Wedding Wonders: Tales & Traditions, Customs & Curiosities [Paperback]

Kimberly Burton Allen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Wedding Wonders compiles dozens of wedding traditions and trivia, from the point of betrothal through the time the bride is carried over the threshold. These traditions include such bits of information as to why brides carry bouquets, the ring is worn on the left hand, and where the term honeymoon comes from. Other fascinating tidbits give glimpses of cultural history such as white having been the fashionable color for wedding dresses only since Victorian times; Navaho weddings taking place facing east because that is thought to be the direction of the future, a spider in the wedding dress being a lucky omen for an English bride. The more than 160 such interesting facts make Wedding Wonders an ideal shower gift and popular library acquisition. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Great Quotations (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562452649
• ISBN-13: 978-1562452643
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 4.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,503,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kimberly Burton Allen was born and raised in Orange County, California. From an early age she was a prolific reader and writer, attracted to "what makes people tick." Though she received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton, she found more practical applications for her creative talents in the field of advertising and marketing. From her start as a copywriter in advertising agencies, she eventually rose to AVP of advertising and marketing for a small corporation in Irvine, CA.

When her husband Christopher, a formally-trained British butler, was offered a position on the East Coast in 1992, Kimberly took the opportunity of relocation to pursue her dream of writing, beginning by making good on the half-joking promise she'd made to Chris shortly after their first meeting--to write a book about his life as a butler. In 1995, unagented, she sold "A Butler's Life: Scenes From the Other Side of the Silver Salver" to Frederic C. Beil Publishing on the first round of submissions. The book was published in hardcover in 1997 and remains in print both in paperback and on Kindle. In the interim, having been a bridesmaid a full dozen times prior to becoming a bride, she sold "Wedding Wonders," on the origin of wedding customs still in practice today, to Great Quotations.

Following the publication of A Butler's Life, Kimberly turned to her first love--writing fiction. She has written two psychological suspense novels and one of women's fiction, all of which deal with the corrosive secrets that can destroy a family.

Kimberly lives on the East End of Long Island, NY, where she and her husband own and operate a bed and breakfast, for which she has published "A Butler's Manor: The Cookbook" of her most requested breakfast menus.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wedding Wonders, April 5, 2000

By 

Diane Compagno - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wedding Wonders: Tales & Traditions, Customs & Curiosities (Paperback)

878 words

WEDDING WONDERS by Kimberly Burton Allen answersall the questions you ever had about weddings. It covers everythingfrom how engagements to traditions of other countries came to be. Have you ever thought about how wedding or engagement rings started? Did you ever wonder about what color wedding dresses they wear in other countries or what day you should have a wedding? All types of fun superstitions including something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, are included in this great collection of wedding information. I loved this book. I'm sure it took a lot of work to find this fantastic collection of wedding facts for this book. It gave me an insight to wedding traditions and superstitions that I have always wondered about. I found it an amazing learning experience as well as a fun read.

I have found this book to be a perfect gift for a wedding shower or to be giving to a neighbor or friend who has a family member about to marry. Every bride I have given it to loves it and can't wait to go out and buy some to give their friends.