Real Weddings: A Celebration of Personal Style (Hardcover)

by Mallory Samson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
For every bride who wants a beautiful memory, for every parent who wants an affordable spectacle, and for every groom who wants to have fun, Real Weddings offers hundreds of ideas to inspire and delight. Filled with alluring photographs from one of America's leading wedding photographers and packed with advice from the managing editor of Bride's, the largest and most respected bridal magazine, this is an ideal guide for anyone involved in the planning and completion of a marriage celebration--one that should be unforgettable, manageable, and magical.

Renowned photographer Mallory Samson and editor Sally Kilbridge profile sixteen couples from around the country, each chosen for their creativity and variety of wedding size, setting, guest list, and budget, in order for readers to easily adapt any of the details to fit their own one-of-a-kind needs. The authors follow bride and groom through the decision-making process--from basics, such as selecting flowers suitable for a Christmastime wedding and finding an appropriate dress for a backyard ceremony, to unique touches, such as sending mountain-motif invitations for a wedding in Sun Valley, Idaho. Concluding each story with the big day, Kilbridge and Samson capture the excitement and romance as they highlight the touches that made the event so special: an aisle of shells for a beach processional, an African dance routine for an ethnic-flavored reception, and a couple who drove away from their Maine ceremony in a station wagon trailing lobster buoys and seaweed.

Throughout the book, interviews with wedding experts: a florist, baker, bandleader, consultant, makeup artist, couturiere, caterer, and hairstylist give suggestions for hiring and directing the professionals. Also included is a directory with suggestions for the ceremony reading and song selections and reception menu. Together, Samson and Kilbridge have produced a fresh, innovative package full of practical and inspiring ideas that will help anyone achieve a truly memorable day.

Turn dreams into reality with Real Weddings. Photographer Mallory Samson and Bride's editor Sally Kilbridge, along with sixteen creative and diverse couples, will inspire future brides, grooms, family members, and friends in planning a unique and magical day.

From the Inside Flap
For every bride who wants a beautiful memory, for every parent who wants an affordable spectacle, and for every groom who wants to have fun, Real Weddings offers hundreds of ideas to inspire and delight. Filled with alluring photographs from one of America's leading wedding photographers and packed with advice from the managing editor of Bride's, the largest and most respected bridal magazine, this is an ideal guide for anyone involved in the planning and completion of a marriage celebration--one that should be unforgettable, manageable, and magical.

Renowned photographer Mallory Samson and editor Sally Kilbridge profile sixteen couples from around the country, each chosen for their creativity and variety of wedding size, setting, guest list, and budget, in order for readers to easily adapt any of the details to fit their own one-of-a-kind needs. The authors follow bride and groom through the decision-making process--from basics, such as selecting flowers suitable for a Christmastime wedding and finding an appropriate dress for a backyard ceremony, to unique touches, such as sending mountain-motif invitations for a wedding in Sun Valley, Idaho. Concluding each story with the big day, Kilbridge and Samson capture the excitement and romance as they highlight the touches that made the event so special: an aisle of shells for a beach processional, an African dance routine for an ethnic-flavored reception, and a couple who drove away from their Maine ceremony in a station wagon trailing lobster buoys and seaweed.

Throughout the book, interviews with wedding experts: a florist, baker, bandleader, consultant, makeup artist, couturiere, caterer, and hairstylist give suggestions for hiring and directing the professionals. Also included is a directory with suggestions for the ceremony reading and song selections and reception menu. Together, Samson and Kilbridge have produced a fresh, innovative package full of practical and inspiring ideas that will help anyone achieve a truly memorable day.

Turn dreams into reality with Real Weddings. Photographer Mallory Samson and Bride's editor Sally Kilbridge, along with sixteen creative and diverse couples, will inspire future brides, grooms, family members, and friends in planning a unique and magical day.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 180 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1st edition (January 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609602349
• ISBN-13: 978-0609602348
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,116,811 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Expected, August 8, 2000

By A Customer

I agree with the reviewer below from Seattle. This book is about fantasies. It is rather obvious that most of these brides and grooms have money and are not living in the "real world". I found very few of these weddings to be truly original. Almost all of them were rather large and had more than 100 people in attendance. I have a love/hate relationship with this book. The photography was lush and I must admit I am a little jealous of some of these couples; they had absoulutely beautiful weddings. However, my wedding is in seven weeks and because my fiance and I are paying for the large majority of it, we cannot have absolutely everything we could ever want. I cannot imagine being able to afford a second wedding dress (because I didn't like the first one) and scouring racks in a designer's store to find it. I only found one idea useful and that was what my fiance and his attendants will wear. These couples are simply very "well-off" and can afford anything. And that is just the plain and simple truth. If someone is going to write a book on "Real Weddings" it should include couples planning weddings from various economic backgrounds with various budgets and levels of creativity-not just wealthy individuals with mostly cookie-cutter versions.

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Real" weddings for the fantastically rich., February 19, 2000

By	"amrdmr" (Arlington, WA USA) - See all my reviews

If you identify with a bride whose SECOND choice for the wedding location was the groom's family's vineyard/estate in Provence (India didn't work out); for not one, but TWO brides who had the where-with-all to order TWO gowns (the first one was too froufrou); for a bride who had to "make do" with a Vera Wang gown after her fabric was destroyed in a fire, then this is the wedding book for you. In contrast to other wedding books, the text is (morbidly) fascinating; and there are more diverse brides represented in this book compared to others. However, almost without exception, every bride wore a long white dress and most (no matter what their age) wore veils. So, if you are looking for a book on alternative-type (in other words, real-world) weddings, this book does not fill the bill. You need to know, if you have limited funds, that the SMALLEST guest list was 50 (one wedding); every other wedding had over 100 guests, some up to 200. These are "real weddings"? This is fantasy land, where parents pay for the mega-expensive wedding, where the wedding is all about "the dress", the dream location, yada-yada-yada. Great belly laughs for those who are trying to orchestrate a real-world wedding.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected Disappointment, November 29, 2001

By A Customer

I expected to learn something new or fun and exciting for a person with a mid-level budget hence the title Real Weddings. All I read and saw were weddings for those people who do not have to worry about a budget. The pictures were beautiful as well as the weddings, but for those of us with mild incomes it was more of a Fantasy Wedding book as oppose to a Real Wedding.