Many of you come across this article by searching “Best Wedding Planner Book Australia”, but in my humble opinion, there’s more to choosing a wedding planner than simply what somebody else puts on the top of a google list. Planning a wedding is innately personal – it involves really complex decision making such as how best to allocate your wedding budget, as well as diplomatic skills like managing your guest list, while also trying to organise the ‘Big Day’ that feels right for you as a couple.

I don’t think there is just one perfect wedding planner book to suit all couples, regardless of their wedding. My sister is currently engaged, and for a long time she was planning an elopement with just a couple of friends, and all she used was a budget template. Unfortunately, due to Covid, her wedding was postponed twice, and now she’s planning a larger wedding and using a wedding planner book, as well as an online tool. She prefers having a physical planner book with her to take to vendor meetings and discuss/make notes with her fiance, while likes the ability to directly contact guests using the online tool.

This really got me thinking about the best way to help people choose a wedding planner book that’s going to suit them and their planning style. Remember, a wedding planner book can only help you if you are actually using it, so find the best one to suit you.

What kind of Wedding Planner Book or Planning Tools will be the best choice for you?

Before you choose your wedding planner book, consider the following:

• How long do you have until the Big Day? How organised are you feeling already?
• Do you enjoy writing, and want to have a keepsake of your wedding planning journey? If not, would you consider electronic or PDF templates/planning tools?
• Do you have any specific needs, such as gender-neutral language.
• Are you having a ‘traditional’ wedding, a small or ‘pop up’ wedding, an elopement, destination wedding, or other ceremony?
• Have you hired a wedding planner, and will they be doing a lot of the organising and keeping track of vendors on your behalf?
• How much are you comfortable spending, either as a one-off payment for a wedding planner book, or ongoing as part of an app or software?

Depending on what stands out to you from the above list, this is my curated guide to choosing the best wedding planner book to plan your wedding in Australia.

Australia’s 3 Best Wedding Planner Books (and 5 Alternative Planning Tools)

1. A Gender Neutral Wedding Planner Book and Keepsake Including a Countdown Diary to guide you through the months to your Big Day

The little white book may be the best wedding planner book for you, if you want to write down all the special moments, and create a lasting keepsake of your wedding planning journey. Its design is unique, in that it is the first wedding planner book designed to incorporate a 12 month diary which you can use as a daily planner, journal, or a bit of both. The best thing is, you can download a sample of the little white book, so you know exactly why it’s the best wedding planner book without spending a cent.

The little white book is also gender neutral, and comes highly recommended – included in almost every ‘Best Wedding Planner Book’ list since it launched in 2016, including Cosmopolitan, Glamour UK (#1), Bridal Musings (#1), Wedding Forward, Ink & Volt, CNN, Karen Willis Holmes and more.

Cosmo says: This planner/diary hybrid combines your wedding plans with your everyday routine. Containing a 12 month countdown to *the* day, it pretty much accounts for every moment of your life up until the big day. And, the perks of shopping at small businesses, it arrives in the post with a celebration card. Love!

Ink & Volt says: One of the best-selling wedding planning journals on the market, the Little White Wedding Organiser is the antidote to those who don’t want a big, bulky planning binder or an A4 sized spiral-bound journal. This minimalist chic hardbound white journal contains a 12-month diary structure for note-taking and daily usage (so you can live your life and plan your wedding), necessary wedding checklists, and more.

However, like I say, there is no perfect wedding planner book to suit everybody – the little white book is actually less ‘instructional’ than others, it has checklists integrated throughout, and every page you could possibly need for wedding vendors, guest list and the all-important wedding budget but it doesn’t give you every possible instruction on exactly how to make each of those decisions, because that will vary so much from couple to couple.

Details: 200 pages, A5 (210 x 143) gender neutral, hardcover white leatherette (vegan), $69 – or as part of the Ultimate Wedding Planning Bundle of wedding planner + anniversary journal + wedding planner templates) for $130 (full value $183)

So, if the style or design of the little white book aren’t for you, here are some other best wedding planner books in Australia

2. Ivory Tribe – Bride Business

Designed and printed in Melbourne, ‘Bride Business‘ has a chic, ‘cool bride’ aesthetic and vibe. With a monochromatic design, this wedding planner book has a modern feel to a more traditional wedding planner design – divided into sections for each of your wedding vendors to organise. The budget sections are also broken down across multiple pages, which would give you a lot of space to think about each, and then you would add them up to be part of your total budget.

It’s simple, chic and looks cool too, “Slipping easily into handbags, this 132 page sleek and sexy planner will escort a bride to all her important appointments and is designed to be shown off!”

Details: 132 pages, white hardcover paperbound book, 21 cm x 17 cm, $69

3. Write To Me ‘Together’ Wedding Planner

Melbourne designed, Australian business Write To Me’s gender neutral wedding planner book ‘love‘ is a simple design, with sections divided into: Budget Planner, Wedding Checklist, Supplier Notes, Guest List, Ceremony, Table Settings, Wedding Day Schedule, Photography, Gift and Thank You’s. “With tables, spreadsheets, lists and lots of room to stick in inspiration on the way. It will become a trusted wedding planner bible whether you are celebrating low key or going all out.

Details: 144 pages, A5 size, hardcover linen, $43

4. You want a Simple Wedding Planner Journal

You may not need all the bells, whistles and details of a comprehensive wedding planner book, if you’re planning on eloping, you’re having a very small wedding, or a very short engagement. If that’s the case, consider choose a wedding planner book without too much structure, to make some special notes in along the journey to your Big Day.

This little ‘Wedding Notes‘ is an affordable personalised wedding notebook that you could make your own, filling with notes, photos and mementos.

If you aren’t using a guided planner, you may still find it’s worth purchasing a wedding budget template like the one in our wedding planning pack (ours includes 32 printable pages of questions and information to consider with each of your vendor bookings as well as the budget and guest list template).

5. You may Prefer Planning Software rather than a Wedding Planner Book

If you think you may need a lot of assistance with wedding planning, but you’re not sure if you want to write it all down, or have a keepsake after your wedding, rather than a wedding planner book you may wish to consider an app or other wedding planning software (not everybody loves to write!). Something Blue offers incredible professional wedding planning software for a monthly subscription or one-off payment – the reviews are exceptionally good, and though it’s a big investment for some, it’s a lot more affordable than hiring a wedding planner, and is well worth the money according to everybody who has used it!

If you’re looking for free software, project-management tools like Trello are also extremely useable and functional for wedding planning, you’ve just got to populate them yourself, or purchase “Ultimate Wedding Checklist”—a template for Trello that you can purchase for US $96 from a wedding planner.

6. Best Wedding Planner Apps!

For those who prefer to do it all on a mobile device, a wedding planning app may be just the thing. Honestly, because I am such a lover of writing, I can’t say which I’d use, but here’s a couple I’ve been recommended. WeddingHappy is an easy-to-use wedding app for managing wedding planning tasks, payments and vendors, and they say “we’ve helped more than 1 million couples plan their weddings from their phones” – Download WeddingHappy app on iOS or Android

Bridebook calls itself “the world’s number one wedding planner.” They advertise that you can find inspiration and wedding planning tools all in one place, but at the moment the vendors appear limited to the UK (while the rest of the app works all around the world). It’s completely free, so worth a look too! Download Bridebook app on iOS or Android

6. Bride on a Budget and still want a planner… this have all the basics!

Not everyone wants to spend $60+ on a wedding planner book, and we’re okay with that! The Kmart Wedding Planner Book is just $8 and includes 60 pages of organisational help divided into 6 sections. There’s nothing wrong with a bargain when it comes to wedding planning. It’s currently available on Kmart Australia, I couldn’t find it instore to review, but even if you ‘get what you pay for’ it may be a step in the right direction!

I hope this article on choosing the wedding planner to suit you has helped, and not confused you. While I am slightly biased towards the little white book being the best, I still don’t think it will be the best wedding planner book for absolutely everybody. As somebody with ADHD who is not particularly well organised and needs to put pen to paper to get things organised, it was exactly what I needed to plan my wedding.