Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings (Paperback)

~ Colleen Curran (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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. (May)
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Review

“Darkly funny ruminations on getting hitched.” –People

“Refreshingly unsentimental.” –O, The Oprah Magazine


From the Trade Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307277631
• ISBN-13: 978-0307277633
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #368,109 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are you hearing bells?, May 10, 2007

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Altared is a fanciful journey down the aisle of matrimony, ushered in with smiles, laughter and poignant moments. It is a compilation of wedding stories, edited by Colleen Curran, where each of the 27 authors artfully recalls a wedding experience from a personal perspective. This bouquet of witty, wedding tales is told in charming, eloquent writing.

We shop with Martha Stewart and recall Princess Diana's beautiful mega-wedding. Wedding cash outlay is debated and often shelled out in the thousands of dollars, for that dream that seems to be as much a part of our lives as other inevitable events. It is a glamour moment in fine satin, but also that real moment of sought-after harmony, a harmony often achieved, but also caught in the struggle of conflicting tastes, ideas and expectations.

The journey will not soon be forgotten and the reader may join in with fond memories or future inspiration. It is a reminder that although expensive elegance may be important, equally important is the handmade contribution and the kindness, love and adventure that touches each story.

Butter cream is blended with bitter chocolate and makes this a fun, fast read. It's about lives "altared," and in a good way.

Colleen Curran, who edited these stories, has just published a first novel, Whores on the Hill--an unabashedly sexual and mesmerizing read.

Armchair Interviews says this is bound to entertain anyone who has ever fallen in love or attended a wedding.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So glad I found this., May 9, 2007

By	D. Scott (NYC) - See all my reviews

I swear I have a hundred female friends who are getting married in the next year (or hoping to!), and now I've found the perfect gift to give to all of them for their bridal showers (real or imaginary).

Every experience a you could have as a past, present, or future bride is well documented here with wit and grace from an amazing collection of writers.

After reading a few essays, you begin to see quite clearly why the process of getting married makes us crazy. But more importantly, and this seems to be the overall message of the book, however insane your wedding may make you feel, you aren't alone! Countless brides before you have experienced the same trials and tribulations, joys, disappointments, and blessings you will.

For brides-to-be, Altared is like a reassuring best-friend, who happens to tell stories both hilarious and heart-wrenching.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Funny and REAL, August 6, 2007

By	Paula Kunze "Sociology Fan" (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This collection of real life stories is absolutely hilarious! Almost every story leaves you chuckling a little at the rediculousness that is the wedding industry and our society. I think I could relate to something in almost every story as well. I am giving it to my sister in law who is recently engaged to help her see what people go through that she is not alone and hopefully show her how rediculous things can be and to not let it get out of control.