Want to get your fiance more involved in the wedding planning? I’ve got the book for you! It’s called Groomology: What Every (Smart) Groom Needs to Know Before the Wedding
And if you’re feeling overwhelmed with the whole wedding planning thang, you’ll find comfort in Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings
I’m offering these two books to one lucky winner. Just fan IW on Facebook and leave a comment on here telling us about one thing that stresses you out about planning your wedding. The contest will end June 18, 2011, 11:59 Eastern. The winner will be selected by the Random Number Generator. Open to Canadian and US residents only.
Here’s more info on Groomology: What Every (Smart) Groom Needs to Know Before the Wedding:
The ring’s on her finger, her to-do list is growing, and her mood is frantic. What’s a groom to do? Let Groomology show him how becoming a partner in the wedding process can make the whole event more enjoyable, meaningful, and memorable. Time and time again, soon-to-be husbands only tackle what the bride-to-be has told them to do. Groomology outlines these traditional groom’s duties but goes a step further to instruct grooms in the art of getting involved.
Grooms Will Learn The Best Strategies For A Happy Bride, Including:
- Being Sensitive To the Bride’s Needs and Worries
- Taking Over Tasks the Bride Doesn’t Want
- Understanding How Much Work Goes Into It All
- Reducing Her Stress
- Giving an Opinion
- Letting Go of an Opinion
- Being Creative
- The One Thing He Needs to Do
- The Benefit of Venting
- When Doing More Is Less
Complete with helpful resources, a guide to bridal party responsibilities and etiquette, tips on hiring vendors, wedding statistics, and more, Groomology is sure to keep couples happy throughout the tricky planning process.
Here is what Publisher’s Weekly has to say about Colleen Curran’s Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings
Curran solicits tart tales from 27 writers, normally willful and independent women, who, for the most part, have taken reluctant swan dives into the consumerist culture of the bridal industry. Contributors including Curtis Sittenfeld, Lisa Carver and Amy Sohn never thought they’d catch the bridal bug. Still, they each get lost in the fantasy but come out the other end with a meaningful realization. The essays delve into the fraught conversations, negotiations and neuroses around wedding vows, dress shopping, etiquette, registries and budgeting. Sticker shock is a common theme, among women who subvert the wedding industry with a DIY approach (Rory Evans topped cupcakes with handmade clothespin bride-and-groom figures), and others who pay a price despite saving money. Julie Powell’s entertaining experience trying “to make a meal for hundreds into an expression of who you are” illuminated an incontrovertible equation: “hundreds of guests + unreasonable expectations + catering – billions of dollars = rubber chicken.” Some of the more heartfelt pieces include Jennifer Armstrong’s story of how she called off her wedding, and Lara Vapnyar’s poignant recollection of a $16 gown and the leap of faith that marriage entails. Brides-to-be or women who’ve been there will easily see themselves in these true stories.
I’d love to have these books! The one thing I’ve found the most stressful about wedding planning is being stuck between what I see as the two sides of wedding “shoulds”–there’s the Wedding Industrial Complex “shoulds” of “should be the most spectacular day of your life”, “you should look your very best”, etc., and the Blog-o-sphere’s “shoulds” regarding making everything completely unique, meaningful and inspired. I am too off-beat for the Wedding Industrial Complex’s shoulds, and too busy and non-artistic to make EVERYTHING unique. Dammit if I don’t think some plastic brown chairs are fine for my ceremony–not white (bridal), and not perfectly unmatching antique or vintage fabric-covered haybales. Just brown!
Anna
My biggest challenge before and after booking our venue is finalizing our guest list. We have a rough idea of who and how many we’d like to attend but then there is that guilt in the back of our heads about the possible aftermath if so-n-so isn’t invited.
FH has a large family and while we don’t want to ruffle feathers or be black sheeped from the family we also don’t want to go into debt the first year of our marriage.
Hello…thanks for this generous offer. Not sure if open to wedding professionals, but just saw Christina’s tweet and wanted to share this re “stress & weddings.” I recently helped as “wedding weekend” director of a mother and daughter planned wedding and was reminded how important it is to COMMUNICATE. Share (coming from love and workability, not right or wrong). Share (whatever your heart desires, even if it sounds silly/stupid/strange). Share (details of plans so everyone will be in the loop, creating easeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.)
I could go on, but then my upcoming book would never get edited…teehee!
Cheers……CP
I love my mom – she is one of the most important people in my life, she is always here for me and I have turned to her for advice on more occasions than I can count. However, we have a completely different view on how weddings should go – she’s traditional and conservative and I am laid-back and open. It’s been clashing a lot and causing some serious tension between us.
There are a lot of things that stress me out about planning the wedding. The one thing that stresses me out the most are my family and friends who all have an opinion and want their opinion to not only be considered but actually followed through on. THEN they say “The wedding is about you, you should do what you want.” Well, don’t get mad at me when what I want isn’t what you want for me! (<— see? stress.)
But if that stress earns me a book…
The one thing that stresses me out the most (even though I KNOW it shouldn’t) is how the HELL am I going to get both of our families to drive three and a half hours to our wedding (at my dream location). I’m worried no one will show
I would love these books! I need all the help I can get; I’m planning my wedding super long distance from Africa while I work as a Peace Corps Volunteer. So basically the whole thing is STRESSFUL! But very fun, too