Customer Reviews

Mother of the Bride: The Dream, the Reality, the Search for a Perfect Dress

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As the mother of a recently engaged daughter (my first, so this is very new to me!), I'm heading for the bookstores and the libraries to read up on how to plan a wedding. In the midst of books about what the maid of honor's duties are, lists of lists, pages of worksheets, and tomes about every single thing that a successful wedding...

There stands a small pink book that has a cover illustration which communicates as succinctly as the subtitle "The Dream, the Reality, the Search for a Perfect Dress." This book is 156 pages long, but can be read in an hour or so (including time to linger over illustrations and time to laugh some hearty laughs and shed a few tears).

Ilene Beckerman is not only the author of this book, but its illustrator as well. And that's part of the beauty of this book; the drawings are so perfectly entwined in the text.

It's a rare and very special author who can have you laughing one second and crying the next - especially when the author doesn't use a lot of words! Ilene succeeds beautifully in this wonderful combination.

From the book: "What do five girls - one short, one tall, one buxom, one flat, one who gave birth a month ago - have in common? A bridesmaid's dress they all hate."

Throughout the book, Ilene zigs and zags from telling about planning her daughter's wedding to writing about her daughter as a little girl and their very special relationship during her grown-up years. In a world where way too many people can't wait for their children to grow up and leave home, this type of writing is both poignant and refreshing.

Here's a letter that the author wrote to her daughter as the wedding grew nearer "I never knew before I had you that I could love anyone so much. You won't understand the feeling until you hold your own baby in your arms. I'm afraid you won't need me now that youo're married. I helped you get over your separation anxiety in nursery school. Now I need you to help me to get over mine." Then she says that she never sent that letter.

I really appreciated the review of this book that was written by a husband and father who called himself "A reader from NJ". He says that this book isn't just for women and I wholeheartedly agree. My husband laughs and cries simultaneously when watching his favorite movie "Father of the Bride." I think I'm going to go show him this book right now.

When my daughter became engaged, I got three copies of this book as gifts. I loved it so much that I have given away the two extra copies that I received to friends who will soon be MOBs!

The book is so real, so funny, so poignant. It succinctly summed up the relationship between mothers and daughters as it detailed the intricate and involved planning process for today's weddings. I loved the way Beckerman gave us glimpses of her daughter's growing-up years.

I felt every feeling the author was feeling --- I laughed, I cried, and I called my daughter to read portions to her.

And today....I found the perfect dress!!!

Having married off my three daughters in the past decade made reading and reviewing this latest witty masterpiece from Ilene Beckerman a delight ! Never having met Ilene Beckerman, I was convinced after reading her first book entitled Love, Loss, and What I wore, that we were soulmates. My God, I grew up in NYC and went to PS 80 !This cemented my feelings after she announced that the "bride" now has two daughters of her own - just like my "bride". Her clever style of writing combined with her joyful life experiences add up to a roller coaster fun-filled ride through life's ups and downs. Buy it, you'll love it and then you will rush right out to buy her previous two books which are equally tickling. What will come next might be a hilarious "Grandmother" book -

This is basically an autobiographical comic short story, with wacky illustrations to add to the fun. I bought it as a Mother's Day present for my mom right after I got engaged, and we read it aloud together in our favorite spot on the front porch, passing the book when one of us was overcome with laughter -- or tears. Ilene Beckerman can really write, and she does it with devastating humor and tear-jerking poignancy as she explores -- from the front row view of the mother of the bride -- the fun, the fights, the work, the tears, the trials, and often the complete insanity that all contribute to the creation of a beautiful wedding. At the same time, she critically (and beautifully) examines the complex relationship between a mother and her daughter. This short little gem will help you remember the things you appreciate most about your mother, your daughter...or both.

I am currently planning my own wedding and my mother and I have been experiencing the usual tension... This book made me see the event from her point of view. It's funny and touching, and so accurate I feel like Ms. Beckerman was recording us as we went through the planning stages. The book is more about a mother's feelings about her daughter growing up than about the wedding per se, so I would recommend this book for every mother and daughter going through "growing pains".

This book was great. It is written with humor and insight, and I probably would not have appreciated it before this adventure we call "being the M.O.B". It is definately worth every penny.

This book is a small gem that can be read in one short sitting. The subtitle: The Dream, the Reality, the Search for a Perfect Dress tells you exactly how Ilene Beckerman views weddings. She writes with wit, humor and wisdom about weddings and being the Mother of daughters from conception to wedding day and a bit beyond. Her cartoony drawings add much to the text. I've read and loved her first two books as well, and since she says she is now a Grandmother of two girls, as I am, I hope she'll write about that experience next. In fact she hints at just that in her last line..."I'm keeping my eyes open for a couple of Prince Charmings".

I've read all three of Ilene's books. Each one has prompted laughter and tears. I've always been left me with joyful feelings and upon completing the reading wanting more from this wonderful author. She always hits the nail on the head. Her work is honest, truthful and right from the heart. As a man, a father and a husband I too can identify with everything she writes. It's not just for women.

What a great book to give the 1st time mother of the bride at the bridal shower. It puts things in perspective! I recommend they read it a couple of days before the wedding.

Ilene Beckerman, a few years ago thrilled readers when she told the story of her life through her clothes in the book Love, Loss and What I Wore. In Ms. Beckerman's second book,What We Do for Love, she wrote about her courtship, marraige, divorce and remarraige. And now in her latest book, Mother of the Bride, this witty and poignant author describes to her readers the true story of what it means to be the mother of the bride.

And what a fun and insightful book this turns out to be. Because nestled between the quest for a suitable mother of the bride dress and a menu which won't cause indigestion, and other stress factors which are off the Richter scale, the author also tells us what it means to raise a daughter and watch her walk down the aisle towards her own married life. What every mother thinks she longs for becomes bittersweet for Ms. Beckerman as her days as an important Mommy to her daughter are now replaced by her daughter's Prince Charming.

I not only loved the words Ilene Beckerman wrote but the clever illustrations she did to depict events and her feelings. And I especially like the way she summed up this event at the end by saying that, "the planning took a year, the ceremony took 20 minutes, the wedding recpetion was four hours long and I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Actually Ms. Beckerman has two other daughters so hopefully she got to do this again or will be doing it in the near future.

As I closed this book I thought how much I am looking forward to my turn as the mother of the bride when our daughter finds her Mr. Right. For now I am conetnt to clutch Ms. Beckerman's book in hand and dream of a long aisle and wishes for health and happiness as our daughter is married.