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Brides Wedding Book
Published by Ebury Press
This book was designed to be a
bride’s best friend. It is packed with really lovely photographs drawn from
the archive of Brides magazine (which is published by the same company
that produces Vogue and Tatler, so the quality is superb). It
looks at every detail of wedding planning for the bride, the groom and the
family, from frocks to etiquette to honeymoon travel. One of the critics who
reviewed it at the time of its publication said ‘Don’t get married without
it!’. I am sorry to report that this book, too, is out of print, but the good
news is that it is easier to track down than volumes in The Library of Interior
Detail. I’ve seen it in second hand bookshops and once on the bookshelf in an
Oxfam shop.
Chapters cover:
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The proposal
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Announcements
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Finance and budgeting
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The date, time and place
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The best man
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Service sheets
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Photographs and video
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In church, synagogue or register office
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Sex and contraception
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Hair and beauty
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The dress
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Veils, shoes and underwear
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Flowers
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Gifts and thanks
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The reception or party
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The cake
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Speeches
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Food and drink
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Going away
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Honeymoon travel tips
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Useful checklists
The bride’s outfit is probably
the single biggest focus of people’s interest at a wedding. For the bride,
it’s her chance to wear the dress (or whatever) of her dreams. I like this
spread of Brides Wedding Book because it shows four real brides alongside
two models, and the real brides’ outfits are all unusual and individual. One
of them is deep red silk, one has been hand painted with love birds, one is
dusty pink and pleated like a Fortuny dress, one is gold and has a long skirt
behind which I happen to know (you can’t tell this from the photograph)
detached to reveal a slinky mini-skirt beneath. The brides themselves all look
serene and happy. The models’ outfits are a bit more predictable, being white
and cream, but are nonetheless beautiful for that.
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