Wedding Books

Someone on these reviews compared this to Steel Magnolias - I had that feeling, too. This book was about the comraderie of southern women, their pains, their joys, their marriages, their past sins, their childhoods, their children and religion.

I found this in the Christian fiction section of Books-a-Million.
But was it about Christianity? It read from the first like a novel I would have to classify as worldly. I found it distasteful in the way it presented itself, and was tempted to quit reading after the first few pages. But because of a good review within by an author's opinion I usually value, I read the entire book. I have to say, though, that I had to keep thumbing back through the pages to see who was who and where they fit into the lives of the four women.

Granted, Christian women have "pasts" and deal with difficult "presents" of all kinds and are at different places in their Christian "walk". Obviously, there are non-Christian women (those who haven't made a commitment to Christ)as well who may relate to the characters' stories, viewpoints. Yet if this book was intended to help point the way to a committed Christian life with the characters on the way to that or already there, I feel it falls short.

If it was for entertainment or to be thought-provoking or to fully describe a variety of ways to give successful weddings and/or receptions, then it meets its mark.

I brought this book to read on a summer vacation and I was so bored and put off by the first 38 pages that I will read no further. The author seems preoccupied with coy cuteness, unimaginative language, and the bathroom habits of dogs. I just couldn't take any more; I usually at least skim a book once I've plunked down my money for it, but I think I'd rather watch my well-behaved dog chase grasshoppers in the front yard than read another page of perky pretentiousness.
Is this how women of faith really write?

Being new to reading fiction, I just did not know what to expect from this book, but it was much better than I thought it would be. This book is about so much more than just weddings. The women in this story are so real and believable and I found myself relating to certain aspects of all of them. The writing is so well done and the story is told in a fluid and interesting manner. I really enjoyed this book from start to finish.

Readers familiar with Beth Webb Hart will have no trouble recalling her previous titles, GRACE AT LOW TIDE and ADELAIDE PIPER. Both books made Booklist's top 10 Christian fiction books in 2006, and with good reason: Hart's writing style was utterly exquisite, and her skill as a storyteller matched her style.

THE WEDDING MACHINE represents something of a departure from her previous works, centered as they were on the interior lives of two young women. Make no mistake, the setting is still the South Carolina Low Country, and Hart's Southern sensibilities emerge once again in her descriptions of both the social structure of a small town in the South and the low country itself. But here the focus is on a group of four longtime female friends, now in middle age with daughters to marry off.

Hilda, Ray, Sis and Kitty B. have inherited from their mothers the task of organizing Jasper's weddings, at least within their own social circle and the congregation of All Saints Episcopal Church. Known as the Wedding Guild, the four women have this whole wedding thing down to a science. If anything upsets the proceedings, it won't be due to a lack of planning on their part. Every detail, down to the Krazy Glue in the emergency wedding-day box, has been carefully attended to by the human "wedding machine."

Things get hairy, though, one summer when the machine begins to break down. Hilda, who has been holed up in her house ever since her husband left her nearly two years earlier, makes an appearance just long enough to stir things up before hiding herself away once again. Ray faces a crisis of monumental proportions --- given her Southern upbringing, that is --- when her daughter makes the mistake of her life, to Ray's way of thinking. The never-married Sis, still grieving over the loss of the love of her life decades earlier, struggles with her lack of attraction to the single minister everyone wants to pair her up with. Kitty B. continues to live a life of not-so-quiet exasperation with her chronically ill, apparently hypochondriac husband. And although these women have been best friends their entire adult lives, several harbor deep secrets that they have never shared with each other and that go a long way in explaining their personalities and relationship challenges.

The story itself is among the book's strengths, as is Hart's attention to detail. (One detail could have used a bit of an explanation, though: the frequent references to "shagging." It's clear from the context that it's a dance, but a brief description of the Carolina shag would have helped keep readers' minds from wandering to that other, slangy meaning of shag; think "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.") However, I found the introduction of so many characters so early on to be confusing. By the middle of the book, the four main characters had settled into their distinctive personalities, and at that point the storyline did become easier to follow. Another problem, though, was the juxtaposition of flashbacks and the current storyline. For whatever reason --- perhaps the layout method used to distinguish now from then --- I found it difficult to keep my bearings with regard to the various time periods.

Even with those flaws, THE WEDDING MACHINE surpasses many of its cousins in Christian fiction. Readers of Southern fiction --- or anyone who has lived in the "real" South --- will no doubt enjoy this glimpse into the lives of four women thoroughly entrenched in the ways of the Old South.

--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford

I really enjoyed this book. It stayed with me for a long while after I read it. For those who have had a tough childhood and still pretend to be in a perfect world, it hit home. I could also relate to labors for the church in a behind the scenes way that seems completely senseless but somehow is the glue that binds us to the church and the other ladies doing the same things. It's love. We do it for love and because of something more, a treasure to carry on, get us through life and ultimately all of this helps us to serve and love God. I was comforted by this book.

The most wrenching parts for me were Hilda's struggle with her childhood memories and her not getting any help for herself and also the young soldier who was killed in Viet Nam. Lots of things made me cry in this book and I was amazed at the depth of feeling and the broad knowledge that this author was able to bring to life..

I especially was tickled by the purple people eater church description in a strip mall. Now that was funny. Here in the South, you can see a new church popping up every day with some catchy nondenominational name sometimes in your face names to show you they are NOT like the traditional church. They are everywhere here at the same time traditional churches struggle to keep their members who just want to be a place to honor and worship God without all the hoopla of rock concerts. It will be interesting to see how this all falls out now that we are into the second generation of this sad conflict. Will elderly parishoners still want to rock out when they turn 70? Are these new churches only for the young or the forever young? Frankly, I'm just glad that people are going to church!!!

I loved the book and am going to recommend it to my Altar Guild friends! LOL. It's sort of pep talk for us.

that book was delightful. no, no... it was brilliant. no, no, no... there is no word to describe its perfection so i'm forced to make one up. and i'm going to do so right now... scrumtrilescent. Love for a Lifetime was absolutely scrumtrilescent. a book so scrumtrilescent, i can barely move.

Dr. Dobson, i am born anew in your genius.

My wife, two daughters ages 14 and 16, and I are currently working through a chapter a day with this book. I read aloud the chapter and we discuss points brought up and expierences from our own marriage. It works very good for this. The chapters are not too long except for chapter 5 "Fundamentals of a Christain Marriage" which we broke into sections.

This would be a great way to hold a study with your children as my wife and I are doing, with young couples, and with singles who hope to marry one day and go the distance.

My wife and two daughters do not see any demeaning of women as a couple of the negative reviews indicated. Those two people must be seriously biased for some reason.

Highly recommended for those who want to go the distance with a life long mate!

I found this book to not only be shallow and poorly written, but also insidiously demeaning to women. Rather than focusing on the individual strengths and weaknesses men and women bring to relationships, the author focused on the weakness and instability of women. In addition, his examples and analogies were often misplaced and poorly devised... certainly not illustrative of his points or of a healthy marriage. I found the content much too general with overuse of stereotypes. My fiancee and I have read Chapman's Five Love Languages and got a great deal more out of that exercise.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Dr. Dobson is insightful and shares his wisdom with a gentle sense of humor that makes the book wonderful to read and reread!! Loved it!!! It was a great resouce for our marriage!

We think this book has a lot of good advice and thoughts for engaged or newly married couples - or really anyone. We give it as a gift at bridal showers and weddings often. Commitment, Communication and Christ are 3 of the things Dobson stresses as essential to a loving, lifelong marriage.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful books I have ever laid eyes on. From the paper to the content, it leaves the reader with a lasting impression of the style and elegance that is Vera Wang. And to hear her own story of finding love and marriage only makes the book more special.

Please don't buy this book if you need honest, reasonable tips for your wedding. This has some beautiful photographs and makes a nice coffee table book but it is waaay to huge to lug around as one may wish to do. Photos are nice but that is basically it. In addition, I wish it had more photographs of gowns. Doesn't have as many photographs of a variety of gowns as I had hoped.

Same old stuff nothing different.

Beautifully presented... a wonderful showcase of blissfully simple yet incredibly elegant gowns... also features glimpses into fabulous famous brides & their weddings.... very inspirational & truly lovely ....

This book became the Bible of a certain bride I knew when she was getting married in a VERY big service and I was one of her friends involved early on in much of the planning. We had about three other mass market wedding books as well as a hired advisor/planner but those were quickly cast aside in favor of this one. Soon more faith was placed in this book than in tomorrow's sunrise. "What's Vera say about..." became the catch-phrase of the season.

Vera Wang and her staff not only create beautiful wedding dresses, but they know the occasion of wedding from A to Z. Fair warning, this book does pre-suppose that some serious money is going to be invested in the service and reception, but for those who are planning a once in a lifetime event they want special in every way, I know of no other source I'd put more faith in than this. Everything is compartmentalized and arranged so that the important aspects merit more attention than those that can simply wait till later. I also liked the "take it easy, things will be all right" message that kept popping up almost subliminally in the little reassurances that were scattered about. Those were really appreciated by those of us who were dealing with a perpetually freaked out bride, and in a few cases, made a real difference.

I'm in favor of something more minimalist when it comes to weddings, but for those who want an elaborate service and don't mind spending a lot of money to get it, then this is a book that prove worthwhile more times than you'll be able to count.

There are much better books out there for Flower Girls. As other reviewers have already stated, it's WAY too specific (the narrator has to miss a soccer game), and identical in wording to the Ring Bearer book by the same author. I found little to nothing cute or appealing about the illustrations, too.

The cute title lured me in to buying this book although the price was much higher than the other flower girl books listed on amazon.com. The only other thing I liked about this book was the introductory page. There is a place to write the date of the wedding, bride & groom's name along with the flower girl's name. From that point on the book was a pure disappointment. I had ordered 4 different books on being a flower girl and this one ranks at the bottom of my list! It lacks a good explanation of the role of a flower girl, has no story line, and will not keep my 4.5 year old granddaughter's interest for one minute. I tend to think that if something cost more it will be better...not in this case! Here is a perfect book on being a flower girl with a fun story and explanation on what happens before, during and afer a wedding. If you are looking for a book to help your little flower girl understand her role buy this:
The Little Flower Girl (Pictureback(R))

Kids don't have to be preparing for a wedding to appreciate the positive, inspiring words and images of the book. I love the narative which includes things like sports, science and entrepreneurship along with the classic "girl" stuff. I even read the book to my two boys so that they can understand that girls are a lot like them in experiences and aspirations.

Was a little disappointed with this book selection. Bought as a little gift for my flower girls and although they were 7,5 and 3, it was really only meant for the 3-yr-old. Nice illustrations...just didn't care for the list of 10 things!

I was recently married and was given these books by a friend. I had several children in my ceremony and I wanted to make the day as special for them as it was for me. The faces on my little flower girls lit up when I gave the books to them at the rehearsal dinner. They read and re-read them that night; they would not put them down! The day of the wedding the girls could not wait to perform their duties and I honestly feel that the books helped them understand the significance of the occasion. Even better, they were good as gold and knew exactly what to do. These books are great and were a wonderful way to wholeheartedly include the girls in the ceremony, as well as give them something fun to do at the boring rehearsal dinner!

I purchased this book for my wife as a Christmas Gift. She is a person that loves Maeve Binchy Books. Maeve Binchy is a great writer that really gets into the story of the places she has been. If this book follows the other books she wrote it will be a great book to buy. The wife got a number of her books and has not been able to read all of them yet. She is very pleased to get any of Maeve's books.

Binchy clearly loves her homeland of Ireland, and readers will too. This collection of three novels gets an A+!

I was very disappointed with this book. I have read a few of Maeve Binchy's books and loved them. I couldn't put them down. However all the stories in this book just leave you unfulfilled for an ending. I expected 3 complete stories and was very disappointed.

The publishers get an A+ for putting these books together. I have always read her books as soon as they come out. Now I will buying this as an excellent give for others, so handy for the holidays!

Maeve Binchy is one of the best authors I have read. I love the fact that she is Irish and writes stories of Ireland. The slow pace makes reading a pleasure. I liked all three books in this, but particularly liked FIREFLY SUMMER. Hopefully, she will have another book on the market soonest.

I was given this book by a friend who recently got married. I found it entertaining and extremely easy to read. This book is most useful right when one gets engaged to help you sort of piece together how the whole planning process should go. It has a lot of background on wedding traditions- both in different cultures and superstitions. All advice, when taken with a grain of salt, can help you see the kind of decisions to consider. The back section has checklists and suggestions on registry item. I was happy to read it, but also happy to pass it on to one of my friends when she got engaged.

A easy to read, informative book with great lists and sheets but preachy to say the least. The authors of the book seem more concerned how your guests want the wedding to be than what the bride wants. For example, they suggest a French manicure, light pink or another pale color because "Fire-engine red might be fun for the honey-moon, but it will probably raise eyebrows during the ceremony." They go further by saying wearing perfume for your wedding is a bad idea because one of the guests may be allergic. While practical this is the couples wedding, not the guests wedding.

If you want you wedding to truly be you "own" skip this book. However, if you like to be told what to do, right down to the underthings you wear then this is the book for you.

I have only read half of this book so far, but it has had quite a few tidbits on ettiquette that I didn't know and lots of great suggestions on how to do different things for your wedding. It is very readable and it gets to the point. It also has many worksheets and checklists to help you keep organized.

I would recommend this as a nice book to cover the basics of planning a wedding!

We just used this book to help us plan our wedding and it was very helpful. It was easy to read, practical and had some GREAT ideas!

This was one of the first books I bought for weddings because I thought it would give me a general overview. It's also one of the books I refer to the least. I wasn't ready for a planner at the time since I was still figuring out my wedding, but in retrospect, I wish I'd just done that.

There is some interesting background about certain traditions, e.g. the meaning of the wedding ring, but not enough for those really craving that kind of content.

I think the usefulness of this book is summed up in the beginning where they have the "Top Ten Utterances of the Brides Who Didn't Consult This Book." It includes things like "What do you mean I should have registered?" or "Thanks for Coming to My Shower, sorry I can't invite you to the wedding." If you're a total newbie without any basis in etiquette, or if you've actually never been to a wedding and are really starting from scratch, this book is for you. If it never occurred to you to make a budget, or if you want a list of suggestions for your first dance that includes suggestions by 98 Degrees, Shania Twain and Kelly Clarkson, go for it.

But if you have even a vague sense of what you want, skip this and buy yourself a planner that will help you get an idea of what to look for, what to ask vendors and will help you keep track of contracts and business cards. I bought the Martha Stewart Keepsake Planner and have used it much more than this book.

Typical Highland romance. Macho man falls for a beautiful seductive brilliant woman. Reluctance on both parts leads to a powerful fall for both. The love they find in each other is the kind of love time would stant still for.

If you like Julie Garwood novels then you're going to like Hannah Howell's books very much! This particular story is about a young woman sent to court to find a husband and ends up finding one man in particular that strikes her interest but who isn't at all interested in her or marriage for that matter. Though child-like in appearance he does find her attractive and at the kings stern suggestion concedes to the marriage. Whilst living at court for a while together as man and wife they are subject to scandal, intrigue, and violence and eventually decide to go back to his home to stay until minor repairs can be made to their new home not far from his family home. The story continues in the country setting where more unpleasant incidents occur as well some very pleasant connections made between our heroine and hero. Needless to say our hero is a much tormented character in need of a devoted heroine whom posses a quiet patience in order to come through for him in the end. Due to his lack attention and some misbehavior on his part we learn just how understanding and enduring this woman is and how she loves her husband very much.
I definitely recommend this book, it's a real page-turner.

This book is about Iain and Islaen who are married early in the book. Islaen is in love with Iain while Iain is just attracted to Islaen but fights this attraction. Iain has two enemies after him that makes the story interesting. Also and old love that is an aggraviating witch. Islaen is very tiny woman in stature. But strong in personality. She has eleven brothers who are very protective of her. And a father that thinks the world of her. But she wants this marriage so they allow her to marry. But warn Iain not to break her heart. I enjoyed it. This story is a re-issue. It was previously issued titled "Promised Passion"....

this is the first flat out bad Hannah Howell book I've ever read. Normally I enjoy her romances. Some are great, some are fun, some are just good or even average. Highland Wedding was absolutely awful. Actually, it was pretty unreadable. I gave up a third of the way through.

The vivid scar that spans Sir Iain MacLagen's cheek is a daily reminder of the wife he lost--and of the enemy that still stalks him. Commanded by Scotland's king to remarry in order to unite two powerful border clans, Iain reluctantly weds Islaen MacRoth, a woman whose delicate appearance belies a seductive, playful nature that proves dangerously attractive to a man who has vowed never to jeopardize his heart, or his loved ones, again...
Raised with eleven boisterous brothers, Islaen has little time for foolish romantic notions. Even so, she hoped for more than a forced marriage to a man who shares her bed, but not her life. Step by step, Islaen sets out to wear down Iaian's defenses. But can her ruggedly handsome husband learn to give her his love as freely as he bestows his passion?

If you are to purchase one book - grab this on. Fast shipping - great product. I have over 30 different books (three daughers and helped on many weddings) You won't be dissapointed.

This is a fantastic resource for the stylish bride-to-be! In an age of cookie-cutter weddings--or even worse, weddings that look like giant branding opportunities, with the bride and groom's name emblazoned on EVERTHING-- Michelle Rago's approach was like a breath of fresh air.

Rago is one of the top event planners in NYC, and she knows her stuff. I especially liked that the first two chapters are devoted to explaining her method of event planning, step-by-step. She chooses a theme, four colors, and four to six "Elements" for each wedding, and it's fascinating to watch her weave all of the details together in unexpected ways. In the beginning of the book, Michelle also walks you through the process of discovering your point of view and creating your vision, along with tips on how to handle common wedding-planning challenges.

Then she presents, in painstaking detail, ten weddings that she's designed. There are TONS of photgraphs of each wedding to illustrate her methods. For each event, she walks you through the "Four Cornerstones of Wedding Design": The Checklist, The Three S's, The Elements, and the Colors, so you really get a feel for how its done. Her experience in planning and designing hundreds of weddings means that she's able to impart a lot of valuable advice...I learned a lot about wedding planning in general from this book. I also really enjoyed the fact that Michelle has a strong point of view, and she's not afraid to speak her mind regarding what is and is not appropriate for weddings.

By the time I reached the middle of this book, my confidence had increased 100%, and I really began to feel empowered to design my own wedding and have it look like the pages of a bridal magazine. Michelle's writing style is warm and engaging, and although she's a master designer, she never talks down to her readers. The best part of the book for me was the amazing photographs of the bouquets and floral centerpieces. I am in awe of Michelle's floral design talents, and I picked up more than a few ideas to pass on to my own florist!

Wow! So glad I bought this! The list of core elements and how to come up with them was key to finally getting me to find a focus for wedding style and colors -- worth every penny!! I bought several other pretty books, but couldn't figure out how to make them apply to my wedding, Signature Weddings has truly helped me design a wedding that will be special for us =)

Wonderful book! Full of beautiful idea's, wonderful wedding wisdom, and you can tell it is written by a person who loves her work.

This gorgeous, inspiring book is worth every penny. Buy it. You won't regret it. Its amazingly full of ideas and inspiration, no matter what kind of wedding you're planning.

There are better books out there for Ring Bearers than this book. As other reviewers have already stated, it's WAY too specific (the narrator has to miss a soccer game). Also, the illustrations are virtually identical from page to page: an oversized bowtie in different colors.
Save your money.

I bought this for my son from my first marriage, he is 5. He is the ring bearer for my upcoming wedding. I was mad that it has a story of some other little boy who was the ringbearer for his brother. I also hated the fact that he talked about his gift from the groom, a watch that could go under water, so now that is what my son seems to think he will get. It would have been nice if the story had not gone into so much detail, and left it a bit open to the imagination.

At first I thought the book was really cute, but I agree with other reviewers that it was too specific. I realized I'll have to return it when I got to the page that said that his mom and dad held hands through the wedding, as my little ringbearer's parents are divorced. Disappointing that they wouldn't take that possibility into consideration.

I recently was married and in addition to flower girls, I had a young nephew as the ring bearer. He was a little timid about performing the task as he was going to have to walk by himself down the aisle! At the rehearsal dinner I gave him the book and he loved it. For the first time he realized that he was an important part of the ceremony and at the wedding it was clear that he took great pride in his job. The book made him feel better about the whole process and was a great way to give him something special for helping me on such an important day. I would recommend this book for anyone having a young boy (3-7 yrs old) as a ring bearer.

We were a little disappointed that the story said the ring bearer collected $5.00 from guests at the reception and was able to go to the Zoo. We had to have my sister skip that page or we would have a four year old thinking he is able to collect money at the reception. Otherwise it was a good book and perfect for our young ring bearer.

Great information with current well known professional photographers shared knowledge. Would highly recommend this book.

Bill Hurter has created another in a long series of wonderful photography books. The book is richly illustrated with images from some of today's premier wedding photographers. Both artificial illumination and the creative use of natural light are explained in great detail. I especially enjoyed the real expressions on the subjects in the photographs. The images did not looked forced. This is an excellent inspirational guide for any wedding photographer.

Everything from the essentials to creative lighting is covered in this book. The works of many leading photographers are illustrated as well as technical aspects and tips. A must-have for those seeking superlative wedding images.

This book is not per say of lighting. Its about shooting weddings. There are only 5 setups with pretty minor discussion. Rest is just either huge fluff on what light is, or on what to shoot at the wedding. Unfortunately, i already have AWESOME book by Glen Johnson, and some experience behind me belt to listen what to shoot (which is not explained very good either, btw, but rather quickish).

Images in book, on other hand are pretty good. Its pity that some of them repeated from other lighting and wedding instructional books. And about 30% of them i wouldnt even consider to hand out to the client, but send straight to the dust bin.

Shooting of groups is pretty much non covered either. And book would get on and on about sort of expensive gear you may want to purchase to light things up.

So i will try to re-read it in a week or two, but so far i have that "you got screwed again" feeling, as a kid, who opens X-mas present, but would get like a tie, instead of cool toy train.