Customer Reviews

Legendary Brides: From the Most Romantic Weddings Ever, Inspired Ideas for Today's Brides

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Legendary Brides is an irresistible social history of the most influential brides of the 19th and 20th centuries. Beginning with Queen Victoria, who initiated the bridal tradition of white satin, lace and orange blossoms, and ending with Carolyn Bessette who came to symbolize simple, unadorned elegance, Letitia Baldrige tells us the stories of eight weddings. Consuelo Vanderbilt, Wallis Simpson, Queen Elizabeth II, Jacqueline Bouvier, Grace Kelly, and Diana Spencer complete the string of legends.

A brief chronology of how each couple met is followed by a description of the wedding in exquisite, in-depth, yet tasteful detail and accompanied by several stunning photographs and illustrations. One learns that Princess Grace's gown was made of twenty five yards of silk gros de longre, three hundred yards of antique Valenciennes lace and that her lace-trimmed veil consisted of ninety yards of silk tulle; Princess Diana's wedding ring was crafted from the same nugget of Welsh gold used for the rings of the Queen Mother, the Queen, and Princesses Margaret and Anne; Jackie Bouvier carried a bouquet of pink and white spray orchids, stephanotis and miniature gardenias. The preparations, the ceremonies, the receptions and quotes from those involved in each occasion are all brought together in an entertaining chronicle of events.

After the description of each bride's wedding, a particular wedding topic is highlighted. For example, in the chapter on Queen Victoria, guidelines on yesterday's and today's gowns and rings are given. Romona Keveza seems to be Ms. Baldrige's designer of choice, and her gowns serve as visual aids in the glossary of gown styles and dress details. This is, of course, a book written by the contemporary expert on etiquette, and much advice on invitations, cakes, floral designers, and attendant gifts is offered.

An added bonus is the montage of photos on scattered pages that depict other royal and Hollywood weddings. A beautiful book to help capture the look and feel of an elite wedding, but somehow makes you think twice about how few of these weddings were true and heartfelt.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A BEAUTIFUL BLEND OF HISTORY, INSPIRATION, PRACTICAL ADVICE AND DREAMY MAGIC IN A WEDDING BOOK - UNTIL I LOST MYSELF IN THIS ONE. MISS BALDRIGE HAS DEFINITELY PUT THE ROMANCE BACK INTO WEDDINGS. THIS IS A MUST-HAVE BOOK FOR EVERY BRIDE-TO-BE - AND FOR ANYONE WITH AN INTEREST IN STYLE, FASHION, HISTORY AND CELEBRITY. DON'T WALK, RUN TO YOUR NEAREST BOOKSTORE. A DREAM OF A CHRISTMAS GIFT!!!

Others have sniped that Letitia Baldrige has focused on an odd assortment of brides, including both Diana, Princess of Wales, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy--both of whom had famous weddings, but both of whom died tragically young. The key word here, my dears, is "bride" in the book's title. Baldrige's work doesn't purport to say anything about the marriages that followed these weddings--only that the brides themselves were gorgeous, amazing, almost fantastical creatures who caught the imagination of nearly everyone when they appeared on the world stage.

That said, there are great things about this book and not-so-great things. It's fun to see so many photos of these lovely brides--among them, the two named above and Jacqueline Kennedy, Princess Grace, Wallis Warfield Simpson, and Consuelo Vanderbilt. Many of the photos were either previously unpublished or not well-known by the general public, so they appear here in fresh light. The photos and the handsome graphic design are among the excellent things about the book, as are the little anecdotes (such as what each famous bridal couple gave each other and the members of their wedding parties as gifts).

The down side is that Baldrige tries to meld a wedding etiquette book with a coffee table overview of, well, legendary brides. I'm not sure it works all that well. While she undoubtedly has excellent advice to offer all of us on the planning and execution of a memorable wedding, I for one would have preferred that these pages had been devoted to a broader group of other legendary brides. What, for instance, of the English Queen Mother and King George? What about the current Japanese crown prince and princess? What about other well-known society or Hollywood brides? Others are touched on lightly here, but Baldrige doesn't devote the space to them that her title promises.

Other reviewers have said that this book has serious problems given that some of the weddings featured ended in divorce or other tragedy. While it's true that one can't help but to think about those things while reading this book, the book is about WEDDINGS, not marriages, and as such, I found it to be beautiful. The book features brides throughout the ages, starting with Queen Victoria and moving on to Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. The author describes the overwhelming love felt by each of these brides at the time of their marriages and highlights the most romantic details of their weddings. In addition, she offers suggestions (under the heading "Something Borrowed") on how to adapt some of the wedding traditions used by these brides in order to incorporate them into a modern wedding. Overall, this book is gorgeous to look at, and while some of the stories had sad endings, the book itself is joyous.

Bought this for my bride-elect daughter. Love the photos in it, would have liked a bit more text to go along with the photos. The etiquette parts are not complete; suggest buying Emily Post for a complete etiquette guide. Consider this more a book about memorable weddings of famous people.

The book (used) was in excellent condition and was received quickly as promised. Kudos to the seller for their great performance.We lioked the price as well.

I love this book. I am a wedding planner and it is very inspirational. Actually my very own wedding dress is featured in the book. I highly recommend it.

I picked up this book not only because I'm getting married, but I love reading about the rich splendor that celebrity weddings provide. This book provides all the details to the top weddings of the rich and famous! It even provides hints and suggestions of affordable ways that you can copy them! It has everything! Not only what they they wore, but what they carried, how they decorated their tables at the reception, and what they gave their attendants! Even if your not getting married, this book is a BEAUTIFUL, big, page turner! If you like reading about celebrity/royal weddings of a lifetime...THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!

Most wedding authors,especially those who are "in the know" such as Miss Baldrige, would have you believe that capturing a Prince Charming is the most important feat in having a romantic wedding. Were only that the case, as she so aptly illustrates with her fatalistic choices of weddings profiled in her latest book, "Legendary Brides: From the Most Romantic Weddings Ever".
While each of the brides profiled did indeed marry a wonderful, famous man, the marriages and divorces resulting from these unions produce better fodder for reading than the photos in the book, many reproduced in countless other publications. Looking at the fabulous Grace Kelly as a young bride, one feels for the family not only for enduring her tragic death of a car accident in Monaco that claimed her life and injured daughter Stephanie, but also for her estrangement from Caroline at the time of her death. Jackie Kennedy's wedding day smile masks her shame of her father lying in a drunken stupor while an uncle walks her down the aisle. Who knew she would marry a man quite like Black Jack Bouvier, with an eye for the women? And Princess Diana, did she know that Prince Charles spent the night before their wedding with Camilla? How he tortured her by ignoring and mocking her naivete only makes our hearts ache for her boys left behind? Now the boys are to be molded into employees of "the firm", Queen Elizabeth's tongue in cheek reference to the monarchy.
Carolyn Bessette looked angelic on her wedding day. One doesn't sense from the photos that John would risk their lives to fly to a relative's wedding rehearsal dinner they would miss anyway. John dismissed the flying instructor at the airport, even though weather reports predicted low ceilings and marginal weather. An inexperienced pilot in a relatively new airplane (he had purchased the plane only 1 month prior to the fatal flight)John had under 100 actual flying time as pilot in command. Coupled with his lack of knowledge and experience in flying his new plane, inclement weather and spatial disorientation, the flight was doomed before takeoff.
Had Ms. Baldrige done her homework, some inspirational close ups of the couples not widely published would have been better than table shots and mundane overviews best left to where she obtained them -- People Magazine and the like.