The Complete Guide for the Anxious Bride: How to Avoid Everything That Could Go Wrong on Your Big Day

225 Pages·2004·3.04 MB·English

by  Leah Ingram

Appendix A 1
The Complete Guide for
THE
ANXIOUS
BRIDE
A:
How to Avoid Everything That Could
Go Wrong on Your Big Day
n
LEAH INGRAM
New Page Books
A division of Career Press, Inc.
Franklin Lakes, NJ
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2 The Complete Guide for the Anxious Bride
Copyright  2004 by Leah Ingram
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright
Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form
or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter
invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.
THE COMPLETE GUIDE FOR THE ANXIOUS BRIDE
EDITED AND TYPESET BY KATE HENCHES
Cover design by Cheryl Cohan Finbow
Cover Photograph by Gary Jung
Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press
To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-
848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further information on
books from Career Press.
The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687,
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
www.careerpress.com
www.newpagebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ingram, Leah.
The complete guide for the anxious bride : how to avoid everything that could go
wrong on your big day / by Leah Ingram.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-56414-730-4 (pbk.)
1. Weddings—Planning—Miscellanea. 2. Problem solving. I. Title.
HQ745.I64 2004
395.2’2--dc22
2003070216
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Appendix A 3
Dedication
To Bill, Jane, and Annie.
And to all the brides who are anxious
about their wedding:
Close your eyes, take a deep breath, exhale, open
your eyes, and start reading.
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4 The Complete Guide for the Anxious Bride
Acknowledgments
M
y husband is a partner in my writing business by
providing love, support, and inspiration for all of the
work I do. He also feeds and bathes the kids and puts
them to bed whenever I’m on deadline. So if it wasn’t for him, I
couldn’t have written this book. Thank you, Bill.
Thank you also to the terrific trio of agents at Sheree
Bykofsky and Associates: Janet Rosen, Megan Buckley, and
A:
Sheree Bykofsky. This book was our first project together, and you
three pros continued to believe in this book’s potential when no one
else did. Well, you were right—and here it is, getting published.
Furthermore, thank you to my cousin Cara, who allowed me
to give her unlimited and sometimes unsolicited advice as she
planned her wedding this past fall. By allowing me to get back
inside the mind of an anxious bride (although you were pretty
calm, Cara—probably all that meditating and yoga that you do),
you made writing this book much easier.
Finally, thank you to all the “anxious brides” out there who
shared their sob stories, wedding disasters, and special-event
snafus. Without your real-life anecdotes, I never would have
known exactly how many things could possibly go wrong on a
wedding day. I found all of you through friends and family
members, and services such as Profnet, Freelance Success, and
the American Society of Journalists and Authors’ online phorum.
Therefore, I must send a big thanks out to each of these services
and the help they provided me in researching and writing this
book.
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Appendix A 5
Contents
Introduction 9
Chapter 1: Health Concerns 11
Ill-timed period P unplanned pregnancy P bride and
groom got sick P broken bones P under-the-weather
wedding party P ill parents.
Chapter 2: Beauty Emergencies 23
A:
Acne breakout P bride with braces P missing contact
lenses P lost or broken glasses P oral surgery P unex-
pected sunburn P unavailable hairdresser and makeup
artist P switching stylists P fake nails gone bad P toupees
and comb-overs.
Chapter 3: Sticky Situations 35
Vendors demanding cash P bounced checks P overex-
tended budget P over-the-top bachelor party P secrets re-
vealed on video P pushy parents P negotiating divorced
parents P inviting work colleagues P getting fired.
Chapter 4: Bridal Gown and Groom’s Attire 49
Missing wedding gown P tips for getting a gown in a
pinch P wedding dress damaged P dress doesn’t fit P
hate the dress you ordered P can’t get tuxedos.
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6 The Complete Guide for the Anxious Bride
Chapter 5: Wedding Accessories and Bridesmaid Attire 65
Shoes that hurt P missing undergarments P panty lines
P bridesmaid dresses not ready P bridesmaid dresses
all wrong P maternity bridesmaid attire P color wars P
cheapskate attendants P tuxes don’t fit.
Chapter 6: The Wedding Party 75
Attendants want out P pregnant bridesmaid P fighting
attendants P firing an attendant P problems with flower
girl and ring bearer P married attendants that split up.
Chapter 7: The Wedding Ceremony 87
Bad weather P ceremony location unavailable P par-
ents insist on religious ceremony P officiant overbooked
P ceremony site too small P officiant is a low talker P
two religions in one ceremony P ceremony locale is too
hot/too cold P dealing with daylight savings P church is
noisy P collapsing huppah P broken glass.
Chapter 8: The Entertainment 109
Avoiding bad performers P reception band broke up
P unavailable entertainer P loud band P bandleader/
deejay obnoxious P song list all wrong.
Chapter 9: Photography and Videography 125
Hate to have picture taken P photographer/videographer
unavailable P found cheaper photographer P camera
malfunctioned P missing photographs.
Chapter 10: The Caterer and Reception 141
Reception site not available P caterer overbooked P
no alcohol allowed P can’t use candles or Sterno P fire
at reception P caterer served meat to vegetarians P
inebriated guests P reception site too small P wedding
cake collapsed P want to avoid bouquet and garter toss.
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Appendix A 7
Chapter 11: Invitations and Gifts 163
Stationer went out of business P invitations not
ready on time P programs are missing P need more
envelopes P invitations on wrong paper stock P
calligrapher messed up P invitations include errors
P guests not RSVPing P problems with gift registry P
thank-you notes P need more postage.
Chapter 12: Flowers, Rings, and Transportation 183
Florist not available P florist ordered wrong flowers P
bride is allergic to flowers P bees swarming on flowers
P rings not ready in time P limo was dirty P limo was
MIA.
Chapter 13: The Honeymoon 199
Travel agency closed up shop P honeymoon plans gone
awry P airline stopped flying P lost tickets P missed
flight P resort is overbooked P resort is a dump P
cruise ship is contaminated P illness on honeymoon P
hurricane hit P destination is politically unstable.
Appendix 215
How to find vendors that won’t make you feel anxious,
plus questions to ask of them and what to put in your
contract with them.
Index 219
About the Author 223
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Appendix A 9
Introduction
A
s a well-published author and recognized expert on
weddings, I’ve interviewed, spoken with, and given advice
to hundreds of brides-to-be. This advice has come in
many forms: my work as a wedding book author (The Balanced
Bride, The Portable Wedding Consultant); as a writer and editor
for bridal magazines (Modern Bride, Bridal Guide, For the Bride,
Elegant Wedding); and as a spokesperson for national companies
A:
such as Sears and Hewlett-Packard. Despite the topics I may be
tackling for the wedding markets, what worries the majority of
brides-to-be and most often what they want to talk candidly about
are the worst-case scenarios and “what ifs” of weddings—that is,
“What if my dress doesn’t fit?” or “What if the band sounds
terrible?” or “What if my reception hall burns down?”
Because we put such great importance on our wedding days—
plus the sizeable price tag on today’s modern weddings—it is
understandable that brides-to-be worry about these potential
disasters. And disasters do happen. Why else would the 300,000
members of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of
America offer wedding insurance policies to their clients? Because
wedding disasters are a reality.
Do a Google search of wedding disasters and you’ll likely
come up with news reports ranging from the limo driver who
attempted to extort more money from the bride and groom at
the last minute (The New York Post) to the reception hall that
went bankrupt the week before three wedding receptions were
to take place there (The Philadelphia Inquirer) to the bridal salon
that flooded during spring rains, thus ruining thousands of dollars
worth of wedding gowns (NBC’s Today show).
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