Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Mother of the Groom: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy the Best Wedding Ever

  • ISBN13: 9780806526454
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
The apparently effortless grace of a successful gown is always underpinned by solid dressmaking skills - the skills described in "Bridal Couture". Starting with a portfolio of breathtaking gowns designed by the author, "Bridal Couture" covers all the major techniques used to sew these sumptuous couture creations, including choosing fabric, working with lace, creating a muslin, and problem-solving tricky construction issues. Every conceivable style of skirt, sleeve, and bodice is included, as well as suggestions for fabric combinations to evoke just the right mood. A final section details th construction of four actual gowns, giving readers a chance to apply what they've learned. Ideal as a wish book fo! r brides, a textbook for sewing students, a reference book for dressmakers, or a companion book for anyone hiring a dressmaker, "Bridal Couture" is finally a book about fashion and the practical knowledge needed to create fantasy.Though ostensibly a how-to manual on wedding gown construction, this magnificent book teaches all about advanced dressmaking skills, and its principles can be applied to creating many other types of haute-couture-style gowns. The very thorough text details all aspects of fabrics and construction: the unique characteristics of each type of fashion fabric, including extensive information on manipulating lace; preparing the muslin mockup (a necessary first step to ensure a perfect fit); adjusting the bodice, sleeves, and skirt and joining them all together; adding ornamentation; and handling bustles and trains. The final chapter presents all the specifics of making four gowns of different styles. The novice and even the advanced sewer will ! learn much here, and perhaps best of all, pattern-drafting ex! perience is not required--the author works her transformations on purchased patterns. If you're ambitious enough to make your own wedding gown, this book is absolutely essential, but even if you're hiring someone else to custom-make your gown, you'll find this an invaluable guide. And anyone pursuing a dressmaking career should have this important reference work on the shelf. --Amy Handy

"I can't choose between my two best friends. Can I have two maids of honor?"

"My fiancé and I are considering a destination wedding. Are we obligated to cover our attendants' travel expenses?"

"Do we have to invite our guests' children to our wedding?"

"I'm still close to my ex-husband's parents. Would it be okay to invite them to my wedding?"

"How do my partner and I go about planning our commitment ceremony?"

"My parents are divorced and each has remarried. Where do they sit in church?"

"Do I have to wear white?"

Do I Have to Wear White? draws on the Posts' extensive database of wedding questions received through their Web site, as well as popular topics addressed in their columns. For busy engaged couples and their families, attendants, and guests, this book provides at-a-glance answers to everything from essential bridal basics to the knotty logistical questions that spring up around this joyousâ€"yet often complexâ€"event.

Norah Mulcahaney, rookie, makes detective and goes under cover joining a ring of suburban housewife prostitutes who earn extra cash while hubby is out of town. Prostitution leads to murder and Norah herself is threatened.

The best advice for the mother of the groom? Keep your mouth shut and wear beige!

“It’s bad enough when two mothers plan an event as fraught as a wedding, but what happens when the ex-husband’s new girlfriend elbows her way in? Keep Your Mouth Shut and Wear Beige adds the m! other of the groom to literature’s rich collection of long-s! uffering women. When Seidel’s heroine refuses to suffer in silence, the results are both poignant and hilarious.”

---Debra Galant, author of Rattled and Fear and Yoga in New Jersey

Darcy Van Aiken is doing just fine, thank you. She’s an ICU nurse with an “amicable” divorce from her ex-husband, Mike, two great kids, and a prescription for Ritalin. Then her older son, Jeremy, gets engaged to Cami Zander-Brown---daughter of a wealthy New York family---and her world gets turned upside down. The source of her trouble, much to Darcy’s surprise, is not in the form of Rose Zander-Brown, Cami’s elegant and accomplished mother. Nor is it in the form of Guy Zander-Brown, Cami’s charismatic and wildly successful literary agent father. Instead, lurking in the shadows of Mike’s new life is the beautifully dressed Claudia, a self-described “managed perfectionist.”

The Zander-Browns have money. Lots of money. The plans for their daughter’s dre! am wedding grow more fabulous by the day, and loving every minute is Claudia. With her perfect taste, Claudia can’t help thinking she would make a much better mother of the groom than Darcy. This wedding is her chance to entrench herself in Mike’s life---and take credit for the two sons Darcy has worked so hard to raise right.

It’s a battle of will and wits. What Darcy learns about herself---and about family and friendship---makes for a delicious, hilarious, touching read.

Being a bridesmaid is one of the greatest honors a dear friend can bestow. But actually wearing the dress the bride picks out? That's the true test of friendship. You Can Wear It Again pays loving tribute to fifty years of bridesmaids' dresses, as featured in real-life weddings. The product of both fashion trends and the bride's whims, bridesmaids' dresses may take the form of medieval costume, complete with wimple; slip dresses with real feathered wings to transform maid! s into true angels; or the ruffled peach taffeta with puff sle! eves tha t so dominated the 1980s. Whatever the look, you can be sure it's been in and out of fashion more than once. Some lessons are never learned. The perfect gift for current and former bridesmaids, You Can Wear It Again isn't just a showcase of bridal fashions, but a testament to the selfless women everywhere who help the bride's dreams come true.

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