I Knew the Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)

Actually, I didn’t, but I like that song. 

Some dear friends of mine are getting married in a couple of weeks.  As they get down to the wire with the details of their wedding, they are borrowing all kind of materials from the library, mostly CDs for dancing. 

We have so many things that can help with your wedding, whether it’s music for the ceremony, music for the reception, DVDs to help you with your first dance, DVDs to remind you that yours isn’t the only family that’s insane…  Here’s a sampling of items you might try:

• Eco-Chic Weddings: Simple Tips to Plan an Environmentally Friendly, Socially Responsible, Affordable, and Stylish Celebration, by Emily Anderson
• The Engaged Groom: You’re Getting Married. Read This Book, by Doug Gordon
• Where to Seat Aunt Edna and 824 Other Great Wedding Tips: Advice from 634 Blissful Newlyweds – And Not-So-Newlyweds, by Besha Rodell
• Vows: The African-American Couple’s Guide to Designing a Sacred Ceremony, by Harriette Cole
• The Knot Guide for the Mother of the Bride, by Carley Roney
• The DIY Wedding: Celebrate Your Day Your Way, by Kelly Bare

And in honor of the fact that weddings these days seem to be about more, more, more, there’s more!  If twelve hours of Martha in the 4-disc Martha’s Complete Weddings isn’t enough, you can watch Bake Your Own Wedding Cake.  (Come on, people, I know I’m not the only one who wants to watch this even if I don’t have a wedding coming up!)  See what other people have done in Bravo’s 2002 reality series, Gay Weddings, or in Marriage Customs of the World: From Henna to Honeymoons, by George Monger. To find out what not to do, watch Sixteen Candles.

Finally, you may want to take a step back and look at weddings from a sociological perspective, perspective sometimes being a tough thing to hold on to while planning a wedding. Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings is a collection of true stories, both touching and humorous, by writers that have caught the wedding bug.

-Kaarin