Hey y’all! I’m back and got a sweet blog tour for you. A guide to wedding planning! Wish these were around when I got married! We just had magazines…

The Real Deal Wedding Insiders® Guide to Smart Wedding Planning gives you practical and actionable steps to take control of your wedding planning, make the best decisions, and keep your sanity along the way.

You’ll learn how to:

Navigate stressful relationships
Create a vision that represents you both
Understand and build a realistic budget
Choose the right venue and vendors
Stay present and enjoy your wedding day

With a combined 30 years and hundreds of weddings produced, Edna Dratch-Parker, founder, and creative director of EFD Creative—Event Planning & Design, and Jeri Solomon, owner of Jeri Solomon Floral Design, bring their depth of knowledge and real-life experiences to helpcouples avoid common mistakes, reduce stress, and truly enjoy the wedding planning process.

Being engaged is one of the most exciting times in your life, but it can cause some unexpected
challenges, and at times it can get downright chaotic. So, let’s help you get organized and get into a more
manageable mindset.

Your life is already busy, and now you’ve emotions and multitude of details that come with it. We know
you want to make wise choices from the get-go. And that’s what we’re here to help with.

SMART Wedding Planning

A lot needs to happen in order for you to realize your ideal wedding, no matter how big or small it may be.
To get there, you’ve got to be SMART about your decisions. Your choices should be:
S – Specific to your priorities and needs
M – Manageable within your budget, time frame, and comfort zone
A – Articulated clearly communicated to family and vendors
R – Realistic of expectations
T -Timely made with enough information and with enough time to execute them

This book gives you the SMART approach to develop and refined your wedding vision, bring it to life
within your particular budget and timeline, and manage your family and vendors to get the best results.

Real Deal Fact #1

Planning a wedding can be extremely stressful. There’s no other period in your life
where the expenditure of time, money, and emotions churn together to create a perfect
storm as much as when you’re trying to create The Most Important Day of Your Life!

SMART wedding planning includes the Three Cs of what it really takes to produce the wedding you want:
Communication, Comprehension, and Calculation. You will need to:

 Communicate with your family and partner, as well as your vendors.
 Comprehend what it takes to produce the wedding you envision.
 Calculate the real cost of your wedding.

Almost from the moment you announce, “We’re engaged!” the tension starts to mount. Within
days (or hours), the questions start coming: When’s the date? What’s your color scheme? Do you
have a venue/photographer/dress?

Your stress level rises as to-do lists swirling in your head. Your first instinct might be to try to get
a head start by making appointments to try on dresses or visit venues. Our advice? The first thing
you should do is press pause.

Wedding planning requires you to look at the big picture. Every decision you make, from the
venue you choose to the size of your guest list to the number of bridesmaids, will affect other decisions down the road. This road may be new to you, and it’s difficult to know what lies ahead,
so it’s important to take your time and plan your journey.

5 Real Truths of Wedding Planning

5 REAL DEAL TRUTHS OF WEDDING PLANNING
Yay! You’re engaged and about to embark on planning your wedding. You’ve probably heard that it can be a
stressful time. But with a some understanding about where you might experience challenges you’ll be more
prepared to handle any bumps in the road. Here are the top 5 reasons why this process can make anyone a little
anxious.

1. WEDDINGS BRING OUT THE “ZILLA” IN EVERYONE
The tired cliché́ of the demanding “Bridezilla” is widespread in our culture. In reality the “Zilla” mentality is not
limited to the bride. “Zillas” can be anyone; a parent, a sibling a friend. You’ll quickly learn that everyone has
opinions and ideas about what’s best for you. Often people you thought you knew intimately start acting like
strangers, behaving in ways you never saw coming. They may have unrealistic expectations and demands or get
dramatic when you aren’t seeing things their way.

2. IT WILL TEST YOUR MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIPS
Wedding planning is a true test of your future marriage. You’re packing a lifetime of experiences into an
engagement period that lasts an average of 16 months. You’re confronted with combining families as well as
dealing with others’ constraints and expectations—issues you may have never noticed before. Differences
between you and your future spouse’s family, , can affect many wedding planning decisions. When you merge two
lives and families, conflicts can come up. Wedding planning packs it all into a compressed timeframe.

3. MORE OPTIONS = MORE STRESS
With the internet and social media, a world of information is at your fingertips. It’s never been easier to peer into
the lives of others. Celebrity and “Pinterest worthy” weddings are broadcast, through every possible channel.
While most of us can’t afford a celebrity-style wedding, that doesn’t stop the images we see from leading to higher
expectations for our own weddings. The sheer number of choices involved is enough to make even the most
ambitious and organized couple feel overwhelmed.

4. IT’S A LOT MORE WORK THAN YOU THINK IT WILL BE
Wedding planning is a big project with lots of moving pieces. The average couple will work with 10 vendors and
spend 12 hours a week planning their wedding. It takes time to research and make decisions. You’ll feel like you
have a second job!

5. IT’S GOING TO COST MORE THAN YOU THINK
Everyone knows weddings are expensive. When you become engaged, you get introduced to an industry you may
have been completely unfamiliar with previously. It takes some time to understand all the components you want
or need for your wedding. It’s incredibly easy to blow your budget if you don’t factor everything in from the start.
Collect the information and pad your budget!

Even though wedding planning can be difficult at times, it can also be so much fun. Armed with a little knowledge
about what to expect, you will be more prepared to meet the challenges, keep your stress level low and enjoy the
process.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! Grab your copy now.