Here comes the bride

Is a wedding in the works for you and your amour? Whether you're planning an intimate gathering or a grand fete, don't fret. The following books will help make your walk down the aisle an occasion to be enjoyed rather than endured.

REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE

Get creative and get organized with Anti-Bride Guide: Tying the Knot Outside of the Box by Carolyn Gerin and Stephanie Rosenbaum. Practical, original and a little bit rebellious, this bright, spiral-bound volume is full of jazzy illustrations, smart hints and modern ideas on how to make your wedding a one-of-a-kind event. Innovative advice on locales and themes, as well as tips on potentially excruciating specifics like ceremony protocol, make Anti-Bride a fiancee's best friend. Checklists, a resource guide and questionnaires to help you pinpoint the most important elements of the wedding are also included. And if the customary white gown seems painfully passe, Anti-Bride offers unconventional alternatives in a range of colors and styles. This brave little book is the ultimate wedding planner for brides who aren't afraid to buck tradition and try something new.


The more orthodox can opt for Your Vintage Wedding: Unique Ideas and Inspiration for Today's Bride, a charming guidebook for the old-fashioned at heart. Author Nancy Eaton, editor of RETRO, the award-winning online magazine of vintage pop culture, has been featured on CNN Headline News and MSNBC. Touring the 1920s, '30s, '40s and '50s, her new book dissects the traditional weddings of previous eras, gleans the best details from each and offers advice on incorporating them into your own ceremony.

From flowers to photography, music to menus, Your Vintage Wedding shows how -- by taking a cue from the past -- you can customize every part of that special day. Eaton gives tips on buying gowns from auction houses, shopping for dresses on- and offline and finding great vintage patterns. She also offers ideas -- by the decade -- on outfitting the bridesmaids and groom. Filled with winning illustrations, retro ads and photographs, this quaint little volume is sure to put some fun and glamour into the design of your wedding.


Every bride dreams of gliding down the aisle sheathed in a Vera Wang original. For almost a decade, the former Vogue editor has been creating the most coveted bridal wear in the world. Now she presents pearls of wedding wisdom along with photographs of her fairy tale frocks in Vera Wang on Weddings. Covering every aspect of the nuptials, from ceremony basics like lighting, seating and music to choosing the right ring and proper bouquet, Wang, with her timeless elegance and solid common sense, anticipates -- and eliminates -- a bride's every obstacle.

Filled with first-class fashion photographs, the book provides ample illustrations of magical settings and ceremonies, as well as the weddings of the rich and famous, and -- of course -- the designer's own couture collection. In chapters devoted to make-or-break details like trains, bustles, sleeves and necklines (who knew there were so many different kinds?), Wang's fine workmanship shines through. She's dreamed up dresses of every conceivable style, and there's one for every type of woman, from the Modernist to the Minimalist. As the pictures prove, veil to heel, Wang has the perfect bridal ensemble all sewn up. With photographs by Paolo Roversi and others, this gorgeous volume shows that when it comes to weddings, Wang knows best.


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