Miss Manners on Weddings [Hardcover]

Judith Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 1999

Elaborate weddings are back in style, creating etiquette anxiety, but do not fear--Miss Manners is here to give you the dos and don'ts of the day.
        
With weddings today resembling a hybrid of the Academy Awards, the Super Bowl, and the Miss America Pageant--and brides running roughshod over loved ones in their quests for a Perfect Day--everyone involved needs a handbook of wedding etiquette to get through the big event with dignity, families, and finances intact. Here is the final word: Miss Manners on Weddings.

This classic guide to wedding etiquette sets out the real obligations and responsibilities of the friends and family of the couple, from the mother of the bride and the maid of honor to the ushers and the bride's father's girlfriend. In her trademark witty, authoritative voice, Miss Manners lays down the law on the complete range of subjects: the engagement, the shower, the invitations, the gifts, the reception--an approach that will make weddings more pleasant for one and all, even the bride.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Elaborate weddings are back in style, creating etiquette anxiety, but do not fear--Miss Manners is here to give you the dos and don'ts of the day.
        
With weddings today resembling a hybrid of the Academy Awards, the Super Bowl, and the Miss America Pageant--and brides running roughshod over loved ones in their quests for a Perfect Day--everyone involved needs a handbook of wedding etiquette to get through the big event with dignity, families, and finances intact. Here is the final word: Miss Manners on Weddings.

This classic guide to wedding etiquette sets out the real obligations and responsibilities of the friends and family of the couple, from the mother of the bride and the maid of honor to the ushers and the bride's father's girlfriend. In her trademark witty, authoritative voice, Miss Manners lays down the law on the complete range of subjects: the engagement, the shower, the invitations, the gifts, the reception--an approach that will make weddings more pleasant for one and all, even the bride.

About the Author

Judith Martin is the author of many books, including Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. She and her husband live in Washington, D.C.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Crown (January 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609604317
• ISBN-13: 978-0609604311
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #701,437 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars worth reading for the bride or groom to be, July 26, 2000

By 

Laura LaVelle - See all my reviews

This review is from: Miss Manners on Weddings (Hardcover)

This is not a how to plan a wedding primer, so don't buy this if you're looking for one. It is a rather entertaining series of mini-essays attempting to put the elaborate, extravagant, and expensive spectacles that weddings are becoming into a reasonable perspective. I read it while engaged and found the author's perspective on what is and is not important a helpful reminder. For example: the wedding day is not all about the bride; the wedding is not a fundraiser; the wedding is not a time for networking; the wedding is not for the entertainment of all present, but a ceremony uniting two people in marriage; weddings should be in good taste, etc. Seemingly obvious points, but yet, many involved seem to miss them!

However, if you're going to plan a large wedding, a how to guide is actually much more useful. And if you're dealing with horrid fights with your family or your in laws, or both, no book can help you--unfortunate as that may be!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good vintage, but in a new bottle., January 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Miss Manners on Weddings (Hardcover)

Miss Manners is as wise and witty as ever. However, what the teeny print on the bottom of the front cover says is that this book was previously published under a different title (Painfully Proper Weddings). This volume does take a somewhat scattershot approach, so that people looking for precise pointers on every aspect of a wedding may be disappointed. However, she does provide a few general guidelines of good sensible advice: a religious wedding is a ceremony, not a show; weddings in general should not be seen as opportunities for revenge, egotistical posturing, or profiteering, but rather as joyful events to join families together.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amusing, but you'll still need a complete book on etiquette, April 30, 2002

By 

Alexis Coxon (Holt, MI, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miss Manners on Weddings (Hardcover)

I adore Miss Manners' witty, dry writing style. There's plenty of that here, along with her decidedly staid opinions -- no response cards, please; don't you ever dare make guests pay for a drink; and no, monkeys aren't welcome at the ceremony.

You will certainly learn plenty here (and laugh out loud more than a few times), but this isn't a start-to-finish, hold-your-hand book. I would suggest reading this one for its entertainment value and Miss Manners' solid, irreproachable suggestions. Supplement it with another book such as "The Everything Wedding Etiquette Book" for a more complete primer.