The New American Wedding: Ritual and Style in a Changing Culture

This book is well written, well researched, entertaining, understandable and well worth reading. As a historian I have been trained as an objective observer and researcher, which has made me over analyze everything going into my own wedding. I wanted to know where our traditions came from and what other avenues there were for so called non traditional weddings. What I've learned is that weddings are now an industry, and a pricey one at that, but I wanted something unique and personal for my own ceremony and there are few good resources out there. Many sources claim to have unique ideas and customizable products, but it's the same garbage that everyone else has. When I started telling my friends and family the direction I wanted to go with my own wedding they looked at me like I was crazy. "What do you mean you don't want to wear a wedding dress?" They didn't understand. I told them to read "The New American Wedding" because this book is able to articulate and explain everything I had been feeling, and it shows that I'm not alone in my thinking.

Why Not a Pony Ride? Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments, but I must say when I opened up a copy of THE NEW AMERICAN WEDDING: RITUAL AND STYLE IN A CHANGING CULTURE, my first reaction was that it would take one helluva purse to foot the bill for the first-class weddings that New York City style and marketing maven Diane Meier Delaney presents. That is, however, neither the truth (as the LIBRARY JOURNAL would have us believe) nor reason to miss this lush, lively, funny, and wise book. There's no denying, this is opulence all right, but believe it or not, it embraces the affordable. Just read it. Amidst wedding registry gifts that include the classic vase from Tiffany's, there are tools from Sears and a request for hundreds of sets of new underwear--to be donated to the needy in San Francisco because there's a shortage of underwear in Salvation Armies and Goodwills. (Makes sense, doesn't it? Meier-Delaney points out. We donate that out-of-fashion sweater, but who would want our underpants with the failing elastic?) On one page of NEW AMERICAN WEDDING: an out-of-this-world flaming-red-wedding gown fashioned of enormous poppies and with a train longer than not just my living room but probably my whole house (yard included). A few pages away: the simplest, white linen sundress. As for the cake: will you choose one of chocolate and orange mousse with landyfingers, fashioned by a world-class patisserie or a marshmallow and Rice Krispies creation from your own kitchen? Ladies and gentlemen, there's an enormous range here. From the engagement to the honeymoon, Meier Delaney presents an array of choices for the bride and groom to choose from-from the most extravagant to the most simple--and I'll bet that about 99% of them you never thought of! What if you're not a bride or groom to-be or wannabe, is there any reason to read this book? Absolutely! THE NEW AMERICAN WEDDING is an astute commentary on changing American culture and traditions, and it's also a sparkling example of out-of-the box thinking. Whether a mousetrap or a wedding, the design challenge is the same: to maintain the tradition and functionality (the trap must catch the mouse; the wedding must marry the people, the families, the values, the things) while breathing innovation into the creation. The plans and designs of many so-called out-of-the-box thinkers fail because they either stay too close to the box, like a mime in the shadows, or they venture so far outside the box that they forget all about it. The box is left out in the alley in the rain, the garbage truck is rounding the corner, and the designers are down the street doing the hokey-pokey. What Meier Delaney does is take that old traditional wedding box apart very carefully, piece by piece, then put those pieces back together into a shape that has all the qualities of a wedding but is so unique and unboxy that it appears to be something entirely different. Something more like a crystal or a Buckminster

Diane Meier takes a fresh look at weddings and uncovers some exciting new trends that every bride-to-be should know. A beautifully produced book with loads of colorful illustrations and real wedding pics. A must have book that's sure to be around for decades.

I've known Diane since elementary school, and I attended her wedding with Frank Delaney that started her on the path that led to this book. The wedding was a really fun blend of tradition and originality, and was anything but "yes, we've got to attend the wedding because..." There was style and personality, but it all reflected their personalities, not some stuff they'd read in magazines. It was also warm and friendly, and enabled the people they knew to get to know each other. I'm sure many of the people who attended learned a whole new way of getting married that respects tradition, but goes beyond it in ways that are good for everyone involved. I've had no part in the creation of the book at all, but if she's conveyed even some of her own wedding experience in the book, it's a good one. And I can tell you that this is NOT someone who tells you what you should do but can't do it herself. She DID it. I was there. It was great.