Recommended books for planning your wedding:
Favorites:
These two wonderful books use a "recipe approach" to creating your own wedding ceremony:
- The Wedding Ceremony Planner- The Essential Guide to the Most Important Part of Your Wedding Day by Reverend Judith Johnson, PhD
- Joining Hands and Hearts: Interfaith, Intercultural Wedding Celebrations- A Practical Guide for Couples by Reverend Susanna Stefanachi Macomb (This book is very affirming to interfaith couples!)
Contains many interesting wedding ideas from cultures around the world.
- Weddings from the Heart - Contemporary and Traditional Ceremonies for an Unforgettable Wedding by Daphne Rose Kingma
More Readings and vows:
- Wedding Vows and Traditions by Cathy Howes
- The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions: Readings, Rituals, Music, Dances, Speeches, and Toasts by Carley Roney and the Editors of THE KNOT
The Knot's book is very comprehensive in scope, for planning more than your wedding ceremony, but also your reception planning. (It lacks in depth what it covers in breadth, for the ceremony itself, in the opinion of the owner of this website). For more specific needs, we recommend the following books.
Books For More Specific Purposes:
- Beyond Breaking the Glass: A Spiritual Guide to Your Jewish Wedding by Rabbi Nancy H. Wiener
- The New Jewish Wedding by Anita Diamont
- Celebrating Interfaith Marriages by Rabbi Devon Lerner
- Wedding Readings: Centuries of Writing and Rituals on Love and Marriage by Eleanor Munro
- Words for the Wedding by Wendy Paris and Andrew Chesler
- Gay and Lesbian Weddings- Planning the Perfect Same-Sex Ceremony by David Toussaint and Heather Leo
There are hundreds (thousands?) of wedding websites on-line with useful information, as well.
Note: InterfaithOfficiants.com does not recommend completely writing your own ceremony. Experienced, ordained clergy are necessary for making sure your wedding ceremony will be professional, beautiful, logistically practical, official, and in most states, legal. Nothing is more important than your wedding day! You want the experience of an expert to make sure your ceremony is perfect. However, most celebrants welcome and encourage your choice of readings, poems, and music. Together with your experienced, ordained Officiant, you can create the ceremony of your dreams! "Design your own wedding ceremony" information offered courtesy of Reverend Nancy Cronk, listed under "Colorado" on InterfaithOfficiants.com. Opinions expressed are hers exclusively.
Disclaimer: I have found the following information from various sources. I am not selling them, nor profiting from their listing. I have placed them on my site as a courtesy to others, to show the breadth of offerings in this category. If you wish to use these items, you must follow all copyright laws yourself, and/or obtain permission to use them, if that permission is necessary.
