularly brides, to get beyond the million-dollar wedding photos presented in magazines and, instead, envision a ceremony, location, and style that truly reflects the core beliefs of the bride and groom and prepares them for the journey ahead.

About the Author
Sheryl Paul, bridal counselor, enjoys a thriving practice as a bridal counselor, helping brides-to-be cope with the many issues and transitions from the engagement, ceremony, and honeymoon through the first year of marriage. She is the author of The Conscious Bride: Women Unveil Their True Feelings about Getting Hitched. Sheryl has appeared on dozens of national radio and television programs to discuss her work. She lives in Los Angeles, California where she runs her business, Conscious Weddings.

Review: Perfect Planner
This planner is perfect! It helps you to stay focused on what your wedding is really about by discussing not just the practical but also the emotional aspects of wedding planning. It acknowledges that a wedding is a rite of passage and just the beginning. This book will help you arrive at your wedding day feeling calm and ready with simple reminders like, "It's not about the dress!" This is a great book for every bride who wants a marriage and not just a wedding.

Review: A planner that helps you remember what's most important
My fiancé and I have been together for nearly eight years. In that time, we've attended and been in more weddings than we can count. While we've loved being part of our friends' celebrations, we've also seen stressed-out grooms and tearful brides, and have heard plenty of, "Our families are making us crazy. This doesn't even seem like our wedding. We should have eloped!" So when we recently decided to marry, that's exactly what we wanted to do.

We are now planning to marry abroad in a tiny, informal civil ceremony, and therefore hardly needed a great big "white wedding" type of planner. But although our ceremony will be small and informal, we want it 1) to go smoothly, and 2) (and most importantly) be meaningful. So, like most brides, I started doing some research. I looked through many wedding planners for tips and suggestions on how to be organized and how to keep the whole process meaningful. Obviously, weddings planners by definition are meant to help you plan, stay on track, be organized, etc., but I didn't get much real help on keeping it meaningful until I got to The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner.

Now, this book covers many practical topics (in fact, many more than my fiancé and I needed for our plans), but I found it very valuable for a different reason: it focused on so much MORE than wedding planning tasks. The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner helps guide you through not only the planning, but also your personal and emotional journey. While I won't be wearing a big poofy white dress or having 200 guests in a church wedding, I'm still on a personal and emotional journey toward marriage--and The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner has helped me along that journey. It addresses the emotions that so many of us go through in preparing to marry and also provides terrific advice on how to incorporate what's really important as you plan.

For example, one suggestion in the book that particularly resonated with me was the idea of writing personal letters to family members and friends before the wedding. What a beautiful way to let these important people know how you have appreciated them, and that you understand things might be different once you are married, but you will continue to cherish their love and support.

The bottom line is this: although many wedding planners can help keep you organized, The Conscious Bride's Wedding Planner goes a step further. It addresses your emotions, your fears and how to incorporate what's most important to you as you plan for your marriage. Thank you, Sheryl Paul, for a terrific wedding resource!

Review: Conscious Bride - An indispensible wedding planner
Sheryl's book is thoughtful and comprehensive. It allows a bride to consider everything in preparation for her wedding; the flowers, the guests, and most importantly, her emotions. The book gives exercises for the bride and her future beloved to use to explore how best to make a wedding that reflects them. As a minister, I will reccomend this wedding planner to all of the couples who work with me as a way to feel truly ready when the day comes to walk down the aisle. I give this book 5 stars!!




With These Words...I Thee Wed: Contemporary Wedding Vows for Today's Couples (Paperback)

Book Description
Can't we say something different with our wedding vow?
It's a question many of today's couples are asking-and one that Barbara Eklof answers with a resounding "yes" in With These Words...I Thee Wed. Now you can exchange vows that convey just the right meaning-for your wedding.

Eklof offers a delightful sampling of vows for use in virtually any setting-older couples, younger couples, vow renewals, holiday weddings, and even special exchanges for those remarrying after a divorce!

With a broad range of subjects, a lovely format, and a fascinating section on composing your own personalized vows. With These Words...I Thee Wed will be required reading for those who desire a distinct, personal touch on the big day. And that's just about everyone.

Review: The ORIGINAL and STILL THE BEST!
After reading a full page article about this book in Brides Magazine many years ago, I instantly ran out and bought it for my upcoming wedding. "Exceptional" didn't began to describe it! There were tons of beautifully written secular vows, a section of inspiring religious vows, vows for every imaginable holiday theme, and even for special settings--like garden, candlelight, seashore, and mountaintop weddings. Beyond all that, I couldn't believe how this book was so ahead of it's time with unique approaches to vows for re-marriages after a divorce, and even addressing the children in marriages of single parents. I could go on and on, but let it suffice to say that although many other books have since tried to imitate this original, "With These Words" is still my #1 choice for engagement & wedding shower presents!
And now, to top that I just read in Woman's Day magazine that the author just came out with a new book titled "Loving Vows: Inspiring Promises for Building and Renewing Your Marraige" that helps couples KEEP their wedding promises...Guess I have the perfect wedding present now too :-)

Review: TWO Great Wedding Vow Books!
With the introduction of her newest book "Loving Vows: Inspiring Promises For Building and Renewing Your Marriage," it appears the author Barbara Eklof has become the ultimate authority on wedding vows. One of my best wedding preparation decisions was to buy "With These Words". Some who attended our wedding are still complimenting the unsually beautiful promises that Steve and I exchanged--and we married eight months ago. But making a wedding promise and KEEPING it during the day-to-day reality of marriage, I've learned, can be two different things. And this is where Eklof helps again! "Loving Vows" segments each traditional and popular personalized wedding vow one-by-one and invites couples to discuss all the wonderful ways we can KEEP that promises. A cross section of the indepth chapters include I Promised to Cherish, I Promised Faithfulness, I Promised For Better or Worse, I Promised Till Death Do We Part, I Promised To Make Your Family My Own, I Promised to Communicate, and I Promised the Best I Can Be. And there's so much more!
Truly, at last, couples intent on exchanging and keeping sound wedding promises need only two ultimate books on hand: "With These Words" and "Loving Vows"! Thanks Eklof!

Review: EXCELLENT!
Not feeling very creative, Greg was first apprehensive about writting our vows. I needed help writting a vow that brought dignity and glamour to a divorcee's wedding promises. Fortunately, "WITH THESE WORDS...I THEE WED" helped us both. We first read the romantic vows as a guide and the special section for divorcees was awesome. Then we answered the questionaire that helped us develop our own unique words. The result was a wedding exchange we hold so dear that we snuggle and replay the video every chance we get. This one's a winner!

Review: Great Gift Idea
I bought this book for an engagement party gift and it was a big hit. Yet nothing compared to hearing my dear friends exchange wedding vows from a book I bought them. And it felt great when everyone said that their vows were the most beautiful ones they'd ever heard. Glad I bought it!

Review: Helped my holiday wedding
I discovered this book when I saw it in two different friend's homes who are marrying soon. What a coincidence. And they both recommended it to me. Glad they did. It really helped me tie my personal vow to my upcoming Christmas-candlelight wedding theme. And as it turned out, it didn't matter if I was getting married New years, Valentine's Day, on the seashore or in a garden. You name it and this book can help. I'll be telling friends about it next time myself.

Review: Beautiful! Beautiful! Beautiful!
Reading this book was like falling in love all over again. The vows reminded me of all the reasons why I fell in love and decided to marry Donald. But there's more to this book than expected. The questionaire in the back that aids in writting our own personal vows prompted important premarital discussions between Donald and I that we wouldn't have had otherwise. So I not only ended up writing an absolutely beautiful personalized vow, but my words had greater meaning because of our discussions. I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone who wants to exchange exceptional wedding promises.

Review: THE HELP I NEEDED!!
My fiancee and I decided to write our own wedding vows. Although I knew in my heart what I want to say, I couldn't put these feelings into words. But everything changed when I bought "With These Words." The book is loaded with great wedding vow words for all marital situations. I merged two of my favorite prewritten vows together and ended up with a vow that left my bride in tears. Thanks "With These Words"!




The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions : Readings, Rituals, Music, Dances, and Toasts (Paperback)

Amazon.com
When planning for the big day, it's very easy to get caught up in beaded white dresses, boutonnieres, and how many platters of mini crab cakes to order, but the most important part of the wedding is the most-often overlooked--the ceremony itself. A wedding ceremony can vary hugely depending on the religious (or not) beliefs of the couple, their cultural backgrounds, and their personal preferences. The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions can help you sort through all the choices and come up with just the right vows and music for you and your intended.

Do you want the traditional "I, so and so, take thee, so and so, to be my lawfully wedding husband/wife before God" or do you want a looser style: "I love you. And I look forward to being your friend and companion, your wife/husband and lover for life"? Carley Roney, author and editor-in-chief of The Knot (www.theknot.com), strongly suggests taking a stab at writing your own vows, but if that's just too much, cull what you like from the many different styles--from Buddhist to Quaker--offered. Readings can be from the Bible or other spiritual writings, from poetry or even song lyrics. A diverse selection of writings and excerpts are included as are a lengthy lists of songs and music for before the ceremony, the processional, the recessional, and the first dance (everything from Bach's "Brandenberg Concerto No. 4" to Martina McBride's "I Love You").

Also included here are chapters on the wedding program, ring exchanges, and speeches and toasts. Interspersed are stories and pictures of real couples and how they arranged their wedding day. Meant as a jolt to your imagination, The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions helps you to put a very personal touch on an age-old ceremony. --Dana Van Nest

From Publishers Weekly
Without letting a lot of fluff get in the way of the facts, wedding expert Carley Roney makes available "readings, rituals, music, dances, speeches and toasts" in The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions. Third in her wedding guide series, and culled from her online experience as founder of theknot.com, this guide is a resource for classy concepts ranging from the conventional to the hip, and drawing on a broad array of cultural traditions. Photos.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The editors of one of the most popular wedding planning web sites have collected vows, readings, rituals, music, and suggestions for programs, speeches, and toasts to help couples create a wedding that truly expresses their feelings for each other and their special guests. Selections are gleaned from a number of cultures and religions, and a bit of historical background is provided for many of them particularly those related to the ceremony. The comprehensiveness of this work, its emphasis on timeless selections, and the name recognition from the book series and web site will make it a popular guide.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description
From the #1 wedding Web site and the author of The Knot Complete Guide To Weddings In The Real World, a comprehensive guide to choosing the perfect words and music for your wedding.

In her third book in The Knot series, Carley Roney has created a complete guide to wedding vows, toasts, and readings that is the perfect resource for wedding couples, bridesmaids, best men, and parents alike. Drawing on wedding traditions and customs from around the world, The Knot Complete Guide To Wedding Vows And Traditionsincludes real-world information on:

—Vows, from the traditional "to have and to hold" to creating your own
—Rituals from a variety of traditions–breaking the glass, cutting the cake–and their history and significance
—Toasts, from the classics to advice on writing your own, as well as toasting etiquette and tips on choosing your toastmaster
—Readings, spanning various customs and heritages, poetry and prose, plus sources for finding your own selections
—Music–complete lists of popular options to help you chose the perfect songs from the processional to the last dance

Inside Flap Copy
From the #1 wedding Web site and the author of The Knot Complete Guide To Weddings In The Real World, a comprehensive guide to choosing the perfect words and music for your wedding.

In her third book in The Knot series, Carley Roney has created a complete guide to wedding vows, toasts, and readings that is the perfect resource for wedding couples, bridesmaids, best men, and parents alike. Drawing on wedding traditions and customs from around the world, The Knot Complete Guide To Wedding Vows And Traditionsincludes real-world information on:

-- Vows, from the traditional "to have and to hold" to creating your own
-- Rituals from a variety of traditions?breaking the glass, cutting the cake?and their history and significance
-- Toasts, from the classics to advice on writing your own, as well as toasting etiquette and tips on choosing your toastmaster
-- Readings, spanning various customs and heritages, poetry and prose, plus sources for finding your own selections
-- Music - complete lists of popular options to help you chose the perfect songs from the processional to the last dance

About the Author
Carley Roney is Editor-in-Chief of The Knot, the nation’s leading online wedding resource, where she offers real-world wedding advice to millions of to-be-weds through The Knot Web site (www.theknot.com), The Knot Wedding Gowns magazine, and The Knot Wedding Pages, a regional bridal magazine sold across the U.S. She has authored The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World and The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner and has appeared regularly on NBC’s Today show and other media outlets.



Words for Your Wedding : The Wedding Service Book (Paperback)

Book Description
For vows that couples will never forget, this do-it-yourself guide is the reference book on the words spoken at a wedding. Includes Protestant, Roman Catholic, Ecumenical, Jewish, and civil ceremony traditions.

From the Publisher
For vows that couples will never forget, this do-it-yourself guide is the reference book on the words spoken at a wedding. Includes Protestant, Roman Catholic, Ecumenical, Jewish, and civil ceremony traditions.

Review: A must have resource!
I could not put this book down! It is the easiest, step-by-step guide that I have come across while planning my wedding. It doesn't tell you "you can do something like this, and here's another general idea" It says "you need a blessing for your rings...here are 5 ways to say it...pick one!" I loved it and would highly recommend it to the stressed and weary bride-to-be!

Review: For the couple who can plan a wedding without a planner
I'm getting married in about ten weeks, and I just bought this book yesterday. I went to a bookstore (sorry, Amazon) and looked through dozens of 'wedding vow books', and found them all schmaltzy and trite. "Words for Your Wedding" is what most of the others are not -- simple, inexpensive, and completely lacking in advertisements being passed off as advice. The authors identify the most common parts of the service, and then give you alternative wordings from various Christian denominations (there is a short section on Jewish weddings in the back). This book clearly isn't for everyone, but I would absolutely recommend it for couples who are focusing on their marriage rather than their wedding.

Review: Words for your Wedding
We have used this book for some years now to assist the couples we marry in sorting their vows. Of the several books we have for this purpose, as Officiants of Christian marriages, this book has been the most helpful - for us & the couples as they choose their special words. Rather than choosing all the words a particular denomination uses, the couples have taken words from the different ones to say what best expresses them. We recommend it.

Review: Get this one if you're just starting to plan the ceremony
I bought this because we have been desperately searching for a single passage of intro text at the beginning of our ceremony. We already have everything else set. However, while this book had a lot of interesting wordings for a lot of different religions, it was nothing like we were looking for. It was similar to the corresponding chapter in "The Everything Wedding Book." (Check it out, if you haven't -- LOTS more good info for the entire planning process!)

This book might be a very good resource for vow readings, though, esp. if the bride and groom are of different faiths.

Review: MUST HAVE FOR THE ENGAGED!
THIS BOOK IS THE BEST FOR THOSE ABOUT TO MARRY. WHETHER YOUR DEEPLY RELIGIOUS OR JUST KNOW WHERE A CHURCH IS YOU WILL FIND THIS BOOK A GREAT TOOL FOR PLANNING A PERFECT CEREMONY.