Sheila's Books Read

Sheila's bookshelf: read

The Best Intentions
Scotland's Melody
The Secret Society of Salzburg
Secret of the Sonnets
20-40-60-Minute Dinners: Meals to Match the Time You Have
Through the Wilderness: My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild
Secret Santa Claus Club: A Tool to Help Parents Unwrap the Secret of Santa
Mr. Pudgins
Revenge Never Rests
The Best Mistake
Meriden Park
More Inspirational Stories for Young Women
The Great Tree: A Christmas Fable
To Capture His Heart
The Call of the Sea
Esperance
Livvy and the Enchanted Woodland
Come, Gentle Night
The Bad Boy Theory
Guide To Smart Wedding Planning: What You want to know and everything you haven't thought of yet.


Sheila's favorite books »

2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Sheila has read 4 books toward her goal of 100 books.
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Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Guide To Smart Wedding Planning By Edna Dratch-Parker & Jeri Solomon-Book Review, Excerpt, and Guest Blog Post


Book Summary
  The Real Deal Wedding Insiders® Guide to Smart Wedding Planning gives you practical and actionable steps to take control of your wedding planning, make the best decisions, and keep your sanity along the way.

 

You’ll learn how to:

* Navigate stressful relationships

* Create a vision that represents you both

* Understand and build a realistic budget

* Choose the right venue and vendors

* Stay present and enjoy your wedding day




My Review


The Guide to Smart Wedding Planning is fantastic. It is easy to read and very well organized. One wonderful aspect of this book is that the reader has access to worksheets and charts that a couple can download and print out. Some of my favorite things found in this guide were:


-Creating a realistic vision of what you want your wedding to be like. This includes a budget with ideas listed of the wrong and right ways to budget. In the book it states...
“The biggest budget influencers are guest list, venue, date/timing, and priorities. It’s important to think about these factors early in your planning to help you stay within your budget.”


-Carefully choose the right Wedding Venue because this will play a crucial role in your overall experience.


-I also loved how the authors recommend you establish not only a Wedding Committee to help you plan but also a Vendor Team. With people helping in different areas then they can take some of the burdens off of your shoulders.


-I really liked the chapter called, The Big Day. It is all about how Wedding day management should be taken care of by people other than you and your partner so you can stay present and fully appreciate the day. Creating a timeline of how you want the day to go and how to take care of all of the guests and vendors is also crucial.


Overall my thought is how I wished I had this book many years ago when I married my now ex-husband. The good thing is, if I ever marry again I now have this book to help me plan even better than I did the first time. Do yourself,  your friends, or your family members a favor and buy this Guide to Smart Wedding Planning. This is a great gift to give any newly engaged couple. 



With a combined 30 years and hundreds of weddings produced, Edna Dratch-Parker, founder, and creative director of EFD Creative—Event Planning & Design, and Jeri Solomon, owner of Jeri Solomon Floral Design, bring their depth of knowledge and real-life experiences to help couples avoid common mistakes, reduce stress, and truly enjoy the wedding planning process.


Website: https://www.realdealweddinginsiders.com/

 

INSTAGRAM: 

@weddinginsiders

@efd_creative

@jerifloral

 

FACEBOOK: 

@RealDealWeddingInsiders

@EFDCreative

@jerifloraldesign

 

TWITTER:

Handles to tag:

@RDWedInsiders

@EFD_Creative

@JeriFloral

 

TIKTOK: 

@RealDealWeddingInsiders


Author Marketing Experts tags for social media:

Twitter: @Bookgal

Instagram: @therealbookgal



Blog Tour Schedule




~~~Book Excerpt~~~


Being engaged is one of the most exciting times in your life, but it can cause some unexpected challenges, and at times it can get downright chaotic. So, let’s help you get organized and get into a more manageable mindset. 

Your life is already busy, and now you’ve emotions and a multitude of details that come with it. We know you want to make wise choices from the get-go. And that’s what we’re here to help with. 


SMART Wedding Planning 

A lot needs to happen in order for you to realize your ideal wedding, no matter how big or small it may be. To get there, you’ve got to be SMART about your decisions. Your choices should be: 

S – Specific to your priorities and needs 

M - Manageable within your budget, time frame, and comfort zone 

A - Articulated clearly communicated to family and vendors 

R - Realistic of expectations

T -Timely made with enough information and with enough time to execute them 

This book gives you the SMART approach to develop and refine your wedding vision, bring it to life within your particular budget and timeline, and manage your family and vendors to get the best results. 


Real Deal Fact #1

Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful. There’s no other period in your life where the expenditure of time, money, and emotions churn together to create a perfect storm as much as when you’re trying to create The Most Important Day of Your Life! 

 

SMART wedding planning includes the Three Cs of what it really takes to produce the wedding you want: Communication, Comprehension, and Calculation. You will need to: 

  • Communicate with your family and partner, as well as your vendors. 
  • Comprehend what it takes to produce the wedding you envision. 
  • Calculate the real cost of your wedding. 

Almost from the moment you announce, “We’re engaged!” the tension starts to mount. Within days (or hours), the questions start coming: When’s the date? What’s your color scheme? Do you have a venue/photographer/dress? 

Your stress level rises as to-do lists swirling in your head. Your first instinct might be to try to get a head start by making appointments to try on dresses or visit venues. Our advice? The first thing you should do is press pause. 

Wedding planning requires you to look at the big picture. Every decision you make, from the venue you choose to the size of your guest list to the number of bridesmaids, will affect other decisions down the road. This road may be new to you, and it’s difficult to know what lies ahead, so it’s important to take your time and plan your journey. 

 

Real Deal Fact #2

If you’re going to have the wedding you envision, then shopping for your dress or finding your venue is not step one. These are all exciting and important aspects of planning but prioritizing, budgeting, and research need to be done before those steps are started.


~*~*~*~*Purchase Your Copy HERE~*~*~*~*

Paperback-https://amzn.to/3Dstn6T

Kindle-https://amzn.to/3Dstn6T


Add to Goodreads HERE:



Guest Blog Post

5 REAL DEAL TRUTHS OF WEDDING PLANNING

 

Yay! You’re engaged and about to embark on planning your wedding. You’ve probably heard that it can be a stressful time. But with some understanding about where you might experience challenges, you’ll be more prepared to handle any bumps in the road. Here are the top 5 reasons why this process can make anyone a little anxious.

1. WEDDINGS BRING OUT THE “ZILLA” IN EVERYONE

The tired cliché́ of the demanding “Bridezilla” is widespread in our culture. In reality, the “Zilla” mentality is not limited to the bride. “Zillas” can be anyone; a parent, a sibling a friend. You’ll quickly learn that everyone has opinions and ideas about what’s best for you. Often, people you thought you knew intimately start acting like strangers, behaving in ways you never saw coming. They may have unrealistic expectations and demands or get dramatic when you aren’t seeing things their way.


2. IT WILL TEST YOUR MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIPS

Wedding planning is a true test of your future marriage. You’re packing a lifetime of experiences into an engagement period that lasts an average of 16 months. You’re confronted with combining families as well as dealing with others’ constraints and expectations—issues you may have never noticed before. Differences between you and your future spouse’s family, , can affect many wedding planning decisions. When you merge two lives and families, conflicts can come up. Wedding planning packs it all into a compressed timeframe.


3. MORE OPTIONS = MORE STRESS

With the internet and social media,  a world of information is at your fingertips. It’s never been easier to peer into the lives of others. Celebrity and “Pinterest worthy” weddings are broadcast, through every possible channel. While most of us can’t afford a celebrity-style wedding, that doesn’t stop the images we see from leading to higher expectations for our own weddings. The sheer number of choices involved is enough to make even the most ambitious and organized couple feel overwhelmed.


4. IT’S A LOT MORE WORK THAN YOU THINK IT WILL BE

Wedding planning is a big project with lots of moving pieces. The average couple will work with 10 vendors and spend 12 hours a week planning their wedding. It takes time to research and make decisions. You’ll feel like you have a second job!


5. IT’S GOING TO COST MORE THAN YOU THINK

Everyone knows weddings are expensive. When you become engaged, you get introduced to an industry you may have been completely unfamiliar with previously. It  takes some time to understand all the components you want or need for your wedding. It’s incredibly easy to blow your budget if you don’t factor everything in from the start. Collect the information and pad your budget!

Even though wedding planning can be difficult at times, it can also be so much fun. Armed with a little knowledge about what to expect, you will be more prepared to meet the challenges, keep your stress level low and enjoy the process.  







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