Our Wedding Guide
Our Wedding Guide is written by a longtime wedding officiant: clear steps, honest budgets, and ceremony wording you can use. Start with what you need today, and skip what you don't.
Plan step by step Get the checklist
I have had the privilege of officiating at many different kinds of weddings, and everything I learned is in this guide. Here is the most important thing I know: there are really no must-haves when it comes to planning your wedding, except love. The rest is up to you.
More about David David's TakeEach one is a complete guide, with supporting articles linked inside.
What to do first, what can wait, and how to make decisions without second-guessing them.
Start here
Every part of the ceremony, from processional to recessional, with example wording.
Build your ceremony
Decide who to invite, then track every invitation and RSVP.
Open the guideWhat a wedding really costs, and where you can save.
Open the guide
Tablescapes, flowers, and themes for every season.
Open the guideWrite a toast, plan the engagement party, the rehearsal dinner, and the reception.
Open the guideMany weddings today have become elaborate and expensive. Don’t fall into the trap that you must have something, whatever the something is. Must-haves can cost a lot of money, and they are often based on tradition and expectations. Traditions are fine, and often beautiful. As for expectations? Whose expectations are we talking about? The decisions are yours.
It is easy for wedding planning to become centered around one person. Make room for both of you. Look for the parts of the wedding that matter to each of you, talk about them, and listen to one another. Your wedding is about two lives coming together, and the planning is one of your first chances to create something that reflects you both.
Your wedding is more than a destination. It is a point on a continuum that marks only one day in your life journey. Create it as an experience to be remembered by all and cherished by you.
Read the full welcomeTraditions and expectations · Focusing on the couple · Spirituality and meaning · A journey, not just a day
From the first welcome to the final blessing, find example wording for every part of your ceremony, and learn how to write vows that sound like you.
Write your vows See the ceremony scriptPrintable and editable planners, and a book we recommend.
Your guests come because they have been part of your life. This guidebook gives them a way to show it: ring warming, a circle of light, wishing hearts, golden message stones and twenty more ideas, each with what you need, how to set it up, and wording you can print.
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For the friend you asked to marry you: everything from "yes" to mailing the license.
See what's inside
A month-by-month plan so nothing gets missed.
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Track every cost in one place so nothing surprises you.
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Keep invitations, RSVPs, and meal choices organized.
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Plain steps and fill-in pages for a toast you can be proud of.
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Encouragement and practical tips for the months ahead.
See it on AmazonSee all printables and planners
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Plain talk from someone who's been there
Each month I take one question brides ask and give you my honest answer, usually with a story or two from along the way.
NewThe gift list nearly went wrong in our house this year. The five words that set it right.
Read my take
My very first wedding, the license number I didn't have, and why being asked isn't the same as being allowed.
Read my take
Why my mom the florist would have winced, and why poinsettias and fall mums can set the stage for very little.
Read my takeCreate your wedding as an experience to be remembered by all and cherished by you.
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