Wedding Books

This is a series of stories about an antique wedding dress and chest. It also is about family and love. The book begins with Charity Davis, a recently orphaned lady on the Oregon Trail. Circumnstances have her joining wagons with Ethan Cole and his two kids who are motherless. ( Not to mention Ethan is wifeless due to her tragic death)Faith in God leads her to getting the thouandth button on her button string, given to her by her soon to be husband. Faith Cole thinks she has no hope of wearing her mothers wedding dress because one of her legs is longer than the other. The only men who want her are ones who only want money. A trip to her great grandma's is to take her mind off reality but when she meets Daniel it only makes her think more of it. Daniel doesn't seem to notice, but does he want something other than Faith? The Bayside Bride ( my favorite) has Josephine Mayer running from her step-mother who has stolen the family's wedding dress. Mairain should have worn it at her wedding but was denied it. Jo is in California trying to get enough money for her sister Claire to escape too and come live with her, her sister, her nephew, and her brother-in-law. But jobs are hard to find during the late 1920's. That is untill the man from upstairs, who is living with his sister and her husband, manages to get Jo a job. Glen, the up stairs neighbor, is great with Jo's nephew, Davy, kind, good looking, fatihfull in God, and smugling alchol during Prohibition? And worse, the job he got Jo has her working at a speak easy. Is Glen all he seems to be? And why is he so nice to Winthrop who came in drunk? Carly Simmons is a modern day lady, working for social services at the hospital. She is 30 years old and doesn't have any idea if she'll ever use the antique wedding chest. That is untill she meets Mitch who was on his way to the top of archetectual engineering when his gambling problem gets in the way. When Carly meets him he has been hit by a truck, and is penniless. Carly trys to help him get back on his feet, and back with God, but will his pride allow Carly to help. Will his heart allow Carly in? ( This one is my least favorite) This book is really good. I enjoyed it a lot. Button String Bride was intersting (and very predictable). Wedding Quilt Bride had you hoping and reading faster in the life of a slightly unperfect lady. Bayside Bride was wonderful. And The persistant Bride was good. I hope I've been helpfull.

I greatly enjoy historical Christian/inspirational romances and I found these very pleasant & easy to read! Each are connected by family, faith & a wedding chest full of heirlooms. It all starts in 1858 along the Oregon Trail in The Button String Bride. The Wedding Quilt Bride (my favorite) is set in Victorian Pennsylvania. The Bayside Bride (my second favorite) is set in post-war, pre-depression era California. And The Persistent Bride has a more modern setting. If you enjoy faith-based historical romance, then you will like this!

The tragedy of cancer has a tendency to have no upsides - why it's usually referred to as a tragedy. But there was a huge upside to author Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager and her husband Paul - they found each other and found a huge thing to bind them - they are both survivors of cancer. "Swimming on my Wedding Day: My Cancer Journey Through the Seasons" is their story of fighting their cancers and their new marriage being their bastion of support through it all as they celebrate the life that was almost taken from them all too early. "Swimming on My Wedding Day: My Cancer Journey Through the Seasons" is a highly recommended piece of writing for anyone looking for strength in their reading to fight what may be a cancer of their own and for community library memoir collections.

This book is a beautifully written account of surviving cancer with heart and hope. A must read for anyone who has someone in their life who is facing cancer or has it themselves.

I found that it gave me a window into what it is like for someone to fight a life threatening disease and, most importantly, how to be of help to them. Laura's account is full of courage, emotion, and insight.

In the end, you will believe in miracles!

Laura's book is a work of art, a message of courage and a triumph of will in the face of all that life can throw at us, and an inspiration to all of us (not only cancer survivors). It is a reminder to cherish the moment we're in and to be optimistic about the future, no matter what life brings to us.

I loved reading this book. It is beautifully written and uncovers personal secrets of what she and her husband Paul experienced. It must have been a difficult decision to make to write this book and to unmask for the world what such a personal journey is like.

More importantly, I learned so much about the life she and Paul have built together, their optimism in the face of uncertainty and their indomitable strength not only of body but also of character. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Ed Goldman

Last night at 10:00pm, I picked up Laura's book to read "a few pages" before I retired for the night.

I couldn't put it down! I read the whole thing in one sitting and I yearned for more. I cried. I smiled. I felt uplifted. I do not have cancer, but my life has been touched by those who do, and my younger brother died of it when he was only 39.

I loved this book.

Laura's writing style is so vivid and loaded with imagery without being flowery. It is so readable that you find yourself "in her moment". If I were a writer instead of a "techie" I'd find more eloquent words to describe it, but, alas, those words do not come so easily to me.

Laura says that this book project was all about hope. Her book definitely offers hope. And inspiration. But more than that, it's a love story.

Read this book!

This product consists of two pads, each containing 100 questions, one for the husband and one for the wife. Each spouse fills reads their own questions and fills out an answer key on a separate page. Then they hand the pad to their spouse who guesses what they answered.
I thought "how hard could this be?" I ended up scoring a 52%, while my wife scored 70%. That definitely took me down a peg, I can tell you. We had a gas doing it and I recommend it to any couple who wants a light and enjoyable way to have a bit of fun and maybe get a little insight into one another.
The questions are over a good range, but of course it's impossible to choose a set that will apply to everyone. For instance, our parents are all passed on, whereas for couples somewhat younger it's more likely that parent-in-laws are still an issue.

I purchased this book several years ago, and it remains a challenge and a good resource to this day. The pieces are advanced (although some are far easier than others)and need rehearsal, but none are impossible. Some are arrangements (although never poppy or jazzy), and others are printed exactly as the composer intended.

Here you will find works by Beethoven, Handel, and Mozart, as you would expect, but you also find Debussy, Edward Elgar, and Gustav Holst. The Essential Wedding Collection contains both the Wedding March by Mendelssohn and the Bridal Chorus by Richard Wagnar.

I've always been proud to include a piece from this book at my performances at churches, weddings, or memorial services. These pieces are dignified and beautiful, and very playable. If you're a high level pianist, you'll find this book to be very useful.

This is a wonderful book that will introduce you to the basics and essentials of clowning.You'll find lots of photos and exercises that touch on many of the aspects of clowning including; warm-ups, skits, creating routines, clown\props relationship, costuming, physial comedy, make-up, clown psychology, clown\clown relationship, and so much more. Plus the most important and always emphasized aspect, your own clown character development. There is tons of practical info in this awesome book. I believe this to be the best beginning clown book one can buy!

I originally purchased this book as a potential reference book for an associate of mine but made the mistake of reading it. This book is great! It's written in a fun, thought-provoking way that can inspire anyone -- even me -- to clowning. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the art of clowning. It gives information on choosing a character, costume, the all important hat, makeup and even skits and physical gags you can do. If you're interested in clowning or are just curious about the art of it you have to buy this book! It's an exceptional resource and a must-have for the aspiring clown's library!

I disagree with the other reviewers, I think this book was very helpful and useful, even for rthe not so rich. For example, one of my favorite parts was illustrations of different wedding gown types such as diffent necklines and waist styles. It t even recommend the most flattering dress style for different figures. It gives information about popular wedding flowers and their season of availability. It gives suggestions for wording on invitations no matter who is hosting. It has a checklist of neccessary bridal regisrty items. Another one of my favorite parts is that it gives thank you gift ideas for your attendants, and the parents of the bride and groom. I thought this made a terrific gift and has proved to be very, very helpful.

Let us please have a book/magazine that is targeted to the bride/bridegroom on a limited budget. Just because we don't have orchids, Dom Perignon and caviar on some veranda in the south of France, doesn't mean we can't have a beautiful, elegant wedding. Etiquette??? Bah humbug. It's the 90's. Who cares?? Etiquette went out the window with finger bowls in the 1890's. You don't need a magazine to tell you how to behave yourself in polite company.

Why not target the second time around Bride? 50% of marriages end in divorce! This isn't my lst wedding, either. Let's get REAL.

Thank you.

Barbara Stevenson/Chicago

I was extremely dissapointed with this book. Modern Bride has a history of keeping brides-to-be in the dark about budgeting ideas and ways to cut corners. They continually insist that everyone NEEDS a bridal consultant and that a wedding gown should only be purchased through an expensive private boutique. I found many other wedding books to be so much more helpful that I suggest looking around some more before buying this book. Denise Fields and Diane Warner are some authors who HAVE created some excellent books.

This book is for people who do not have a wedding budget and who can afford a $100,000.00 wedding. This book is so dry and boring talking about etiquete it puts you to sleep. It makes planning a wedding seem like planning a funeral. No fun at all.

This book is another wonderful story set in the world of Antryg Windrose, although neither he nor Joanna Sheraden appears in it. I think the Windrose Chronicles happen to be Hambley's best series, and this book certainly lives up to that expectation. ... After she arrives the fur begins to fly between her and her estranged family, but once she meets the prospective groom and his family the fun really begins as she tries to delay the wedding and find out who wants her sister dead. This book is once again a great mix of fantasy and mystery, which seems to be a Hambley staple. Also typical of a Hambley book, the prose just draws the reader in, and enough twists and turns occur in the plot that you are never quite sure what is going to happen next. At various times throughout the book the reader will empathize with each of the main characters, which again points to the wonderful and heartfelt character development that I have come to expect from Hambley. This is a great book, and I encourage new and old Hambley fans to track it down and read it. I only hope she writes a few more stories about the characters in this strange new world.

Continuing the thread started in her Windrose Chronicles,
Barbara Hambly weaves yet another yarn that is well-spun
with character depth and a plot that, convoluted as it may
sometimes seem, is internally consistent and easy to swallow -
despite its liberal sprinkling of wizards, ghosts, spells and
curses. The story includes characters and a historic setting
that is comfortable and familiar to any who have read her
Windrose Chronicles, yet the story is independent of those
works and stands on its own, with a very different perspective
on the politics and day-to-day lives of the inhabitants of the
Empire.

Kyra - whom we met briefly in Hambly's "Dog Wizard," is the
central character, and her unravelling of the mystery as to what
has twisted her own developing magic skills, who and what is
threatening the life of her sister, and how to navigate through
the quagmire of paternal resentment, socialite scheming, the
suspicions of the Church's Magic Office and her surprisingly
conflicted heart over the man who would be her brother-in-law,
are expertly and masterfully interwoven by Hambly's skills as
a storyteller. A very good read - even more than once.

This was one of my first forays into fantasy several years ago. I enjoyed it then, and upon rereading it, I find it holds up rather well.

Hambly excels at describing, in a matter-of-fact manner, surroundings that may be fantastic, unreal. Kyra is bold, even fierce, and in Spens we find a surprising equal. The magic in the book is fun, the plot engrossing, and the ending is perfect.

Among Barbara Hambly's many virtues as an author is her ability to create a universe that, in your heart, you believe to be a real place. She evokes soot, worn wooden floors, and the sparkle of sunlight. She does such a good job, in fact, that most of Hambly's books are part of larger series, such as fantasy trilogies or a mystery series (e.g. her Benjamin January mysteries, set in 1840s New Orleans). This is one of the few exceptions: Stranger at the Wedding is a standalone story, so you won't have the sense of commitment to a whole universe.

In this world, magic works. Magicians are distrusted because of the power they could wield, however, so they are not permitted to marry, to own significant property, or to have a business with more than a few employees. Most mages have withdrawn from the world to learn and research but not to use magic pragmatically; each takes a vow not to use magic to benefit any human. And most of them live in a remote... well, monastary covers it. Some "dog wizards" do their best to eke out a living in the cities, but most of them are poor. Meanwhile, the society-at-large has reached the age of steam and coal; the industrial evolution is underway. (This is a nice change from the usual feudal era in which most magic is presented.)

One of those mages is Kyra, a 24 year old woman of "good family" who was ejected from her parents' home after her magical abilities became public. (Kyra has a "bit part" in an earlier trilogy, but you definitely don't need to have read that one.) When she gets a premonition that her betrothed sister will die on Alix's wedding night, she feels that she must go back home to deal with the threat.

I've owned this book since it first came out (in the 80s? early 90s?), and I've read it several times in the intervening years. It isn't that it's *wonderful*, but it's engaging, particularly when I want the reader's eqivalent of "comfort food:" entertain me, but don't make me work too hard. Kyra has a wonderful smartass sense of humor, the romance feels "real" (even if it's actually love at first sight), and the storytelling -- as usual, with Hambly -- is excellent. Even though I've read this book several times before, it kept me reading late at night, after midnight, when I *knew* I had to get up at 6.

Nicely tongue-in-cheek -- until it gets Very Dark -- fantasy/romance, much in the style of Georgette Heyer's Regency romances, though the underlying McGuffin is rather nasty.

Kyra the Red would be very typically a Georgette Heyer type heroine -- impetuous, tall, a bit physically clumsy, unrecognising of her own idiosyncratic beauty, unwed at an unfashionably late age -- who has the added misfortune to be a wizard.

A wizard, in a world in which the Church begrudgingly allows one wizards' order to exist, with the proviso that the wizards may not use their magic to affect the world outside their walls. To use unauthorised magic is an automatic sentence of death.

And Kyra has come home for her younger sister's wedding; home, where she knows she is not welcome in her father's house.

Home, where she quickly discovers that someone else is trying to steal away the groom, using illicit purchased magic.

Home, where she cleverly and subtly uses her forbidden powers to stall or prevent the wedding. (The mice are a particularly good touch, and Don Maitz's typically lyrical cover refers masterfully to that sequence.)

Home, where her prophetic dreams have told her that a curse decrees that her sister's marriage bed will be her deathbed.

Home, where she finds herself, uncomfortably, increasingly attracted to her sister's betrothed... who seems (after he gets over thinking her somewhat addled) to return her regard...

There can be little doubt that Hambly had Georgette Heyer in mind when writing this -- compare it to, oh, "The Grand Sophy" or "The Masqueraders" -- and i do not think that Heyer would have felt offended by this tribute.

It was only after I read this book that I realized the definition of 'contemporary photography' apparently means hold the camera on an angle and putting the subject slightly out of the depth of field so that they're nicely out of focus.

Yes Annabel has some nice photos and yes she does give some good advice, but just as the grainy, out of focus, slanted photos seen in a lot of ads today will look dated in ten years, so will these wedding photos.

Having photographed many weddings, I know that my brides would not want a portrait in front of a rusty door hinge, a 'spur of the moment' shot of the maid of honour's butt, or a shot of the groom and the ushers (page 48) in which the feet of the men closest to the camera are in focus and the faces of all of the men are out of focus. Blow that up to 11"x14" and it will look even worse than it does in this book.

I agree that you can have an unobtrusive style of working during a wedding and that you can get a number of off the cuff shots that work. Sloppy focusing, grainy film and turning the camera on an angle is not a 'style' of wedding photography. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but this style is doomed.

I have read almost every book on wedding photography and this is definitely one of the top 2-3. I bought this without thinking since I have bought her excellent "Professional Portraits" and I am not disappointed on this one. Unlike some other books that only tell you it is the best to photo on an overcast day.. this book tells you how to shoot under the bright sun, using the shadows, in the rain, etc.

Very text-heavy (you can almost hear his soothing accent as you read); not many visuals to inspire you; helpful advice on topics ranging from engagement and reception to honeymoon destinations

I own so many wedding books that I often get overwhelmed when contemplating my wedding plans, but this book has such wonderful concrete ideas that I have used it from day one. It is very text rich, so you should give yourself at least one hour to sift through it, but it is well worth your time.
Colin Cowie is a wedding planning genius and his ideas have helped me compromise on a few things, especially since our wedding is not a big budget ball.

I purchased this book for myself, and know that I will be buying it again to give as a gift. This book is my reminder to enjoy being engaged and gives great tips to make the most of your engagement time. "For the Bride" contains invaluable information for the engaged woman that I haven't seen anywhere else. Cowie's writing is thoughtful, refined and relaxing. It can be read as a whole, in chapters, or in the small "question & answer" sections. For those of you who think that this book is for people with lots of money... this is meant to be a jumping off point. Cowie gives many suggestions of how things can be done, and stresses that anything can be done differently and altered to your own personal style. (Not everything has to be expensive!) This book is THE tool to develop the style for your wedding and your marriage. I plan on purchasing "For the Groom" for my fiance as soon as possible.

I cannot express how much I enjoyed reading this book. It was instructional and had some very clever ideas I had not seen in the other fifty wedding books I've read in the last few months, however the photographs were even more impressive. I highly recommend this to any bride, although especially to those attempting to plan a semi-formal-formal elegant wedding.

This book is as much guidance on how tobe an elegant lady as it is a wedding planner. His advice ranges from subtle to downright blatant, so there's very little the open-minded bride will miss. Even if you already have every wedding book in the entire world, I feel this one is necessary.

Regarding the etiquette advice, I like Cowie's book the best. Many books for "fabulous girls" and "what no one tells you" etc tend to deal with things the bride has already left behind her: dating, shacking-up (how else to put that?), and how to manage breakups easily. The Cowie book has much more class, and is really about how to personify graciousness and elegance. It's an important lesson to learn as you are getting married, for as Cowie says, you are showing the world who you are now, in these all-important moments.

I would not recommend getting the companion to this "For the Groom" unless you are sure he will want to read it. I bought the two books together and my fiance has yet to do anything but sneer at it. However, I am reading the groom book as well, and find it amusing, as different topics are covered in each book, and it wouldn't hurt to have the bride read the groom book and vice versa.

This would make a wonderful engagement gift, and though Cowie is text-heavy in the book and does not show picture after picture, I appreciated that, as I did want to read a book about planning and etiquette, rather than look at yet another picture book. One tiny annoying thing, there's a lot of name-dropped from celebs, but sometimes it's warranted. He tells you great ideas from celeb weddings, which do serve to make you think creatively.

This book stands out from the crowd in great ways.