This Book Is Everything Your Engaged Friends Need Right Now
Alright, so engagement season officially kicks off in less than 2 weeks, and with that, holidays become allllll about the newly-minted almost-marrieds. Cue the new sparkler selfies, the ‘does this ring make me look engaged?’ mugs, the social media status tweaks ((i.e. ‘currently engaged to the best girl/guy ever’)), and the bride-to-be subscription box vetting process. It’s a whole thing, and it’s awesome - not only for the couple, but for their friends and family who really don’t have to think too hard about gifts for the holiday season. If it has even a remote connection to the wedding planning cause, it’s fair game! All that said, we pretty much found wedding planning+wine night gold in a brand-new book authored by a husband and wife team - Valley & Company Events - who epitomize #relationshipgoals. Storied Weddings, you’ve got our stamp of approval. And some.
When I got engaged, I literally could not wait to take the plunge into planning mode: AKA getting wedding wrecked and writing checks 24/7. At the time, I worked in a PR agency with a niceee big cubicle that I could style any way I wanted - so, I curated with cute desk eye candy from my clients and a tiny little library of [Style Me] pretty-esque planning books that I could flip through during lunch for inspiration and have my coworkers marvel at (constantly), because my cube was the sweetest little nuptials nook there ever was. I can’t say that I was the first bride to ever go head over heels for my haute new title ‘the soon-to-be Mrs. Halibey,’ and I certainly won’t be the last.
So, if you’re the new bride’s bestie, sister, mama, MIL, cousin, coworker, neighbor, and you want to give her something she’ll use as much as she stares at, then you have to go for this title and the tremendous talent behind it.
We put together a countdown of reasons why this 👰📖 is so good. And we obvi had to share:
5. It’s got chic written all over it.
We’re always told not to judge a book by its cover, right? Well, for this one time only, we’re going to say judge judge judge judge judge, because this cover is beyond beautiful - and it’s just the first selection of all the stunning snaps this book has to offer. Garland-strung, tented soirees make such a great impression, but this is only the beginning.
4. It’s filled with wedding wisdom from some of the greats.
And when we say some, we actually mean LOTS. The book is penned by Seattle-based planners Aleah+Nick Valley, who have been killing it in the Pacific Northwest wedding space for over 15 years. Along with their dream-haunting - in the best way - event highlights, advice and planning expertise, the book brims with brightness from some of the pair’s closest celebration confidants. From savant-level, stylistic notes from stationers to wise words from some of the wedding industry’s poshest publishers, the tying-the-knot know-how streaming in from every angle is just awe-inspiring. As is the imagery from fine art photographers (and another phenomenal husband and wife team), O'Malley Photographers. All of the cover art is their work, and they captured the book in its entirety on film. Absolutely mind-blowing 🤯.
3. Its foreword comes from a force to be reckoned with.
Above and beyond the creative and collaborative nature of this new wedding planning must-have, the book’s foreword is written by none other than one of the wedding industry’s greatest and most venerable visionaries - Marcy Blum. Even couples who aren’t up-to-date with the biggest trends and wedding ‘things’ know her, so the degree of authenticity and authority that she lends is just tremendous. Anything that Marcy Blum puts her name on is pretty major, we’ll just say that.
2. It’s all about personalization and the bespoke.
Aleah and Nick Valley pride themselves on creating wedding experiences that speak to a couple’s style, their vibe, the quirks that make them work. That’s been their M.O. from day one, and it carries through to today. So, their inaugural book doesn’t stray, even slightly, from the status quo. Everything inside - each page - encourages brides and grooms to dream up elements and moments that will come together to tell the story of their wedding in a fresh and special way. And that’s kind of what every modern couple wants to hear.
1. It’s available anywhere that books are sold+there’s a giveaway too.
Storied Weddings can be ordered at Barnes & Noble, your local book store, Target, Amazon, essentially anywhere that books are sold. And apart from that, the Valleys and their wedding savvy squad have an awesome giveaway going on. Head over to our Instagram to peep the perks - which include a signed copy of Storied Weddings @storiedweddings, a gift certificate for a Mrs. Box @the_mrs_box, a 36-piece box of Fran's Chocolates @franschocolates, and a $300 gift certificate to Bella Belle Shoes @bellabelleshoes. 🙌🙌🙌. Either enter for your newly fiancéd-up friends or tell them to take part once they have your gift in their hands!
Get your favorite couple’s copy now or clue them in on how they can enter to win [the giveaway]!
Also, start following Storied Weddings and Valley & Company Events on IG for all the storybook wedding style you can handle
We partnered with Valley & Company Events to share all the flip-through-worthy finesse of their first wedding planning book. As always, thank you for supporting our sponsors!
- Event Planning & Design: Valley & Company Events
- Foreword: Marcy Blum
- Photographers: O'Malley Photographers