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(More customer reviews)Having just gotten engaged two months ago (yay!), I've been scouring bookstores and the Internet for advice on planning a simple yet elegant wedding on a shoestring budget (yikes!). I had already set two rules for my wedding: (1) no one will go into debt for it, and (2) no one will dress like a fairy princess (unless they want to). Unfortunately, most of the books I read were aimed at the women who had expensive, fairy-princess weddings in mind and were written as if anyone planning a wedding was willing to take on the year-long equivalent of a part-time job.
Enter Christa Terry's iDo. I'd read Christa's writing on the popular blog "Manolo for the Brides" and, impressed by her ingenuity, decided to take a chance on ordering this book. It has two advantages that put it head and shoulders above every other wedding guidebook I've read so far. First, as the title promises, the book presents online tools to find almost every wedding resource you could ever need. Christa has combed the Internet and come up with sources for planning timelines, budget calculators, party equipment suppliers, photographers, even videos to teach you how to do the foxtrot for your first dance. Like a good teacher, Christa does not tell you what to do but shows you how to find the information to make your own decisions.
This leads me to the second great strength of the book: it encourages personalization and emphasizes the individual, rather than the "traditional" (a loaded word) element of weddings. Unlike the guides that make assumptions--often expensive ones--about the size and style of your wedding, iDo takes a "blank slate" approach. Christa points out the difference between the necessary and the optional and in so doing challenges many of the expectations exploited by the billion-dollar wedding industry.
There are a only couple of things that I wish iDo had done differently. The first is the format in which URLs are presented. For pages that are deeply embedded within Web sites, the book simply copies entire URLs and presents them, in all their incomprehensible glory, on the pager. This leads to the printing of some lengthy URLs that would be impossible to retype without some serious back-and-forthing between page and screen. Why not just list the homepage and give directions on how to navigate to the subpage?
Second, I occasionally found the sheer volume of information overwhelming. I'm sure that some of this is the inevitable result of the topic matter and the intent of the book. However, from a book that often points its readers to search engines in one form or another, I would have liked a little more guidance on how to filter data and craft useful search parameters.
Bear in mind that these criticisms are very mild in relation to the overall excellence and usefulness of this book. It is not--and does not claim to be--the only resource you'll need. As far as printed wedding planning guides go, however, it very well may be the only one you need to buy. Happy hunting!
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iDo: Planning Your Wedding with Nothing But 'NetThe days of leisurely planning are long gone.Few brides can afford to stroll from bridal boutique to bridal boutique.Most of us have to sneak our wedding planning into those tiny sliversof free time between work, play, food, and sleep. Lucky for us, however,there's one friend who will never let us down: the Internet.From venues to videographers, from bouquets to boutonnieres, Christa Terry has put together a treasure trove of resources that give you the freedom to plan a wedding from anywhere, at any time, using your computer. This guide is much more than a list of links, though. Christa Terry also shows the bride-to-be:
Where to find wedding software and downloadable worksheets that do more than just calculate costs
Why creating a personal wedding website is one of the best gifts she can give her guests
When to order invitations, favors, and, yes, even gowns to avoid crunch-time stress
How to keep the MOB (mother of the bride) and the MOG (mother of the groom) happy...and still speaking to each other!
With all the choices out there, planning a wedding has never been more complicated. Let iDo be your guide to simplifying your wedding with just a click of the mouse. Have the wedding of your dreams...all you lose is the stress.
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