It’s not just about the rehearsal dinner anymore! You couldn’t be happier that your son has found the perfect woman to spend his life with—but you really wish you had more to do than pick out a dress and plan the rehearsal dinner, right? Well, you do! With more and more couples today paying for their own weddings—and just as many asking both families to assist in the plans—your role as the mother of the groom has never been bigger. With everything from invitations to locations to flowers to choose, you can help your son and his future wife navigate the sometimes choppy waters of wedding planning with this comprehensive guide, which includes everything you need to know about the wedding industry today. What kind of gift do you want to give the couple? How can you help arrange accommodations for out-of-town guests? It’s all here, with plenty of practical words of wisdom to guide you through the choices. But while helping to orchestrate the big day may be the fun part, you’ll find that you have more important, and ultimately more fulfilling, tasks, too—discovering what it means to be a mother-in-law and fine-tuning your relationships with the bride and her family. Naylor has plenty of advice on that front as well, from ways to share the spotlight with the bride’s mother as the wedding preparations begin to welcoming the bride into your family. Filled with worksheets, checklists, and resources of all kinds, this information-packed planner provides everything you’ll need to know about celebrating the engagement, budgeting your time as well as your money, keeping stress in check, and making your son’s big day one everybody will cherish for years to come. Wondering how to help your son and his future wife plan their big day? This practical guide is packed with everything you need to know about being the Mother of the Groom! • Celebrating the announcement in style • Sharing the spotlight with the bride’s mom • Budgeting your time as well as your money • Tracking down the best locations, food, and flowers • Dressing for the special day • Welcoming the bride into your family • and much more!
A companion to the popular website APracticalWedding.com and A Practical Wedding Planner, A Practical Wedding helps you sort through the basics to create the wedding you want -- without going broke or crazy in the process. After all, what really matters on your wedding day is not so much how it looked as how it felt. In this refreshing guide, expert Meg Keene shares her secrets to planning a beautiful celebration that reflects your taste and your relationship. You'll discover: The real purpose of engagement (hint: it's not just about the planning) How to pinpoint what matters most to you and your partner DIY-ing your wedding: brilliant or crazy? How to communicate decisions to your family Why that color-coded spreadsheet is actually worth it Wedding Zen can be yours. Meg walks you through everything from choosing a venue to writing vows, complete with stories and advice from women who have been in the trenches: the Team Practical brides. So here's to the joyful wedding, the sensible wedding, the unbelievably fun wedding! A Practical Wedding is your complete guide to getting married with grace.
Dreaming of having the most beautiful wedding photos? It's important to choose an amazing photographer, but you shouldn't stop there. To have the best wedding photos, you also need wedding plans that are carefully designed with your photography in mind. In this inspirational and practical guide, wedding photographer Cavin Elizabeth teaches you how simple changes and additions to your wedding plans can elevate the beauty of your wedding photography. With sections such as choosing your dream photographer, what to look for in a getting ready room, and how to construct an ideal photography timeline, Cavin Elizabeth's easy-to-follow book will have you planning for a picture perfect wedding.
PARENTING NEVER ENDS. From the founders of the #1 site for parents of teens and young adults comes an essential guide for building strong relationships with your teens and preparing them to successfully launch into adulthood The high school and college years: an extended roller coaster of academics, friends, first loves, first break-ups, driver’s ed, jobs, and everything in between. Kids are constantly changing and how we parent them must change, too. But how do we stay close as a family as our lives move apart? Enter the co-founders of Grown and Flown, Lisa Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington. In the midst of guiding their own kids through this transition, they launched what has become the largest website and online community for parents of fifteen to twenty-five year olds. Now they’ve compiled new takeaways and fresh insights from all that they’ve learned into this handy, must-have guide. Grown and Flown is a one-stop resource for parenting teenagers, leading up to—and through—high school and those first years of independence. It covers everything from the monumental (how to let your kids go) to the mundane (how to shop for a dorm room). Organized by topic—such as academics, anxiety and mental health, college life—it features a combination of stories, advice from professionals, and practical sidebars. Consider this your parenting lifeline: an easy-to-use manual that offers support and perspective. Grown and Flown is required reading for anyone looking to raise an adult with whom you have an enduring, profound connection.
In the tradition of Sloane Crosley, Mindy Kaling, and Katie Heaney, a hilarious and insightful memoir about one New York City millennial’s journey to find herself, her dream career, and true love, all while juggling a truly unique job as the world’s only professional bridesmaid. After moving to New York City in her mid-twenties to pursue her dream of writing—and not living on the “Upper East Side” of her parents’ house anymore—Jen Glantz looked forward to a future of happy hours and Sunday brunches with her besties. What she got instead were a string of phone calls that began with, “Jen, I have something exciting to tell you!” and ended with, “I’d be honored if you would be my bridesmaid.” At first she was delighted, but it wasn’t long before she realized two things: all of her assets were tied up in bridesmaid dresses, and she herself was no closer to finding The One. She couldn't do much about the second thing (though her mother would beg to differ), but she could about the first. One (slightly tipsy) night, Jen posted an ad on Craigslist advertising her services as a professional bridesmaid. When she woke up the next morning, it had gone viral. What began as a half-joke suddenly turned into a lifetime of adventure for Jen–and more insight into the meaning of love than she was getting from OKCupid—as she walked down the aisle at stranger after stranger’s wedding. Fresh, funny, and surprisingly sweet, Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire) is an entertaining reminder that even if you don’t have everything together, you can still be a total boss—or, at the very least, a BFF to another girl in need.
Expert advice for the perfect wedding day! She's met "the one" and set the date - now she needs your help to plan the big event! The Everything Mother of the Bride Book, 4th Edition is completely updated and revised with the latest information you need to get your daughter down the aisle in style. Wedding planner Katie Martin explains everything you'll need to know, including: Planning showers and engagement parties Meeting the future in-laws Navigating sticky situations like ex-spouses and former family members Picking out the perfect dress Knowing when to speak up - and when to keep quiet! Complete with new sections on social media etiquette, this practical guide covers everything you'll need to make sure your daughter has the perfect - and stress-free - day of her dreams.
I’m Outnumbered! offers sound advice and encouragement for every mom who has more than one son, even if there’s a girl in the mix. Laura Lee Grove's combination of personal anecdotes, authoritative research, and humorous stories will give every outnumbered mom much-needed encouragement, inspiration, and information.
Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette is the classic indispensable, comprehensive guide to creating the wedding of your dream, now in its sixth edition. Today's weddings are more complicated than ever, with new traditions replacing old, and new relationships to consider as family life grows more complex. Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette has everything a bride will ever need to know to have the perfect wedding. Anna Post guides brides and their friends and family through weddings to maximize fun and reduce stress, including: How to handle awkward family situations How to address envelopes and word invitations How to choose an officiant How to blend family traditions The timeline of events throughout the engagement and during the wedding Who to include on your guest list How to use technology to your advantage
For the mother of the groom who wants to do more than "just wear beige"! You want to be helpful, but not pushy. You want your son's ceremony to reflect the love your family shares and not just his bride-to-be's taste. You want to take part in their big day without forcing yourself into the spotlight. The good news is, you can. In The Complete Mother of the Groom, you'll learn how to: Help out with the rehearsal dinner Broach the subject of your role in the ceremony Relate to your son's future in-laws Give assistance to the bride without stepping on toes Plan a shower that honors your son and future daughter-in-law Mother of the groom expert Sydell Rabin connects you with other mothers who went through the same thing, covering every question and concern. The Complete Mother of the Groom--because you want to do more than "just wear beige"!