Wedding Planning Unmasked | MJCouples Book Club
In the recent months, several posts have gone up in the wedding groups asking for book recommendations. As an avid reader, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for me to fill a pain point for couples. I love to read and it would be easy for me to post reviews to help others choose the right books for them. Wedding Planning Unmasked was written by a local vendor and seemed to be the perfect place to start.
Choosing a book by a local wedding vendor and author as my very first review in this series; may not have been the wisest decision I’ve made. I’ve been blessed to cross paths with Janis on more than one occasion, both virtually in the groups and in person at wedding shows. I know how much love and time she put into this, and I’m honored to have met her.
The Unmasked Wealth of Knowledge
Wedding Planning Unmasked holds a lot of information. From a bride’s standpoint, this all encompassing wealth of knowledge can be a little overwhelming. Janis made sure to cover everything from silverware to who throws the trash away after the fact. Of course, this also gives couples the opportunity to skip over complete chapters and only read what’s necessary to their planning process. The way she outlined the contents of the book is perfect, so you can easily find what you need to know.
I loved her wedding “visionnaire” as it offers couples a great way to get a feel for what they really want in a wedding. This is a fabulous tool for everyone jumping into or currently planning their dream day. Should you choose to buy the book for this visionnaire alone, you’ll recoup your investment just by using it during your planning process. Be sure to give your vendors copies of your results too; it will help them to assist in making your dreams come true.
Realizing Expectations & Vendor Differences
One issue I ran into with the book is it sets a lot of expectations that won’t hold true the majority of the time. With 10 years in the industry, I can honestly say that every vendor and business operates differently. Where some photographers want you to provide a list of photos you want, others will tell you we work from a basic general shot list and cannot / will not copy another photographer’s work. However, the thing we all have in common: we want you to have the best day possible. Whether we require $500 down or 50% down, be prepared that not everything in this book will hold true to every vendor in the industry.
While a lot of the advice is good, I can honestly say I don’t agree with it all. Similarly to other advice that floods the internet, there are just some things you should not do. Reserving a tent with the intent to cancel it a week prior if you change your mind for instance. Rental companies only have so many tents, and if you choose to cancel “because you don’t need it” in an effort to save money, you’ve just lost that company income when they may have already scheduled and secured a team who was counting on that job to feed their families. Please please please for the love of all that is left in this universe, DON’T DO THIS.
Wedding Planning Unmasked: Worth the read
Janis puts her sense of humor into the book, so keep an eye on those silly titles. They’re good for a giggle during what might be the most stressful party planning of your life. Pay close attention to the chapter about bartenders. She brings up a LOT of good points that seem to be passed over during the wedding planning. I have seen some brutal horror stories from weddings where too much good stuff was being served (and the wedding party had hidden stores too) that had some pretty sad endings. Wedding Planning Unmasked shares the good / bad / ugly parts of this aspect.
If you’re not going to read the whole book, skip to planning stages 15, 16 and 17 for the best content. Between the section regarding bartending and these three planning stages, you’ll find enough important information to make this book worth reading. While I’ve become a bit of a kindle gal myself, you might want to buy a hard copy, highlight it and pass it to your next-in-line friend for their wedding. While the beginning definitely wasn’t my favorite read, then end chapters made it worth my time.
Get to know more about Janis and her book at www.greatestofdays.com
