Guide to Smart Wedding Planning

By Edna Dratch-Parker and Jeri Solomon

FIND OUT WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO KNOW FROM THE EXPERTS IN THE KNOW!

The Real Deal Wedding Insiders® Guide to Smart Wedding Planning

• Language: English
• Publisher: Real Deal Wedding Insiders
• Release date: Oct 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986588810

Book preview

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Copyright © 2022 Edna Dratch-Parker and Jeri Solomon

Real Deal Wedding Insiders®

Guide to Smart Wedding Planning

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022913050

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, record-ing, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written per-mission of the authors, except in brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Trademarks: Real Deal Wedding Insiders is a registered trademark of Edna Dratch-Parker and Jeryl Solomon and may not be used without written permis-sion. The Wedding Brander and The Wedding Business Brander are registered trademarks of EFD Creative and may not be used without written permission.

For all permission requests, contact the authors at www.realdealweddinginsiders.com

Cover design and inside hand lettering: Jyotirmayee Patra

Illustrations: Shana Cinquegrana

Layout design: Lauren Phipps

eBook conversion: Rebecca Finkel

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data

(Prepared by Cassidy Cataloguing Services, Inc.)

Names: Dratch-Parker, Edna, author. | Solomon, Jeri, author.

Title: Guide to smart wedding planning/Edna Dratch-Parker & Jeri Solomon.

Description: First edition. | Stoneham, MA: Real Deal Wedding Insiders, [2022]

Identifiers: ISBN: 979-8-9865888-0-3 (softcover) | ISBN: 979-8-9865888-1-0 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Weddings--Planning--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Wedding etiquette--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Brides--Handbooks, manuals, etc. | Bridegrooms. | Betrothal. | Marriage customs and rites. | Weddings--Costs. | Finance, Personal. | Wedding attendants. | Weddings--Equipment and supplies. | Wedding supplies and services industry.

Classification: LCC: HQ745.D73 2022 | DDC: 395.2/2--dc23

In memory of Jeri’s aunt,

Eleanor Henkoff,

and in honor of Edna’s aunt,

Mary Dratch Rosenfield,

the matriarchs who adored a

great family celebration.

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: ENGAGEMENT: THE PERFECT STORM

SMART Wedding Planning

The Five REAL DEAL Truths of Planning a Wedding

Summary

CHAPTER 2: IDENTIFYING YOUR WEDDING COMMITTEE

Building Your Wedding Committee

Establishing the Rules of Engagement

with Your Bankroller

Handle Your VIPs with Care

The Confidant: Your Secret Weapon

A Word About Judgers

The REAL DEAL about Wedding Committees

Summary

CHAPTER 3: CREATING YOUR WEDDING VISION

How Weddings Have Changed

Three Steps to Creating Your Wedding Vision

Summary

CHAPTER 4: BUILDING YOUR REAL DEAL WEDDING BUDGET

Time to Talk Money

Creating a Realistic Budget and Sticking to It

Building Your REAL DEAL Wedding Budget

Summary

CHAPTER 5: BUILDING YOUR GUEST LIST AND CHOOSING YOUR VENUE

The Guest List

The Wedding Venue

Venue Categories and Questions to Ask

Summary

CHAPTER 6: ASSEMBLING YOUR VENDOR TEAM

What a Wedding Planner Can Do for You

Your Vendor Team

Vetting Your Vendors

Getting the Most Out of Your Vendors

Wei hing the Trade-Offs: Seasoned Professional vs. Newbie Professional vs. DIY

Sealing the Deal

Unexpected Costs

Summary

CHAPTER 7: THE BIG DAY

Day-Of Management and Logistics

The Who: Your Point People

Tips for Staying Present

Summary

Congratulations! You’re engaged! You’re embarking on the immense project of planning a wedding. Are you thinking you don’t know where to start? Feeling pressure that you have that one chance to make this important day perfect? That’s normal. You can’t expect to be an expert at wedding planning. The good news is we are the experts and we’re here to help.

This book is different. We know everyone is writing, talking, posting, blogging, and pinning about weddings, but we have a unique perspective. We’ve seen hundreds of weddings and have the inside scoop because we work, live, and breathe the wedding business.

There’s something special about being part of a momentous family celebration—no matter how big or small. Every client we work with entrusts us with their special day and we take that very seriously. We’re a part of creating an event that brings families and friends together to celebrate important milestones. That’s a big deal! It’s the ultimate celebration, and we think it’s important to help our clients have the best experience possible. We’re both driven by a passion for helping people bring their wedding visions into reality.

Edna, founder and creative director of EFD Creative—Event Planning & Design, brings her unique blend of experience as an artist, entrepreneur, and creative director to each and every wedding she’s produced for the more than a decade. A graduate of Maine College of Art & Design, her approach to events comes from her desire to create a cohesive and visually engaging experience. She aligns her artistic sensibility with her professionalism to create a wedding experience that is memorable, distinctive, and seamless. Edna has received a number of industry honors, including Wedding of the Year from the National Association of Catering and Events (NACE), Social Event Planner of the Year from BizBash, and Trendsetter of the Year from Wedding Planner magazine. Her weddings have been featured in national and regional publications.

Jeri, owner of Jeri Solomon Floral Design is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania. She parlayed her entrepreneurial spirit with her early love of flowers into a business that has allowed her to be creative and thrive in the Boston market for over 25 years. Jeri’s motto is Weddings are stressful; flowers shouldn’t be. She believes in providing each of her customers not just gorgeous floral arrangements, but also exceptional service, attention to detail, and impeccable design. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Boston Weddings, Flower magazine, The Knot magazine, Modern Luxury Weddings: Boston, and Grace Ormonde Wedding Style. As one of the founding members of the prestigious Boston Wedding Group, Jeri has served in various leadership roles including president.

Together we have wisdom and want to share it with you. This book isn’t about hairstyle selections, dress options, or which flowers are available in the season you’re getting married. It’s about the difficult, uncomfortable parts like money, family dynamics, and the amount of work and planning it really takes to create your wedding. We give you the true insight needed to pull off your awesome, once-in-a-lifetime wedding while keeping your sanity. We’ve built reputations based on honesty and straight talk. We’re going to do the same in this book. It’s not just the pretty stuff—it’s the REAL DEAL!

OUR FRIENDSHIP

We’ve been collaborating on weddings for many years, and through our shared experiences, our professional partnership extended into a strong personal friendship. It’s this bond, along with our zeal for weddings, that inspired the book you’re reading.

We often joke that we’re sisters from another mister, and it’s not far from the truth: We grew up in neighboring Massachusetts towns and we have two sisters each. Both of our fathers served as military doctors while stationed in France. We were raised with similar beliefs and values. Our husbands are both named Jim, and our aunts, Eleanor and Mary, met one another and became friends at the same retirement community! The list goes on.

This book was written by real wedding professionals who work in the trenches and can give you real-life advice that is practical, proven, and actionable. Think of us as your wedding planning gurus. You can trust us to share our wisdom with both compassion and a healthy dose of real talk.

With that in mind, come take this ride with us—we’ll steer you in the right direction and get you through this whirlwind journey of wedding planning.

We are the REAL DEAL WEDDING INSIDERS!

* * *

We celebrate all couples regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or identity who want to formalize their relationship with marriage. This book is intended for everyone planning a wedding.

Throughout the book there are worksheets and charts. You can download and print these from our website www.realdealweddinginsiders.com/rdwifiles

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 got to find time to plan a wedding, with all the emotions and 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.

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

A lot needs to happen in order for you to