Description:
Promoting the idea that "there's only one thing that really matters: that you have the wedding you want, not a nervous breakdown," Carley Roney and the editors of The Knot Web site have compiled all the information any modern bride and groom may need to plan and execute their dream wedding. Equal parts wedding consultant, marriage counselor, best friend, and cyberresource, this is not the guide your grandmother--or mother, for that matter--used to plan her wedding. Much of The Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World is culled from the experiences and questions that users of their successful Web site, www.theknot.com, have written in about. This interactivity gives the guide credibility for the engaged couple of the '90s. Readers will find the Web site a useful accessory to the book. In a humorous, hip, and engaging style, Roney runs down the basics of betrothal starting with the engagement and ending with the honeymoon and postwedding "reentry." In between, we get specific instructions on details like budgeting essentials, selecting locations, arranging the ceremony and reception, hiring photographers and musicians, and registering for gifts. Roney also presents a "Sticky Subjects" section that covers the more sober side of weddings: what to do when your families' religious or political beliefs collide, how to keep the physical side of a relationship alive during the turmoil of wedding planning, the potentially explosive issues of money and wedding budgeting, what to do when your friends or family disapprove of your intended, and even "Top Ten Family 911s." Snapshots of actual weddings and their budget breakdowns, comprehensive checklists and worksheets, and extensive information on wedding resources with phone numbers, addresses, and Internet addresses (when available) will both help you untangle the knots that can come with getting hitched and make your day one that brings tears of happiness, not dismay. --Stefanie Durbin
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