The Knot Outdoor Weddings Book Review

A few weeks ago, my brother announced his intentions to marry the girl of his dreams – a beautiful, athletic model and mom to his son – during a day-trip to Jekyll Island where he proposed. I personally have never been to Jekyll Island so I can only imagine how gorgeous the setting was.

None of this, however, stopped me from jumping on the "wedding planning bandwagon". (It probably doesn't help that I have a soft spot for amazing pictures, wedding or otherwise.)

So, I obtained The Knot's new book Outdoor Weddings to share with my future sister-in-law. Even though the wedding is not suppose to occur for another year or so, I felt it couldn't hurt to start providing her with ideas for the direction she anticipated taking.

The Knot Outdoor Weddings not only provides beautiful pictorial inspiration, but it also breaks down ideas based on the location you plan on hosting your wedding, sharing both positives and negatives that you may run into. For example, beaches provide a beautiful backdrop, but it may be hard to walk in a long dress on the sand. And your hairstyle? Forget that. Say hello to frizz!

Other ideas the book provides include: color combinations, food suggestions, ceremony setup, flower arrangements, cake styles for consideration, and before/after venue transformations.

Overall, the book provided lovely imagery in a pinterest style coffee-table book. If you are looking to plan a wedding, whether as a wedding planner or individual, this book is aimed at you. The gorgeous pictures will draw you in and the useful information will keep you reading. This book is the fantastic Knot website in book form (and if you are a bride-to-be or wedding planner, I know you know what I'm talking about!).

Now, the big question: would I have considered using a book like this for planning my own wedding?

No.

First of all, it's worth mentioning that I am cheap. I don't buy things unless I need them, and a wedding book is certainly not in my must-have list. It's possible I might have wanted it, just because of the pictures, but I sincerely doubt I would have coughed up the $22 for it.

Secondly, while the ideas in the book (and pictures) can be used by a very creative individual to design a cheap-ish wedding (think less than 20K), the majority of what you will see in this book looks as if it has been put-together by brides with an unlimited budget. Transforming an outdoor wedding venue? Even just using fabric can be costly! And the time it takes? In America, from my experience, you have exactly one day at your venue to set-up and tear down; if you can't complete it within 24 hours, it's not happening. Of course, none of that applies if you are hosting the event in a family member's backyard, but how many Americans have enough room and money to do that?

image from The Knot Outdoor Weddings

While The Knot Outdoor Weddings definitely provides fantastic information and examples for arranging a picture-perfect pinterest wedding, keep in mind that not every idea will be attainable at every budget-level. Use the images for what they are – inspiration. Design your wedding based on your budget and don't get heartbroken when you cannot afford the $10,000 dress, the beautiful chandeliers you want to hang from tent ceilings, or even the $2,000 cake. In the end, the important thing is that you are married to the man (or woman) of your dreams. No amount of money or decoration can change that.

Buy The Knot Outdoor Weddings here or save your money and check out The Knot website here.

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Now,

I'm suppose to list 3-5 books I anticipate reading next, and get opinions on the books you all are most excited about. Let's get started!

So, what do you think? Which book should I tackle next? Have you read any of these books before?

And if you'd like, feel free to join the link-up here!

* I received The Knot Outdoor Weddings for free in exchange for a review. All opinions are 100% my own.