Wedding Planning
Kathy Forbes
Tellwell Talent (2025)
ISBN: 978-1779621962
Reviewed by Tammy Ruggles for Reader Views (07/2025)
Wedding Planning: Five Easy Steps & the Secret to Pull it Together, by Kathy Forbes, is the ultimate guide to wedding planning because it covers everything you need, and in a personal way tailored to your wants and needs. The author does this by including templates, notebooks, and detailed planning.
Forbes’ approach is different from most wedding planning books you may have read. Most focus on the wonderful wedding day itself, and rightly so. But there’s so much more to a wedding, and if special attention is paid to the other details, not just the wedding day, then the days leading up to it can be just as special and memorable.
Whether you have a traditional wedding with all the expected features, or something as unique and individual as you are, this book can help you achieve your perfect wedding. The advice, stories, and tips you find here will help your beautiful day be full of memories to last a lifetime.
If the thought of planning a wedding feels overwhelming, don’t worry. That’s where this guide comes in. The advice is organized into five easy chapters and then condensed into subsections easily labeled for your convenience. You can read straight through, skip around, or come back to a section as needed. It’s all there. Personally, I think it’s best to read the book in a general way at first, just to get a feel for it, so that you’ll know that this book is one you can rely on. Then go back and pay attention to each section as you come to it, applying it to your own wedding wants and needs. A wedding is a special time, and this book will help you get it right, thanks to the author’s attention to detail and thoughtful planning. With your thoughts and plans written down, it’s much easier to come back to them and have them materialize.
One takeaway I appreciated as I read the book is that a wedding doesn’t have to be on your shoulders alone. It’s a group effort that requires and deserves organization, trust, and capable people carrying out their specific, assigned roles. This may sound officious or rigid, but it really isn’t. It’s all in the planning, right? Why stress over things when you can have the right people helping you get to your big day? This way, you can enjoy the whole experience leading up to “I Do,” and not just the wedding day itself.
Briefly, the five easy steps to a beautiful, memorable wedding are timeline, budget, “day of” schedule, duties & tasks, and lists & assignments, but these are broken down into detailed directions and tips. The secret in the sauce is to have that go-to person who manages all the details while you relax and enjoy your wedding experience.
You’ll love the easy approach Forbes takes in this book, which becomes YOUR book as you take from it what you need. The author shares her own wedding story, letting you know you aren’t alone and the advice she gives comes from an authentic place. One thing you may find interesting is that your personality can determine what kind of wedding you may have. Are you the do-it-yourself type, are you the party type, or are you the overwhelmed type?
The questionnaires you find in the book can help you determine the kind of wedding you will have, and the one-year schedule will also help you organize, prepare, and reduce stress. That way the big day doesn’t hit you all at once. This book will help you understand how to delegate and state your wants and needs to the appropriate people. The budgeting worksheets will be a big help, as will the advice and plans for the groom and associates.
You want to enjoy your day. This is the most comprehensive and detailed book on wedding plans I’ve ever read. If you have wedding jitters or just want to make sure you have an individualized plan in place, Wedding Planning: Five Easy Steps & the Secret to Pull it Together, by Kathy Forbes, is the only book you’ll ever need.