The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner & Organizer [binder edition]: Worksheets, Checklists, Etiquette, Calendars, and Answers to Frequently Asked Questions Hardcover – January 1, 2013

Best wedding planner out there.I bought one of these for my own wedding planning, but from Barnes and Noble because I had a gift card there.Then,. one of my best friends got engaged, and I immediately knew I had to buy her one of these.Not only does it have EVERYTHING you could possibly think of, it has MORE! It is very organized with sections (invitations, guest list, ceremony, dress, etc.), but it also provides several subsections within it - questions to ask, contact info, places for pictures, etc. This book allows you to identify everything you could possible need to know, and more, for planning a wedding. Don't know what I would've done without it.Also - some of my favorite features:1) connection to theknot.com, which allows you to create a seating chart using their templates (reiterated in the planner to use it but they also have examples in the planner if you want to create your own without the template)2) color swatches - generic and not specific to a company, but can get the idea. It also gives suggestions for complimentary colors. Ex: if you want a dark purple, you turn the swatch over and it'll give you ideas from that same chart of colors of what would go with it.3) budget help - identifying the "most important" things and then other "not-as-important" things to help create a budget for the wedding. Even if your parents are paying for a lump sum of your wedding, this is helpful because most parents have a limit and this helps you think of what things you could do without, if needed4) allows for great conversation with your fiance about what you both want/expect, etc. and HE can even look at it if he wants to & make suggestions!5) ease of use and organized content6) worksheets for you & fiance to fill out

This is a great informative binder for anyone trying to organize their own wedding. Mine arrived in perfect condition. It came with the shrink wrap still on it. The binder rings were protected by a piece of cardboard. When I started flipping through some of the pages I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the paper.We are on a budget (and I assume most people are). So incorporating a wedding planner into it isn't in our best interest. Besides the fact it would mean more to me to plan my own wedding. But let's be real, I don't know everything there is to know about planning a wedding (as much as I'd like to believe that) and I don't have a bottomless budget. So of course I'd love to have a little bit of direction.So let's get to some of the reasons I really enjoy and some that I wish were a little better about this organizer:+ (POSITIVE) I really have to give a huge credit to the author for going into detail about what to ask the people you are hiring! This is so important. I do photography as a hobby, but I do network with a lot of people who do (specifically) wedding photography as their main source of income. All these questions are really important to ask up front. But the author has given you the tools to ask the right questions that can tell you if you're hiring the right person (I'm not just talking about the photographers). Things I honestly wouldn't even think to ask and are definitely things I wouldn't want to be worrying about on the day of. Example (questions about the venue); Will the manager be present to oversee your reception to the end? Or... Does the room have adequate outlets (and power) for food, lighting, and audio needs? Like, seriously... I would have sat there like a lump on a log and took in whatever information they gave me and left it at that.- (NEGATIVE) So, this is more of a suggestion than anything. Those question pages for the people you hire have such a small space to write extra notes down. My writing is not that small. I'm thinking when it comes time to meet with certain vendors I will end up numbering each question then adding a lined page and if I have something extra to note about a specific question I can number it there and write down what I need. Which brings me to my next positive...+ It's a binder! Guys. You can add things and remove things easily. Not having a big wedding (like myself)? We're not going to have a lot of the "traditional" pre-wedding parties. Not even a rehearsal dinner. So that entire section can pretty much go bye-bye. So I can just take them out. And, if I decide to have one later on, I can just pop it back in. Want to add in photos of your dream gown? You absolutely can. It's extremely customizable.+ This binder is super flexible. What I mean by that is it doesn't make you feel like you have to do your wedding one way or another. The author has gone to great lengths to make sure your wedding is done the way you want to do it. Want a big wedding to match your big sparkly princess ballgown? This binder has it all. Want a small intimate wedding with a 30 person guest list (ME!)? This binder is for you too.+ Easy and interactive! I must be the definition of a simple-minded-neanderthal when it comes to planning big things. I don't like pages filled with wall of text it gets me disinterested and this binder would find itself in a dusty corner very quickly. It's got plenty of useful diagrams and pictures to guide you along. It also includes a ton of neat little checklists.Overall, I'm really happy I got this. My wedding isn't for another year and a half but I'm already coming up with ideas to make it easier on myself. I'll give an update after everything is said and done. Happy planning!Update March 22, 2020: Wow! I can't believe how popular this review has become thank you! I just wanted to give a really quick update. We still haven't had our ceremony as of yet because we have decided to delay it. I ended up getting braces so on the big day I could smile for the camera. Our wedding is now going to probably not be until 2022. I'm just really happy and humbled that people thought this review helped them to make a decision. Once again I will definately update when we finally have our ceremony.