Mother-of-the-Bride Approved: The Catholic Wedding Planner

Barb Szyszkiewicz reviews The Catholic Wedding Planner from the perspective of the mother of the bride.

It's a big deal when your daughter announces her engagement—a very big deal, and a wonderful moment. And it feels like only five minutes later, she starts thinking about all the details.

So many details.

There is so much to plan, when it comes to planning your wedding day. And not every bride, or mother of the bride, has lots of experience with weddings. When I got married, I was the first in our crowd to do so, and I've only been a member of two bridal parties since (I'd rather sing at a wedding than walk down the aisle in a dress I know I'll never wear again). My daughter doesn't have much wedding experience either. 

The last thing I want is for us to be at the mercy of the bridal guides that are only concerned with the dress, the limo, and the cake. This Mother of the Bride wants a wedding planner that focuses on the sacrament—without leaving out the dress, the limo, and the cake.

(I'll just leave it here that for my wedding, we decided to forego the limo and made sure the bridal party all had rides from the church to the reception. We, however, did not have a ride, and we almost got left behind at the church.)

I'm really pleased that The Catholic Wedding Planner, new from Our Sunday Visitor, covers all the bases and does so with a Catholic focus.

Between each practical chapter, the bride and groom will find reflections on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, a passage often included in the readings at weddings, written by Emily Wilson Hussem, Jenny Uebbing, and Rachel Balducci.

While the practical aspects of planning your wedding are important, these reflections on love are even more essential as you prepare. These meditations will allow you to pause, reflect, and pray so that you can bring God into the details of your wedding planning. As imporant as those details are to you, they're even more important to Him. He is your loving Father. Invite Him to make this journey with you! (18)

After each reflection, there's journaling space for the bride to process her thoughts.

What's inside:

• Pre-wedding timeline (based on a 12-month engagement, with guidelines for adjusting for shorter or longer periods)
• 3 things to do before you do anything else
• The Sacrament of Matrimony, including basics about the sacrament, marriage prep, Natural Family Planning
• Managing your Budget, with tips on saving money for what really matters and worksheets for tracking expenses
• The Big Picture: choosing your reception venue and caterer
• The Wedding Party
• Guests, including building a wedding website, sending invitations, keeping track of gifts, welcoming out-of-town friends and family
• Photography and Videography
• Attire
• Flowers and Décor
• Liturgy and Music
• The Reception
• Becoming One Flesh
• The Bridal Shower and Other Wedding Traditions, including Catholic wedding customs you might want to incorporate in your wedding ceremony or reception
• The Wedding Weekend
• After the Wedding
• Prayers for wedding preparation and marriage

I wish The Catholic Wedding Planner had been available when I was planning my wedding. It would have saved me from some missteps (like forgetting to arrange transportation from the church!), helped me save money, and provided focus on what really matters: the marriage, not the party.

If, after Valentine's Day, you find that you're a member of the mother-of-the-bride club, congratulations! This is the book for you to share with your newly engaged daughter. I can't wait to share it with mine.

Copyright 2022 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images: Canva Pro

This article contains Amazon affiliate links, which provide a small compensation to the author of this piece when purchases are made through the links, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting our Catholic Mom writers in this way.