The Nest

Books and the bride

Posted Friday, June 22, 2007 4:42 PM

I always loved reading novels about weddings: mysteries where the groom ended up dead; comedies where the bride slowly slipped into madness; and historical fiction about brides in other times and places. I figured in the pages of these works of fiction I would find stories that could make me laugh and advice I could apply toward my own nuptials. Now I read these books and it isn't quite the same.

At the moment I am reading the first novel by wedding advice guru Sharon Naylor called "It's My Wedding Too."  The story, which follows a bride-to-be to has to deal with her crazy mother and crazy mother-in-law, is really funny. I have been trying to get through this book for the last three weeks – I am currently on the third chapter, which tackles the engagement party where the bride's WASPy mother thinks the groom's Italian mom is the maid (cute huh?). The concept is an enjoyable one -- and the mother/mother-in-law thing is not a unique idea. Even the most seemingly sane women become utterly strange prior to the wedding of their children

Part of the problem is that when one is inundated day and night with wedding stuff, it's necessary to have a break. This is why I am currently rereading the mammoth "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (of course they are preparing for a wedding, between Fleur DeLacour and Bill Weasley, in there).

I refuse to give up on a book – unless I have tried to get through it several times to no avail like Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park." I always carry a book with me – my Bobie always says if you have a book, you are never alone. The reviews I found about the book praise the humor and the lightheartedness, so this paperback will remain in my purse, at least through the weekend. Besides, there's no way I'm shlepping "Harry Potter" to Disneyland on Sunday.