Design Your Own Wedding

I Do I Do The Marriage Vow Workbook

“I Do! I Do! The Marriage Vow Workbook” is an inspirational resource for creating compelling vows for your marriage, civil union, commitment or recommitment. Endorsed by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of “Getting the Love You Want” and cocreator of Imago Relationship Therapy, this workbook will help you craft vows that will serve you not only during the ceremony itself but throughout your lives together. As a result of reading “I Do! I Do! The Marriage Vow Workbook,” completing the exercises and writing your marriage vows, you have the opportunity to (1) awaken to the deepest reasons for joining your lives in marriage, (2) envision what you want most from your life together, (3) initiate a ritual to sustain your marriage for many years to come, and (4) create a loving, committed partnership that’s truly ideal for both of you. You may wish to buy two copies of “The Marriage Vow Workbook”-one in which each partner can work through the exercises. Also makes a great gift for an engagement or bridal shower!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars The perfect planning guide
The collaborative effort of co-authors Shonnie Lavender and Bruce Mulkey, “I Do! I Do!: The Marriage Vow Workbook” is a step-by-step “how to” resource for couples seeking to create their own distinctive and memorable wedding vows that will be unique and appropriate to them. This easy to follow, fill-in-the-blank, methodical workbook is the perfect planning guide to creating vows that will inspire and sustain the marriage long after the ceremony is done and committed to the yesteryear memory of the bride and groom. If you are planning a wedding for yourself or a loved one, then begin with Shonnie Lavender and Bruce Mulkey’s superbly presented marriage vows workbook “I Do! I Do!.

5 Stars “Required” Reading …
This workbook should be required reading for any committed couple, whether they are contemplating marriage or not. The information gleaned from answering the probing and insightful questions it contains could prove priceless.

5 Stars Thoughtful
A very thoughtful process that asks all of us to rethink our relationships, whether newly engaged or not! I was amazed at how gently yet thoroughly Bruce & Shonnie guide readers in the consideration of their relationship dynamics…including many aspects we ALL should have considered years ago. The depth of their own marriage is mirrored in this wonderful book, and serves as a powerful example for other couples seeking to write their wedding vows or simply give their marriage a thoughtful review.

5 Stars A Psychologist’s Thumbs Up Review of “I Do! I Do!”
As a psychologist who works with couples, I intend to use I Do! I Do! The Marriage Vow Workbook with my clients who are about to get married and also with those in couples therapy. Often folks in a relationship are unhappy because they have gotten off course or drifted from their initial vision for living together joyfully. They begin looking for a way out or for a way back to the magic that once held them together in a sacred commitment. Whether couples want to create a commitment or make a recommitment, it takes a thoughtful, step-by-step process that looks exactly like the one so beautifully designed and guided by Shonnie and Bruce in The Marriage Vow Workbook.

5 Stars I Do! I Do! The Wedding Vow Workbook
Any couple getting married will find this invaluable–excellent preparation to get their marriage (1st, 2nd, other) off to a head start. It will make a lasting relationship much more likely. Ken Kinnett, Teacher of Couples Relationshiops Skills

Buy/More Info

Emily Posts Wedding Parties

Weddings today are so much more than just the Big Day—the parties start months ahead and continue well afterward. This portable guide is perfect for anyone involved in the many parties surrounding weddings.

In Part 1, “It’s a Party!” Anna Post covers the vital stats of each party, be it an engagement celebration, couples’ shower, (bachelor)ette party, wedding week spa getaway, rehearsal dinner, reception, farewell brunch, or belated reception.

Part 2, “Party Smarts,” is packed with party-giving expertise to make every occasion a success: planning tips; figuring out finances; choosing food, flowers, and music; invitation how-to; handling uninvited guests and RSVP slackers; finding the perfect gift; making introductions and toasts; and more.

Looking for ways to throw a super shower on a budget? Wondering if it’s OK to e-mail invitations? Tongue-tied writing thank-you notes? Need ideas for adding just the right touch of style to everything from a garden barbecue to a seated dinner? It’s all here. Whatever the occasion and whether you’re the bride, host, or guest, Anna Post helps make every wedding party wonderful.

Buy/More Info

How to Say I Do Make Your Civil Marriage Ceremony Your Own

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars Australia & New Zealand specific
Would have been nice to know that the legal aspects of a civil marriage described in the book are focused on marriages in New Zealand and Australia. Not very helpful for US wedding preparations.

Buy/More Info

The Funeral and Wedding Handbook

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Helpful for the non-clergy too!
This book is not only helpful to the clergy but to anyone who is trying to plan a wedding or a funeral. The author calls on his many years of experience conducting weddings and funerals in laying out the proper steps needed to organize either event regardless whether you are a minister or not. Mr.Blair approaches both events with respect and humor. This book is an absolute must have!

5 Stars Two Books in One
As a preaching minister I have found myself going to Robert Blair’s book numerous times for help and suggestions in ministering in two of the most emotional times in a person’s life — marriage and death. I would highly recommend this book to any one who is involved in these area’s on peoples lives. You will keep it close for quick reference.

5 Stars Review by Rev. John Battern
Every pastor must from time to time prepare for funerals and weddings. In today’s individualized world, people expect that their pastor will come up with a unique and special service. Where does one turn when the creative juices are running low? Bob Blair’s Funeral and Wedding Handbook holds the answer.

I recently conducted a wedding that try as I might, I couldn’t get to come together. I pulled Bob’s book off my shelf and it provided just the spark I needed. Afterwards, the father of the bride told me it was the best wedding he had ever attended. That I could go from “I’ve got nothing,” to putting together a meaningful service is a testimony to how God can use the help found in this book in the life of an ordinary preacher.

Rev. John Battern

New Sharon United Methodist Church

4 Stars Good Guide for Clergy and Those Who Work With Them
Some books in this general category are primarily collections of readings and references to be used when performing a religious ceremony. “The Funeral and Wedding Handbook” is not such an anthology. It provides a good discussion of the important issues and circumstances one should remember when involved with a funeral or wedding ceremony.

What emotions will you encounter, in your own experience and in working with families and others? What are the formalities or legal issues one must remember? What are the accepted and expected activities for which you will be responsible.

This is an excellent book for the new member of the clergy. It would also be of real value to funeral directors or their staffs, and to the many workers involved with weddings.

5 Stars Great for all Ministers
This book is excellent in every way. Most books on homiletics cover 5-10 pages on these subjects (if anything at all); here is a resource book with over 200 pages. It is very informative (on what to do) and filled with several practical examples (on how to do it) of ministry during these important times in people’s lives. For the student preparing for ministry, the “rookie” or experienced minister, this book is a must. It is “as good as it gets” on these subjects.

Buy/More Info

Organic Weddings Balancing Ecology Style and Tradition

Every year in the United States, over 2.4 million people get married, fueling a wedding industry estimated at billion per year. Until now, there had been no readily available help for those wanting their wedding celebrations to reflect their environmental and social awareness by balancing ecology, style and tradition.

Organic Weddings fills this gap by providing alternatives to the excessive and synthetic wedding industry machine while still enabling couples to incorporate time-honored traditions, as well as meaningful details, that celebrate the bride and groom’s own style and values. The book presents new ideas and product information, interviews with eco-leaders, real wedding stories, and tips from eco-brides that can be readily shared with relatives and other wedding decision-makers. Topics covered include:
- planning and budgeting
- wedding attire from natural fibers
- holistic beauty and natural products
- tree-free invitations and stationery
- earth-friendly locations and d

Earn Extra Money In Your Spare Time Selling Wedding Planning Services On line

Every day, ordinary people like you start their own online businesses in their spare time, right out of their own homes. There are many benefits to starting your own business, including possible tax breaks, the joy of profiting from doing something you enjoy, and the extra income. You can generate a decent monthly side income selling items online in your spare time, and this CD and accompanying resources will show you how, step by step. Discover how to take care of business licensing, accounting, marketing, fulfillment, and all the other tasks associated with running your business in this simple, straightforward guide and accompanying resources. If you like the idea of working on your own schedule from home to earn extra, place your order now for this guide to starting your business.

Buy/More Info

For the Bride

From celebrity stylemaker and wedding guru Colin Cowie comes the ultimate style guide for the modern bride. Like its companion volume, For the Groom, For the Bride offers expert guidance on everything from creating an unforgettable wedding to making a graceful transition to life as a newlywed.

Colin begins by walking you through the planning, ordering, and arranging necessary for a memorable wedding that everyone will enjoy. He covers all the details from flowers to dresses, registry to reception, with tips on how to tactfully negotiate the guest list and how to make your wedding a personal expression of your identity as a couple.

Colin goes on to demonstrate how to let the momentum of your wonderful wedding celebration set the tone for your upcoming life together. Your wedding can and should be a springboard for a lifetime of welcoming family into your home and entertaining friends with charm and verve.

Of course, marriage is more than just a succession of parties. Which is why Colin has also devoted attention to the practical marital arts: how to communicate, merge your finances, settle disagreements, and keep the romantic spark alive. With its gorgeous black and white photos, timeless advice, and elegance of tone, Colin Cowie’s For the Bride is as indispensable as it is beautiful, and a natural engagement gift for any woman.

In FOR THE BRIDE, Colin walks future brides through the planning, ordering, and arranging necessary for a memorable wedding that everyone will enjoy, covering all the details from engagement to reception. From flowers to dresses, from selecting items for the bridal registry to negotiating the guest list and seating chart, Colin’s got it covered.

FOR THE GROOM, written with Colin’s trademark charm and practicality, guides husbands-to-be through it all, from how to propose to what to buy for the first anniversary gift. With all the answers the bride wishes the groom already knew: how to assess the quality of a diamond, how to host a rehearsal dinner, how to win over her parents, and much more, FOR THE GROOM is a natural engagement gift for any and every guy soon to be married.

Illustrated with photographs from weddings Colin has planned and written with a warm, engaging tone, FOR THE BRIDE and FOR THE GROOM offer practical advice and romantic, inspired suggestions to create both a memorable wedding day and a graceful, stylish start to married life. –>

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A wonderful start to being engaged, and a Great Gift Idea!
I purchased this book for myself, and know that I will be buying it again to give as a gift. This book is my reminder to enjoy being engaged and gives great tips to make the most of your engagement time. “For the Bride” contains invaluable information for the engaged woman that I haven’t seen anywhere else. Cowie’s writing is thoughtful, refined and relaxing. It can be read as a whole, in chapters, or in the small “question & answer” sections. For those of you who think that this book is for people with lots of money… this is meant to be a jumping off point. Cowie gives many suggestions of how things can be done, and stresses that anything can be done differently and altered to your own personal style. (Not everything has to be expensive!) This book is THE tool to develop the style for your wedding and your marriage. I plan on purchasing “For the Groom” for my fiance as soon as possible.

5 Stars Not intimidating, very informative and inspiring.
This book is as much guidance on how tobe an elegant lady as it is a wedding planner. His advice ranges from subtle to downright blatant, so there’s very little the open-minded bride will miss. Even if you already have every wedding book in the entire world, I feel this one is necessary.

Regarding the etiquette advice, I like Cowie’s book the best. Many books for “fabulous girls” and “what no one tells you” etc tend to deal with things the bride has already left behind her: dating, shacking-up (how else to put that?), and how to manage breakups easily. The Cowie book has much more class, and is really about how to personify graciousness and elegance. It’s an important lesson to learn as you are getting married, for as Cowie says, you are showing the world who you are now, in these all-important moments.

I would not recommend getting the companion to this “For the Groom” unless you are sure he will want to read it. I bought the two books together and my fiance has yet to do anything but sneer at it. However, I am reading the groom book as well, and find it amusing, as different topics are covered in each book, and it wouldn’t hurt to have the bride read the groom book and vice versa.

This would make a wonderful engagement gift, and though Cowie is text-heavy in the book and does not show picture after picture, I appreciated that, as I did want to read a book about planning and etiquette, rather than look at yet another picture book. One tiny annoying thing, there’s a lot of name-dropped from celebs, but sometimes it’s warranted. He tells you great ideas from celeb weddings, which do serve to make you think creatively.

This book stands out from the crowd in great ways.

5 Stars Great Ideas!
I own so many wedding books that I often get overwhelmed when contemplating my wedding plans, but this book has such wonderful concrete ideas that I have used it from day one. It is very text rich, so you should give yourself at least one hour to sift through it, but it is well worth your time.
Colin Cowie is a wedding planning genius and his ideas have helped me compromise on a few things, especially since our wedding is not a big budget ball.

3 Stars Insightful
Very text-heavy (you can almost hear his soothing accent as you read); not many visuals to inspire you; helpful advice on topics ranging from engagement and reception to honeymoon destinations

5 Stars Amazing
I cannot express how much I enjoyed reading this book. It was instructional and had some very clever ideas I had not seen in the other fifty wedding books I’ve read in the last few months, however the photographs were even more impressive. I highly recommend this to any bride, although especially to those attempting to plan a semi-formal-formal elegant wedding.

Buy/More Info