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Happy Bride’s Survival Guide by Leigh Crandall

Posted by dulwichmum on Fri 26 November 2010

I asked my friend Liza to review this for me. She is planning a wedding and quite simply the perfect candidate!

Name of product: Happy Bride’s Survival Guide by Leigh Crandall

Price: £6.99 by Ryland Peters and Small

The blurb: “The prospect of getting married is a wonderfully romantic and exciting one. The reality of planning a wedding, however, can be overwhelming. This practical and humorous little guide will help any savvy modern bride navigate all the perils and pitfalls of putting a wedding together. Leigh Crandall covers all the key areas, including choosing a venue, deciding on the guest list, dealing with friends and family, the big day itself and much more – and offers words of wisdom, emotional support and a clear-sighted practical perspective along the way. From etiquette and seating plans to looking fabulous and dealing with emotional issues, this little book is a treasure trove of wedding inspiration and advice”

First impressions: It is a sweet handbag sized hardback book. Perfect for slipping into your favourite Mulberry for the daily commute. This little gem is scattered with beautiful photographs throughout and is laid out in logical sections to help you calmly cruise through the wedding planning and provoke thought about areas you may not have attended to yet. My favourite sections are Wedding Planning Timeline, Budget, Venue, Colour Schemes and Themes, Dealing with Vendors, Wedding Style and the invaluable Q and A sections that deal with the wedding etiquette

Ease of Use: Just pick it up and you will be absorbed, nodding to yourself, calling the other half and boring him with ideas for the theme and quoting the Q and A sections to demonstrate how the invitations can be a valuable tool in preventing his crackpot Aunty and Uncle bringing the devils spawn (Joshua, Zachary and Tristan). Clever wording is all it needs apparently (Phew that is one less sleepless night for me)

Pros: This little book is well laid out and the sections have a logical progression and cover all bases. It is a quick flit through the whole process of organising a wedding and is therefore a great starting point for your frantic planning journey. The Q and A sections have the answers to lots of etiquette questions that you won’t get a straight answer for when asking your friends/family/partner (if you can avert his eyes from the football long enough to achieve an answer) as they will not want to upset/offend/push you over the edge for example ‘Is it really okay to have a cash bar in the evening?’ the answer being ‘You wish’!

Cons: Their are no cons to note. As a small simple start point for a newly engaged bride to be, its a great investment

Value for money:. Great value and fabulous for flashing at hopeless singles on the tube in the morning rush hour (smug…gosh absolutely, why wouldn’t I be? My man is a dish and richer than honey!).

Dulwichmum verdict: