Weddingbee Blog

I’m definitely digging this book. I commend the author for doing the research and sharing it with the rest of us. As I am very close to the beginning of my own marriage, Ms. Gilbert gives me food for thought when she writes of the Hmong women: “Neither the grandmother nor any other woman in that room was placing her marriage at the center of her emotional biography…” (pg. 35).
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I just stumbled upon a fabulous book, and I instantly knew I had to share it with you all - my equally fabulous readers!

Apparently, Miss Manners is a real person (who knew!), and she penned an awesome book about wedding planning; specifically, weddings that are “painfully proper.”

Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners. Doesn’t she just exude smartness?

Here’s a little quote. A sampling to whet your palate. Please read, and then buy the book immediately.
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Our recent trip to the Philippines was 10 days long - half that time was spent traveling to and from El Nido.  And other than one scuba diving excursion, the only thing we did was hang out, eat, and read - just what the doctor ordered!

We didn’t buy any beach reads ahead of time, and just picked up a bunch of books at the airport before boarding the plane.  I thought I’d share some of them with you in case you’re looking for some good honeymoon beach reads!

Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler

This collection of anecdotes by comedienne Chelsea Handler is hilarious!  I’ve even started watching her talk show on E! as a result of reading this book.  Chelsea is a brutally honest, smart writer - if you like dark humor, you’ll definitely enjoy this book!

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“Yo, que me figuraba el Paraíso bajo la especie de una biblioteca . . . .”

- Jorge Luis Borges

[A picture of one of my bookshelves (and probably the inside of my brain): wedding books and mags on the top shelf,

critical theory texts on the bottom shelves.]

When I first emigrated from Hong Kong at the age of 8, I was a shy kid with limited English skills and a bowl cut. So when normal kids were out on the playground, I was hanging out in the Bookmobile or the library, getting acquainted with my fictional friends like The Babysitters Club or Nancy Drew. To this day, I’m still a bookworm — um, I mean bookbee. In fact, I’ve managed to make my awkward phase into a profession; now that I’m a doctoral student in English, I get to read books for a living.
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Mr. Jasmine and I are back from our honeymoon, many pounds heavier and much tanner. We had an incredible time in Hawaii and I’m putting together a couple of recap posts for all of you, with lots of cringe-inducing pics of the Jasmines in swimwear.

Much of the honeymoon was spent lounging by the pool/beach with a good book. Mr. Jasmine and I love to read, but unlike him, my tastes run from high-brow to so-called chick lit. I try not to be a book snob and in my little world, a good read is a good read, whether it’s Russian literature, a British classic, or a twenty-first century tale of dating in the big city. I chose books of the latter type for our honeymoon since I couldn’t process anything more weighty than that. Some of them I loved, some of them were just meh, and some of them….well, read on:

Books I Loved:
Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof, all by Emily Giffin:
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Okay, I’m going to flat out say it: you should read this book. Hana Schank writes about planning her own wedding and in the process really puts a lot into perspective. Her writing is quick witted and honest. She describes everything from searching, to the dress, to dealing with family drama. It is refreshing to read such honesty about guest list tug-of-wars and trying to hold your own against the wedding industry. Read more…

With surgery approaching I assumed that I would have a lot of free time to lay around and not move my right arm. So, I decided to look for some new reading material. Since I love reading wedding blogs so much I thought that wedding memoirs would be right up my alley. I searched amazon and ordered two, both were less than $1.50, brand new from the “used” books section. This is probably the only time in my life I could really relate to the authors and possibly get some insight as well.

The first to arrive was “The Toaster Broke, So We’re Getting Married.” It was short and sweet with a bright pink cover, fun right?

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The writer in each of us just sometimes goes missing. You want to piece together the most beautiful ceremony, but don’t know where to start. Don’t worry: we weren’t creative cats either. We were only able to do it with the help of Judith Johnson’s book, The Wedding Ceremony Planner, which I believe Miss Penguin too has referenced before.

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In the process of designing our invitations (more on that to come, I promise!), I had some difficulties figuring out colors. I mean, I knew what colors I wanted, but was having a hard time getting what I saw on my computer screen to match with what came from the offset printer.Cue The New Big Book of Color, which provides numerous designs along with the corresponding RGB (for your computer screen) and CMYK (for offest printing) colors used in the designs.

(available at Amazon)
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Last week, Mrs Onion blogged about the Real Simple Weddings book that just came out. I was able to get a copy and have just finished pouring through it.

I highly recommend this book if you are at the beginning of your planning for your wedding. The information in it is mostly the same as what you see in most wedding magazines… I mean, let’s face it, there are only so many ways to say the same thing.

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Real Simple Magazine is releasing their first “Real Simple Weddings.” Advanced copies are on sale at Crate & Barrel stores and on-line starting today. It’s $12.95 and I’m looking forward to stopping by Crate and Barrel to check it out (yes, I know, my wedding is over…but a friend might need my help, right)? It’s 160 pages of tips and there are bound to be beautiful photos. Real Simple magazine is just so sleek and packed with great tips and ideas. I have high hopes for their wedding guide.

Another of my pastimes in Mr. T’s absence last weekend was to read one of the many wedding-related library books I’ve checked out recently. Namely, Well Groomed: A Wedding Planner for What’s-His-Name (And His Bride), by Peter Scott.

Simply put, the book is hilarious! I was reading at a restaurant (note to DC library users — if you check this out and happen to notice blotches of what looks suspiciously like pulled-pork-sandwich grease … I know nothing about it) and laughed out loud so many times the other diners started giving me suspicious looks. When you get to that point in wedding planning when your head is starting to spin and you just. can’t. face. another. wedding. detail, I highly recommend this quick read.

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As I mentioned a few months ago, we did our best to make our wedding as as environmentally (and socially) responsible as possible. Now that the wedding is over, I will post a “report card” on how we did later on, but for now I wanted to share a few of my favorite green planning books with you.

My top two favorite books in this category are Eco Chic Weddings by Emily Anderson and Simply Green Parties by Danny Seo.

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I am having 4 bridesmaids: my younger sister (my maid of honor), my two best friends from high school, and my little sister from my sorority. I love each one of them to death and when it came time to choose my attendants, there really was no contest.

However, as much as I love them, none of them are really into weddings. I myself was never into weddings either until I got engaged, so when I began reading about all the traditional roles of bridesmaids, I became a little worried. I had never realized that there is more to being a bridesmaid than just wearing a matching dress and walking down the aisle before the bride…and I wasn’t sure if my bridesmaids knew much either.

Now I’m not a demanding bride (I think). I don’t expect my bridesmaids to be at my every beck and call, especially since two of them live so far away. I’m letting them choose their own dresses, and I really wouldn’t mind if they didn’t throw me a bridal shower. The most important thing to me is that they have fun and that they’re there with me on one of the most important days of my life.

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There is something incredibly narcissistic about taking great delight in reading anything and everything on weddings when one herself is a bride, but I justify it as a subtler and more private way of being a bridezilla.

I just finished reading May’s release of Collen Curran’s edited collection of essays, Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings.

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