Free Downloads The Perfect Wedding Reception: Stylish Ideas For Every Season
Once couples decide to say "I do" there are dozens and dozens of decisions to be made. It's hard to know where to begin and even more difficult to fit all the dozens of details together into one wonderful event. Thankfully Maria McBride-Mellinger, author of acclaimed bridal books, stylishly illustrates just how to create a dreamy reception that will be forever memorable. The Perfect Wedding Reception features exquisite wedding celebrations designed by Maria McBride-Mellinger that capture the magic of each season in refreshing, contemporary style. The nuptial adventure begins in a formal spring garden but soon its off to a beach front for a fanciful summer wedding, to a revolutionary era stone barn for a rustic fall wedding and finally to a gracious country home for a candle lit winter wedding feast. Glorious photos of each location, flowers, menu selections, table details, centerpieces, bouquets, invitations, wedding cakes and favors tell the story of each wedding with helpful tips and most importantly McBride-Mellinger's favorite resources from around the country that will actually help bring your wedding reception to life. Whatever season you choose to marry Maria McBride-Mellinger offers delightful flourishes to tempt every couple as they plan the party of their lives and create memories meant to last a lifetime.
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (December 5, 2000)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060192984
ISBN-13: 978-0060192983
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.2 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,312,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #41 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Weddings > Showers, Parties & Receptions #44 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Weddings > Etiquette #821 in Books > Reference > Etiquette > Etiquette Guides & Advice
I wanted to get some sort of book for ideas because all that the brick-thick bridal magazines do is show you wedding gown after wedding gown with the occasional bridesmaids gown thrown in for variety. I wanted ideas for place settings, place cards, flower arrangements, cakes, favors, and even menus and was getting frustrated.When I ordered this book, I was a little concerned because it is advertised as a reception for each of the four seasons. I'm having a winter wedding, so I was thinking "Oh Great- I'm only going to be able to use a fourth of this book." I was WRONG! Generally speaking this book manages to give you ideas for how to give your wedding (or any formal event) the *feel* of the season, but also gives you detailed ideas that may generalize throughout the year. For example: The spring bouquet with some modification would be beautiful for my December bouquet.In addition to the seasonal advice, there are sections called "Fine points" dealing with general details such as "confections" (desserts), table accents (for formal, semi-formal and informal occasions), flowers, etc. The ideas that seem to be lacking in the literally foot-tall stack of bridal magazines are here in this book.Yes, some of the ideas in the book are sorta pricey, but some are less pricey and very do-it-yourself (e.g. Juniper shrubs in galvanized tin buckets, covering the topsoil with moss and tying a silver mesh ribbon around the trunk- VERY cute, and highly do-able).I highly recommend this book! I do wish there were a book for each of the seasons, but until then, don't be afraid of this one!
As a special event floral designer, I have a HUGE library of books from all over the world and this is the BEST one I've found so far.I constantly stress to my clients to look at the big picture when planning a wedding, not just one aspect at a time, such as flowers, colors, linens...This books shows how all the elements of a wedding can work together to give you a wonderful event that looks fantastic. Use this book as a jumping off point for your own wedding, it is full of inspiration,and you can adapt many of the ideas to suit your own color scheme and setting.This book is a MUST HAVE for Brides and anyone in the wedding business.
This book has wonderful pictures of four weddings, one in each season.The pictures are truly extraordinary, but they are almost exclusively of these four weddings, so there aren't tons of different ideas for each season, rather one "theme" idea for each season. One thing that disappointed me was that her summer wedding was a casual one on the beach, so if you want more formal ideas for a summer wedding you are out of luck. Like other reviewers have said, most of these perfect presentations would be completely out of a lot of people's price range, but you could definitely pull a few ideas that you loved from her spreads and make it work on a smaller budget. By and large this is a good supplementary book on reception ideas, with tons of photos and some good "idea" text (as opposed to "how-to" text.)
In preparation for our wedding, I ordered just about every book that I thought looked appealing and got great reviews, literally HUNDREDS of dollars' worth of books! This and its companion, The Perfect Wedding, stood out among the rest.I liked it for the following reasons:1. Beautiful pictures of original ideas. There were lots of pictures and lots of ideas. Obviously you aren't going to find a book that has absolutely every idea for flowers or cakes (it would be HUGE!), but the ones that this book included were very nice.2. Good mix of pictures and text. About 3/5 of the book was pictures and ideas. It was divided up into 4 sections representing the 4 seasons, so you could get ideas for your specific season (getting inspiration from the best of your season is a great idea!). The other 2/5 of the book was resources with phone number, addresses, websites, etc., so you could actually get ahold of the people who put together the beautiful things in this book or go to the places that would give you more of a similar idea.3. Not just for the wealthy. Granted that I personally am not too concerned with books geared for my budget, this book gave ideas for all ranges of budgets. Of course, some of the cakes, flowers, etc., must have been expensive, but she also gives ideas that are more budget-conscious.I would recommend this book, no question. It's better than Colin Cowie's, on par with Martha's, and definitely much better than Vera Wang's.Buy this book!
The pictures in this book are absolutely amazing! It's sectioned into each of the four seasons, with each section focused on one particular wedding. I would have liked to see more examples of multiple weddings, however this approach lets you examine the details more closely. For example, I fell in love with the candlesticks in the winter section and am avidly searching for them. I'm having a difficult time finding them, however at least I know the manufacturer from the extensive index in the back. This brings me to another point; the page count is deceiving. Practically 1/3 of the book is reference, helpful but I like pictures.You'll find lots of ideas to incorporate into your own wedding, no matter what your budget is. I highly recommed this book to anyone planning a fall wedding. The colors and decorations in this section are charming yet exquisite! The menu follows the fall theme perfectly, with pumpkin and pear based dishes.For the most part, I'm very satisfied with the book. I actually told my finace, "It's too bad we can only have one wedding", since I fell in love with 3 out of 4. (The summer wedding left a lot to be desired, the colors were lime green and canary yellow! The decorations were too modern for my taste.)
The Perfect Wedding Reception: Stylish Ideas For Every Season Wedding Tips #1: 101 Wedding Reception Decorating Ideas (Stunning Ideas and Tips for Your Dream Wedding Reception) Wedding Planning : Every Bride's Essential Wedding Guide: Plan The Perfect Wedding And Avoid Potential Mistakes (Wedding Planning Guide, Wedding Planner, Wedding Tips, Wedding Celebration) Wedding Planning - 25 Essentials: The Ultimate Guide for Selecting Dresses, Cakes and Decorations on a Budget (Wedding Planning, Wedding Registry, Wedding ... Rings, Wedding Reception, Getting Married) Wedding Planning: Affordable and Practical Wedding Guide for Planning The Best Wedding Celebration - Creative Wedding Ideas - Wedding Decorations - Wedding ... Accessories (Weddings by Sam Siv Book 1) Wedding Planning: How To Plan Your Dream Wedding - The Ultimate Guide To Planning An Affordable, Beautiful Wedding On A Budget (Wedding, Wedding Ideas Decorations, Wedding Budget) Wedding Dresses - A Picture Guide Book For Wedding Dress and Gown Inspirations: A Picture-Perfect Guide To Selecting The Perfect Wedding Gown Is The Perfect ... For Brides-To-Be (Weddings by Sam Siv 7) Make Your Wedding Budget Go Further: Learn Wedding Planner Secrets To High Quality, Cheap Weddings Through Effective Wedding Planning (wedding favors, ... wedding magazines, wedding bouquets,) Wedding Planning Guide: A Practical, on a Budget Guide to a Sweet and Affordable Wedding Celebration: Wedding ideas, Wedding tips, Step by Step Wedding Planning Wedding Decoration Ideas - Wedding Planning On A Budget, Cheap Wedding Decorating Ideas DIY Outdoor or Indoor Wedding Book The DIY Wedding: How to Bootstrap Your Way to the Perfect Wedding (Wedding Dress, Wedding Planning, Invitations, Centrepieces, Favours) Romantic Budget Wedding Ideas: Where to Find Cheap Wedding Dresses, Reception Venues and More (Weddings Book 1) Bride's Wedding Planner: The Perfect Guide to the Perfect Wedding Weddings: Wedding Dresses: An Illustrated Picture Guide Book For Wedding Dress and Gown Inspirations: A Picture-Perfect Guide To Selecting The Perfect ... Brides-To-Be (Weddings by Sam Siv) (Volume 7) The $500 Wedding: How to have a beautiful wedding and reception for $500 The Wedding Reception Checklist (The Wedding Planning Checklist Series Book 4) Wedding Companion: A Personal Journal and Keepsake to Help You Plan Your Dream Wedding, Reception and Honeymoon Wedding Speeches: Father Of The Bride Speeches: How To Give The Perfect Speech At Your Perfectly Wonderful Daughter?s Wedding (Wedding Speeches - Books By Sam Siv) (Volume 2) Knack Wedding Flowers: A Complete Illustrated Guide to Ideas for Bouquets, Ceremony Decor, and Reception Centerpieces (Knack: Make It easy) Wedding Planning on a Budget: The Ultimate Wedding Planner and Wedding Organizer to Help Plan Your Dream Wedding on a Budget: Weddings by Sam Siv, Book 24
