When Siri Agrell, the author of Bad Bridesmaid, was fired as a bridesmaid for her friend’s wedding, it was a win for women-in-waiting who, despite the fact that they love their brides, on occasion can’t quite believe what they’re being asked to swallow along with their champagne. Why some brides-to-be become tyrants is a strange procedure that usually lasts for 12 months covering themed showers, endless fittings and coming face to face with the chosen bridesmaid’s dress.
It’s a quick read, part memoir (including Agrell’s story and countless other confessions of bridesmaids-gone-bad) and part cultural analysis. The book is a good shower gift for a bride-to-be so that she doesn’t make the same mistakes.
Bad Bridesmaid by Siri Agrell (Harper Collins $19.95). Visit www.harpercollins.ca
Spotlight on the Bridesmaids
Being a bridesmaid doesn't begin and end with the 20-minute ceremony. It begins months before the wedding day even happens. The Bridesmaid Handbook is a guide that helps you learn what you need to do, when to do it, and how to both economical while fulfilling the bride's wishes at the same time.
As many brides as there are out there, there are at least two to three times as many bridesmaids. The bride has chosen her bridesmaids for her wedding party because they have special places in her heart and she knows they'll help make everything go smoothly.
This handbook includes tips for looking fabulous on the big day, ways to influence the choice of bridesmaids' dresses, what to do if you're a long distance bridesmaid, the bridesmaid's part in bridal showers, engagement parties and bachelorette bashes, ceremony etiquette, and guidelines on whether to bring a date to the wedding.
Starting from the minute you've accepted this important duty all the way through to the reception and beyond, the handbook will guide you through your duties for one of the most memorable days of your friend's life.
The Bridesmaid Handbook by Sharon Naylor (Sourcebooks ISBN 1-4022-0356-X; $10.95 US/$14.95 CAN). Visit www.sourcebooks.com.
Wedding Planner's Key Issues
Author Beverly Clark knows that a bride-to-be has a thousand questions, and Clark has addressed these and more in the completely revised edition of her best-selling wedding guidebook.
Broken down in 24 easily accessed chapters, the planner features updated etiquette advice, tips for saving time and money, ways to create an easy-to-live-with budget, and revised worksheets and checklists to simplify the planning process. Also included are questions to ask potential vendors (florists, photographers and musicians).
To make this edition even easier to use, Clark added colorful dividers, which separate sections with actual wedding photo-collages. These dividers also provide pockets to keep critical papers where they belong. In addition, the purchase of this book allows the user access to free Internet interactive resources. The author states that today's bride is much more independent and computer savvy, but still wants to create a wedding that is infused with her own style.
Planning a Wedding to Remember by Beverly Clark (Wilshire Publications; ISBN: 0-934081-26-3; Hardcover, concealed spiral/$24.95U.S.). Visit www.planningaweddingtoremember.com.
Getting into Shape
A wedding day is one of the few opportunities that a woman has to wear a fabulous dress and be the center of attention in front of family and friends. Bridal Bootcamp: Look Fabulous on Your Big Day by professional fitness trainer Cynthia Conde offers fitness and nutrition programs for six months, three months or one month, depending on how much time you have before the big day on a fast-track shape-up plan.
The book addresses how to achieve great arms and shoulders, energy to dance all night, dropping a dress size or more, flatten your tummy and more. It teaches how to integrate stretching, abdominal exercises, cardiovascular conditioning and strength-training in streamlined, hour-long workouts designed to shape up each muscle group. Among the many things brides-to-be will learn include:
• The best exercises to quickly whip your body into shape.
• The right way to diet. Learn why you should eat five meals a day instead of three.
• The truth about supplements and how they affect your training.
• How to scientifically determine your own caloric maintenance level so you know how much you can eat yet still lose weight.
• The four big myths about women and strength-training.
• How to safely determine your target heart rate using the Karvonen formula.
• How to make ugly cellulite disappear.
• A four-part nutrition program tells you what your energy needs are, how to recognize exactly what you are eating and the way it affects your body, and how to establish a no-nonsense meal plan.
Bridal Bootcamp: Look Fabulous On Your Big Day by Cynthia Conde (Running Press $20.95 ISBN: 0-7624-1818-8). Visit www.runningpress.com and www.bridalbootcamponline.com.
Wedding Photography Tips
This book helps brides make smart decisions about everything from determining photo preferences and finding the right photographer to choosing dress styles and colors, bouquets, and shades of makeup that positively impact portraits. It discusses the trends in wedding photography, digital photography and explains the differences between photo-journalistic and traditional photographers; new trends in album design and options for displaying photos at the reception or rehearsal dinner; and new technologies such as video proofing, CD proofing and online proofing, and insider tips, such as time lines to help brides stay organized and prepared and budget advice that will safeguard couples against costly mistakes
10 items photographers should asks brides-to-be to consider:
- Where and at what time will you be getting ready?
- What time will you pose for your portraits?
- Does the photographer have the directions to all locations?
- Confirm that the flowers, including the men's, will be delivered before the first portrait is taken.
- What time will the groom and his groomsmen be arriving at the ceremony location?
- Confirm the photographer emergency contact person and emergency phone number.
- Discuss in detail any planned exits, both from the wedding and the reception.
- Will food be provided for the photographer and his assistant? If not, what time would you prefer they break to eat?
- Discuss any unique or special reception activities you would like to have photographed.
- Provide your photographer with the names and phone numbers of the other service provider you�ve contracted. Most photographers work closely with their fellow wedding vendors and it allows them to coordinate any special details.
The Bride's Guide to Wedding Photography by Kathleen Hawkins (Amherst Media $22.95). Visit www.AmherstMedia.com.
Wedding Day Emergencies
This book gives couples step-by-step survival instructions complete with sketches for when everything goes wrong. The how-to information works as a back-up plan to situations that they have no control over.
There are nearly 180 page of immediate-action drills in the Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Weddings that cover such items as the bridal shower, how to trim the guest list, flowers that don't arrive, repairing a dropped wedding cake, how to fix broken heels, dealing with things such as the bridesmaid that drinks too much, how to survive if the officiant doesn't show up, how to stop a bad toast, how to avoid a fight for the bouquet, and the most important of all ... how to find the groom!
The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Weddings by Joshua Pivenand, David Borgenicht and Sarah Jordan (Chroniclebooks Paperback ISBN 0811845370 $14.95 U.S.). Visit www.chronicalbooks.com.
WeddingsHoneymoons.com | Wedding Books | January 20, 2012
