For Prespa Albanians, both at home in Macedonia and in the diaspora, the most opulent, extravagant, and socially significant events of any year are wedding ceremonies. During days and weeks of festivities, wedding celebrants interact largely through singing, defining and renegotiating as they do so the very structure of their social world and establishing a profound cultural touchstone for Prespa communities around the world.
Combining photographs, song texts, and vibrant recordings of the music with her own evocative descriptions, ethnomusicologist Jane C. Sugarman focuses her account of Prespa weddings on notions of gendered identity, demonstrating the capacity of singing to generate and transform relations of power within Prespa society. "Engendering Song" is an innovative theoretical work, with a scholarly importance extending far beyond southeast European studies. It offers unique and timely contributions to the analysis of music and gender, music in diaspora cultures, and the social constitution of self and subjectivity.

Diane Warner's Complete Book of Wedding Vows is the only book devoted solely to helping you prepare and personalize your vows so they are as unique and special as every other aspect of your wedding.

For brides and grooms who want to give their weddings new depth and meaning, two acclaimed poet-translators have gathered a stunning collection of poems and prose that will add a unique and personal dimension to the ceremony.

There is much tradition and folklore surrounding weddings. Generation after generation, cultures have developed rituals, superstitions and events to make this day a special one to remember. Learn about the world's most expensive wedding dress, where exactly the idea of bachelor parties came from and cultural practices the world over.

Reuniting with your heart--on your own as well as with your partner...is the journey you are invited to take in this unique and soulful book As you begin to live your life with a new awareness, a burden will be lifted from your personal relationships as conflict is resolved at its origin, without breaking the bond between you and your partner. Dearly Beloved are often the first words of any marriage ceremony, yet they are also the most misunderstood. Who does "Beloved" really refer to? The bride and groom? Their guests? Authors David and Faye Fields believe there is another wedding to which the two words refer -- The Invisible Wedding between our soul and the Beloved, the One--where the essence of all life and all love waits to be discovered. As Marriage/Family therapists, David and Faye have observed and worked with countless individuals who struggle with what they believe to be "relationship problems," but more often than not the real problems reside deep within. As they struggle to resolve these issues, the rational mind only seems to bring temporary results. For the authentic solution, couples must focus on the source of love within, where the Beloved dwells.

The Deep-Rooted Marriage, Cultivating Intimacy, Healing and Delight

Every relationship has its highs and lows, but we often don't know what to do with our "lows," or how we ended up there. What is creating friction, exacerbating our pain, and standing in the way of intimacy?

More often than not, it is the stories of our past drifting into the present. But if we are willing to look at them closely, we will be able to write a new story for the future.

With more than seventy years of therapeutic experience combined, Dan Allender and Steve Call demonstrate how God is inviting you and your partner to a wild faith journey with the hope of transformation. With personal stories, key psychological insights, and practical advice, The Deep-Rooted Marriage will help you:

• Address past trauma, giving you greater courage and compassion to engage your present struggles.
• Disrupt cycles of conflict based on shame, judgment, and resentment.
• Create safety when feeling threatened and offer attunement, empathy, and honour toward differences.
• Adopt humility, honesty, kindness, curiosity, defiance against what divides, and intention to bless.
• Learn practices that cultivate emotional intimacy, generating new goodness between you and beyond you.

Marriage is not about merely getting along or resolving conflict through compromise. It reveals who you are and invites you to who you can become. Marriage offers a space for you to experience what you are made for—honour and delight. And it is the ground from which redemption is meant to grow, where, together, you can reflect God's image more and experience a taste of heaven.

How to face the big occasion with confidence and carry it off with style. So you will be 'saying a few words' on the Big Day. The problem is, we don't get much practice, do we? That's why this practical book will prove so useful to you. Whether you are the best man, the bridegroom, the father of the bride, or other speaker, you will find all the tips and advice you need to prepare and deliver a brilliant, unique and memorable speech that even the most seasoned public speaker would be proud of! Now in its fully revised and updated 7th edition. Contents: Preface; 1. Etiquette and all that; 2. Preparing a great speech; 3. Getting mentally prepared; 4. Rehearsing and delivering your speech; 5. Making the father of the bride's speech; 6. Making the bridegroom's speech; 7. Making the best man's speech; 8. Other speeches; Resources; Index.

At Last! A Comprehensive Guide to Good Grooming
Gone are the days when you could sit back and let your fiancee plan the entire wedding. Today's grooms have countless tasks to perform, from hiring the entertainment and planning the rehearsal dinner to buying the wedding bands and comforting hysterical family members.
Fortunately, "The Groom's Instruction Manual" is here to answer all of your most challenging questions: How do I handle feuding relatives? What should I look for in a good wedding photographer? Why does my fiancee seem stressed out all the time? Whatever your concerns, you'll find the answers here--courtesy of author and veteran groom Shandon Fowler.

From the initial spark of attraction when your eyes first meet, to spontaneously dancing together in the kitchen and falling asleep side by side - how do we create those intimate moments of connection?

As a pioneering Intimacy Coordinator, Ita O’Brien has choreographed some of the most groundbreaking, passionate and vulnerable intimate scenes onscreen. From Normal People to I May Destroy You, and in so many more productions, she has also made these scenes safer, more joyful and more empowering to perform in. No one knows intimacy, the power of true connection, better than her.

So, what can her work teach us about our own relationships, both with ourselves and others? How can we use her tools to discover what it is that we truly want in our intimate lives? And how can all of this create environments in which intimacy can take seed, grow and even thrive?

Combining embodied wisdom, behind-the-scenes stories and exercises for connection, Intimacy offers us a field guide to discovering our desires, communicating our needs, and cultivating truly intimate relationships at every stage of our lives.

Most buyers of The Complete Bride's Workout Guide will be motivated to lose weight and tone up to look good in wedding dresses that are more revealing than ever-sleeveless, strapless, plunging necks and backs, fabrics that cling to every curve...or bulge. But a wonderful fringe benefit of getting into shape is reducing stress-something every bride must deal with. Whether it's learning how to run to escape budget-planning woes, figuratively kickboxing your bickering in-laws into a corner, or just taking that relaxing 20-minute yoga time-out, every bride will benefit mentally as well as physically from getting into "wedding day shape."

The Complete Bride's Workout Guide's easy-to-use 12-month wedding planner format is the bride's portable personal trainer. It includes:

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• An explanation of the trinity of fitness-cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility.
  
• A prenuptial fitness plan-workouts for beginners, intermediates, and advanced.
  
• Charts and illustrations that explain each exercise.
  
• A workout journal.
  
• A prenuptial nutrition plan.
  
• Fitness solutions for wedding planning anxiety.

Your Unique Wedding: Say ?I Do? With A Twist will help engaged couples answer the questions, manage the details, and address the challenges of planning a creative wedding-day experience.

Building a marriage is a lifelong endeavor for both men and women. Most marriage books cover the three C's--communication, compromise, and consideration -- but fail to address many issues critical to a healthy relationship. Family advocate Kay James calls these the "things I wish I had known before I got married": advice on finances, sex, children, and dealing with the extended family. Noting that the apostle Paul exhorted older women not to inspire or counsel younger women, but to teach them how to be wives to their husbands, Kay offers a lifetime's wealth of wisdom for creating an unbreakable marriage relationship.

Named "Best of the Best from the University Presses" for 2007 by the American Library AssociationWeddings today are a $70-billion business, yet no one has explained how the industry has become such a significant component of the American economy. In "Brides, Inc.," Vicki Howard goes behind the scenes of the various firms involved--from jewelers to caterers--to explore the origins of the lavish American wedding, demonstrating the important role commercial interests have played in shaping traditions most of us take for granted.Howard reveals how many of our customs and wedding rituals were the product of sophisticated advertising campaigns, merchandising promotions, and entrepreneurial innovations. Tracing the rise of the wedding industry from the 1920s through the 1950s, the author explains that retailers, bridal consultants, etiquette writers, caterers, and many others invented traditions--from the diamond engagement ring and double-ring ceremony to the gift registry to the package-deal catered affair. These businesses and entrepreneurs, many of them women, transformed wedding culture and set the stage for today's multibillion-dollar industry.The wedding industry began to take shape between the 1920s and the 1950s. Bridal magazine editors and etiquette writers, jewelers, department store window display artists, bridal consultants, fashion designers, and caterers invented new consumer rites and promoted higher standards of wedding consumption. Claiming ties with "ancient customs" and various historical periods, the wedding industry promoted new goods and services as timeless and unchanging. It introduced new ring customs and wedding apparel fashions, and "modern" services, such as gift registries that rationalized gift customs, bridal salons that saved time and made wedding planning more efficient, and wedding packages that standardized ceremonies and reception celebrations.During World War II, the traditional white wedding grew even more prevalent as jewelers and bridal gown manufacturers successfully sought exemptions from wartime restrictions, linking the diamond engagement ring, the double-ring ceremony, and the formal white wedding gown with democracy and American prosperity. By the 1950s, the wedding industry had made the formal white wedding tradition a part of a new cult of marriage and the modern American Dream.Entertaining and informative, "Brides, Inc." reveals the origins and development of this most exemplary American enterprise and brings the story up to the present with a discussion of such new phenomena as David's Bridal and the gay wedding industry.

This is the perfect present for a bride-to-be. Getting engaged is a cause for celebration, but with it comes the exciting, and daunting task of planning the wedding day, as well as preparing yourself for marriage! The Wedding Pocket Bible gives you all the essential advice and information you'll need, including the traditions and wedding etiquette; from invitations and table plans to bridesmaids', best man, mother-of-the-bride and the groom's duties. We also bring you bridal tips and advice to help you enjoy planning the big day. We've covered everything you might possibly need to know, in this beautifully packaged gift book, including: weddings on a budget, choosing the right venue for you, personalising your wedding, planning your stag and hen dos, choosing your cake, flowers, music, photographer, and of course, the important dress. Above all, this book will make sure you and your future husband have the wedding you want, and will remember forever. This beautiful hardback edition has both dust-cover and gold embossing on the spine making it the perfect gift. Every Pocket Bible is lovingly crafted to give you a unique mix of useful references, handy tips and fascinating trivia that will enlighten and entertain you at every page. There is a Pocket Bible for everyone... Other titles in the series: The Pregnancy Pocket Bible, The Mum's Pocket Bible, The Dog Lover's Pocket Bible, The Jane Austen Pocket Bible and The Baking Pocket Bible.

ave you ever wondered where the expressions Honeymoon and Tying the Knot come from, in association with marriage? Handfasting: A Practical Journey takes you on a historical journey, starting with pre-Christian times. It describes the customs and traditions associated with betrothal from times and places in the world when our forbears were in tune with the changing seasons and the natural rhythms of the world they lived in. The increasing popularity of handfasting is recognition that the current alternatives of church or civil ceremonies offer little in the way of deeper meaning in our increasingly pagan times. Mary Neasham offers practical advice on creating your own handfasting ceremony. A very modern way to commit to another person based on the lore and customs of our ancestors.

Fresh, artistic and cheeky designs for a new generation of creative florists.

Bold, modern and more than a little bit cheeky, Flower Porn ditches the traditional floral bouquets for designer arrangements that you can recreate at home. Kai Kaimins, founder of East London florist My Lady Garden, shows you how to fill your home or office with eye-catching, Instagram-worthy arrangements. By following her flower recipes, you'll unlock the secrets of colour theory and get up close and personal with a huge array of blooms, season by season.

Complete with an essential chapter on floristry techniques, this book will show you how to choose the best flowers for each arrangement, and prepare each stem to make sure that your bold creations will last.

Float into the pages of this flirty flower book to explore:

• Four chapters of flower arrangements are arranged by season, with each project presented as a recipe, complete with a food-related heading
• A preliminary chapter will cover the key techniques and processes readers will need to create each flower recipe
• vivid photography and modern layouts that capture Kai's style and the My Lady Garden aesthetic.

There's nothing quite like a bouquet of flowers, and there is absolutely nothing at all like the bouquets, arrangements and stunning displays in Flower Porn to bring beauty to a room. A must-have addition to the library of every flower-arranger - whether you're discovering the art form for the first time, or already a professional florist looking for new ideas for the business, Flower Porn has something for everyone to love.

How to make a great, best man's speech - and a guide to being a great best man. In this book Phillip Khan-Panni uses his expertise as a champion professional speaker to help the best man with the terrifying prospect of writing and delivering The Speech. He guides you on the vital preparation of your speech and tells you how to use stories, jokes and quotations that will lift it well above the bare necessities. With the author`s help and his professional tips and techniques, you will be able to make a really entertaining and moving speech that will be remembered for a long time to come. You might even enjoy making it as much as the guests do hearing it! There are also checklists and further advice to help you organise the whole occasion so that the big day honours the groom and his bride and thoroughly impresses their friends and relations

Discover the truth about weddings with this fun, witty, self-help book for brides-to-be. A Modern Girl's Guide to Getting Hitched gives tips, guidance and case studies on how to plan for your big day, cope with your families and friends, and achieve your own goals. Entertaining and informative, it tells the truth about weddings that the magazines don't dare to mention. Topics covered include: *Coming to terms with never being able to pull men again! *Dealing with the details that will drive you mad - and discovering the available options *Looking like a princess - without having to behave like one *Creating the right service for you *Speeches - choosing the right people for the job and controlling their content *Choosing a bridesmaid without losing all your female friends *Learning how to balance being a wedding bore with a full-time job *Judgement Day - including common disasters and last minute fixes. A Modern Girl's Guide to Getting Hitched is a must-have, light-hearted guide to one of the most unintentionally stressful days of a woman's life.

The book unpacks every element of a wedding - stationery, attire, seating plans, flowers and tablescapes, food and drink, gifts - with examples that will appeal to couples who care about how things are made but are not overly influenced by trends. The emphasis is on natural surroundings, seasonal flowers and food, modern dresses, minimalist ceremony structures, and naked cakes. Photographs of real weddings - "case studies" like a destination fete in Tuscany, a house party in Brooklyn, and a New Agey revel in Kauai - show how all the pieces can come together into a unique and expressive whole. Extensive practical information and resources give readers access to all the help they need for their own unique celebration.

Speak now or forever rest in peace . . . 'A pacy debut that ensnares' ADELE PARKS - THE PERFECT FIANCE. When Victoria's best friend Gwen announces she is marrying the rich and handsome Michael, celebrations are strained. Victoria doesn't trust Michael - he's hiding something. And he reminds her of someone she needs to forget. THE DREAM WEDDING PLAN. Too loved up to see Michael's dark side, Gwen drags Victoria into a whirlwind of dress shopping, engagement drinks and elaborate maid-of-honour duties. Meanwhile, a mysterious visitor is leaving unwanted gifts in Victoria's home, and Michael is becoming aggressive: no one gets between me and Gwen. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? The clock is ticking until the big day. Will Victoria expose Michael's secret, and save her best friend from a marriage made in hell? Or will her past catch up with her first? *THE UNMISSABLE DEBUT THRILLER FOR FANS OF T.M. LOGAN, TAMMY COHEN AND CAROLINE KEPNES* *SHORTLISTED FOR THE OWNED VOICES NOVEL AWARD 2022* - What readers are saying about The Engagement . . . 'Awesome twists' 'A perfect wee read for these dark and cosy nights' 'The story had me page turning like mad, and the end . . . Well let's just say I was pretty shocked!'

Everyone dreams of the perfect wedding…

And for nearly seven decades, Bride’s magazine has been the leading authority on the subject, with advice that is both practical and sympathetic to the needs of the bride, the groom, their families and friends. Now in a completely revised edition, Bride’s Book of Etiquette offers the most up-to-date information on engagement and wedding planning, and realistic solutions for any problem that couples may encounter. In this trusted classic, you’ll find out:

•           How to draw up—and pare down—the guest list

•           How to word invitations for every circumstance

•           How to get his family to share wedding expenses, and who pays for what

•           Where to seat divorced parents, and how to make sure they’ll get along

•           How to dress the bride, groom, mothers, and bridal party at every hour for every type of wedding

•           Contemporary ideas for a long-weekend wedding, a destination wedding and more

•           How to handle last-minute glitches, include children in a second wedding, and answer the tough question: “Am I invited to the wedding?”

•           Registering on the Internet, the dos and don’ts

•           Updated etiquette for a second wedding

•           The new honeymoon rules—romantic trips in today’s world

The last thing on Lizzie's mind is catching the bouquet When her best friend's wedding venue catches fire, Lizzie Martin is on the case to find somewhere new. By some miracle, a space opens up at Halesmere House, and it makes perfect sense to move the event to the Lake District artists' residence. But Lizzie has painful memories of Halesmere... And when she bumps into Cal, her first love, she is forced to confront the past. Now a sought-after blacksmith, Cal has his own studio at Halesmere and the two must find a way to get along if this wedding isn't going to be a complete disaster. It soon becomes apparent that their attraction hasn't waned, but can Lizzie put their shared past behind her and learn to trust the man who left her once before? An emotional and heartwarming romance for fans of Phillipa Ashley, Heidi Swain and Sue Moorcroft.