The focus of this book is on that brief but terrifying prospect: the Best Man's speech. The book includes techniques for using stories, jokes and quotations that will lift your speech well above the bare necessities, helping you not only to make the speech, but also to enjoy it. More than just a guide to the Best Man's speech, this book is a one-stop guide to being a really effective, all round, Best Man. Above all its purpose is to help you enjoy your role as Best Man and to make it an occasion that honours the groom and his chosen bride. Contents: 1. Your complete guide to being best man 2. Myths and legends 3. Duties of the best man 4. Planning your speech 5. Preparation 6. Writing the speech in eight steps 7. Things to avoid 8. The big day 9. Delivery 10. Anecdotes 11. Jokes and quotes 12. Traditional and celebrity sayings 13. Sample toasts - beginnings, middles and endings 14. Mixed marriages Sample speeches

Bestselling cake decorating author and world-renown sugarcraft teacher, Lindy Smith shows you how to make a wedding cake with the minimum of fuss but with maximum effect! Today's brides are looking for simple wedding cakes that look modern and stylish but also want unique wedding cakes that don't cost the earth. This step-by-step guide will show you how to create a wide range of styles for modern simple wedding cakes, using the latest trends in cake decorating and wedding design, for a DIY wedding cake book like no other! Lindy Smith is one of the world's best-selling cake decorators, and has sold over half a million books worldwide. The simple wedding cakes in this book feature on-trend designs that break with tradition, using styles, colours and shapes that today's brides are looking for. With achievable wedding cake designs and accessible cake decorating techniques, this book covers the whole process of making a wedding cake - from conception to construction to decoration and even demolition!

A visual journey through 100 years of wedding styles and dresses, Vintage Weddings takes a close look at the key periods, diverse styles, iconoclastic designers, significant ceremonies and cultural influences in wedding fashions. Organized chronologically, this book shows the reader how to recognize the silhouette that will best suit their body shape, identify luxurious fabrics, contrast various styles, and to source appropriate accessories, from gloves and shoes to flowers, veils, jewellery and table decorations. Throughout the book, individual pieces that epitomize the defining characteristic of each designer or decade are analysed in detail. This book is for those interested in collecting and acquiring all aspects of authentic vintage pieces relating to the wedding ceremony, and also for prospective brides who are buying new, but are looking for sources of inspiration.

A highly informative, entertaining, and slightly irreverent look at one of life's great ceremonies Exposing the real-life insanity behind those picture-perfect wedding days, this collection comforts the soon-to-be-married with the knowledge that one's "perfect day" doesn't have to be quite so perfect. This volume of wedding anecdotes, superstitions, and jokes--with some statistics thrown in--features both dream wedding days and disasters. Fresher in perspective than a how-to guide, it offers a trousseau of tips and short-cuts from the photographers and author and from other couples who have been there--all stunningly illustrated by real photos of real people enjoying real weddings.

Wow Finally, a wedding book for the rest of us. With average wedding costs soaring over $25,000, you need real life solutions and creative ideas to plan a wedding without going bankrupt. Bridal Bargains is the answer Now in its 11th edition with over 700,000 copies in print, Bridal Bargains shows you:

- How to save up to 40% on brand new, nationally advertised wedding dresses.
- The best web sites to save on everything from flowers to gowns, invitations to, well, you name it.
- Fourteen creative ways to cut the catering bill at your reception.
- How to order flowers at wholesale online.
- Eleven questions you should ask any photographer--and seven money-saving tips to lower that photo expense.
- Affordable ways to print your own invitations at a 70% savings.
- A clever trick to save big bucks on your wedding cake.
- The best bargains on honeymoons, gift registries, rings, wedding videos and more
- New Green your wedding with eco-friendly invites, catering tips and more

The brand new,11th edition is revised and updated tips on tying the knot without going bankrupt.

The question has been popped, the ring has been presented and the celebrations have begun! What's next? Just the wedding. Top Tips for Brides presents ingenious ideas for the any bride-to-be, covering the ever-so-stressful months preceding the wedding - including the hen party and choosing your attire - to the big day itself.

This RHS planner is a stylish, beautifully designed guide to help remove the stress from planning for your special day. Organising a wedding takes a lot of planning. But help is at hand! This structured planner will keep you on track with checklist reminders, calendar countdowns and plenty of space to record who is doing what and when to ensure everything runs smoothly on the day. Comprehensive but flexible enough for you to customise according to your needs, this beautiful notebook will be all you need to plan your big day. Featuring an elegant floral design and compact format, the planner is split into fourteen sections, each marked with tabbed opening pages, making it easy to find whatever information you need. Sections include: Planning; Budgets; Ceremony; Clothing; Beauty; Flowers; Reception; Guests; Stationery; Gifts; Photography; Transport; The Honeymoon. Plan your perfect wedding or give as a gift to a lucky bride or groom-to-be, this planner will prove an indispensable companion in ensuring everything around your big day goes without a hitch!

An outline for a new kind of wedding ceremony free from theology, with new rituals designed to prepare us for modern marriage. Many of us are attracted to the idea of marriage and yet feel a bit uncomfortable with some of the rituals that are traditionally associated with the big day. Perhaps the old ceremonies place too much emphasis on religion or else seem out of step with some of the complex realities of contemporary relationships. In response to this dilemma, The School of Life has rethought what the ideal wedding day would consist of and redesigned the process for modern couples. The book proposes new ways of getting prepared for a wedding at a psychological level, suggesting how couples should ready themselves for the often tricky journey ahead. It presents an entirely practical and thoughtfully redesigned wedding ceremony, from picking out a suitable venue to suggested vows and readings. Finally, it offers some ideas for how to approach the start of married life.

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!'

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.

Planning weddings is a growing business area. The author is one of our top-selling home-based business authors and is herself a successful event and wedding planner.

From sitcoms and soap operas to talk shows and movies, Americans are in love with the idea of a white wedding. The happy bride and groom smile from the covers of fashion and entertainment magazines, and appear in TV commercials to sell everything from life insurance to antacid. Fascinated by this national obsession, Chrys Ingraham peers behind the veil to question the meaning of weddings in American popular culture. What she finds is nothing less than a wedding industrial complex. The wedding industry does a thriving business with annual revenues in excess of 30 billion dollars. The average cost of a wedding is over $19,000, with 2.4 million couples getting married each year. White Weddings is the first book to investigate the underside of this recession-proof industry, exposing how weddings are used to sell a heterosexual fairy tale. Ingraham draws on popular media, such as bridal magazines, children's toys, feature films, television, and advertising to reveal how they regulate gender, sexuality, race, and class. relies on romantic and sacred notions of heterosexuality to maintain the illusion of normalcy. This entertaining and insightful book will make you think twice about ever wanting to catch the bouquet.

Ditch the long guest list and enjoy a more intimate and meaningful wedding with this guide to accomplishing your grand wedding dreams on a smaller, more affordable scale. As more couples find that smaller weddings are more affordable, intimate, and meaningful, they're ditching the huge blowout receptions and opting for nontraditional nuptials with fewer than fifty guests. Whether it be the budget, the stress, or something else altogether, more and more couples are turning to micro weddings to tie the knot. With a smaller crowd, the focus shifts from "Is everyone having a good time?" to "This is the best day of my life!" Whether you want people to attend in person or will live stream the event, The Everything Guide to Micro Weddings covers everything from decor hacks, venue hunting, and tips from how to cut costs to how to gracefully tell the second cousin they're not invited. So skip the large affair and say 'I do' to The Everything Guide to Micro Weddings-a perfect match for those looking to make their big day, well, small.

Today's average wedding costs $20,000, so the appeal of doing it yourself has never been greater. And crafty and creative brides-to-be need look no farther than this hip, budget-friendly wedding planner. Khris Cochran, author of The "DIY Bride" and creator of DIYBride.com presents 40 original, affordable, and time-saving projects in the popular countdown format that brides on a deadline just can't live without. You'll find everything from edible, save-the-date cards and hand-stamped cocktail napkins to bead-and-lace bridal slippers, a feather boutonniere for the groom, and a super-cool "Just Married" sign. In her trademark straightforward style, Cochran carefully leads readers through each project and supplies spot-on tips and shortcuts. Four-color, step-by-step illustrations, easy-to-read templates, and pattern guides take the mystery out of creating these wedding keepsakes. Helpful sidebars provide time estimates, so savvy brides-to-be can plan out their projects and count down confidently to their special day.

It's hate at first sight for the wedding planners...It's down to maid of honour Beth and best man Matt to plan a dream wedding for the absent bride and groom. Not only do they have to handle the bride's sky-high expectations and their respective dysfunctional families, they also have to deal with each other - and so far, it's not going well. Fire-fighter Matt is far too laid-back for Beth's liking, and Beth's need to arrive half an hour early for everything is driving Matt crazy. But over the weeks, the arguing and animosity morphs into something else that feels fun and flirty... With Beth's father parading his new, half-his-age girlfriend around, her mother set on revenge, Matt's family refusing to engage in the celebrations, and an addled grandmother thrown in the mix, is there any way Beth and Matt can make the wedding a success? A funny and heartwarming romantic comedy for fans of Jo Watson and Sophie Ranald. "Such an utterly charming story with loveable characters and written in Tracy's own unique and witty style." Rosanna Ley

The tender responses. The big decisions. The conflicts. The surprises. This sensitive yet humorous book captures and illuminates an emotional time so that readers can recognize and validate the range of emotions they are feeling. As the mother of the groom (MOG), it's easy to be pushed aside, overlooked, and underestimated when it comes to wedding planning. But MOGs everywhere know it's not just about the mother of the bride. So how do they get involved without being seen as pushy or unhelpful? Experienced mother of the groom Sydell Rabin guides readers through every sticky situation, including how to help out with the rehearsal dinner, be a welcome and helpful shower guest, and give assistance to the bride without stepping on toes. This guide gives moms whose sons are soon to be walking down the aisle a chance to connect with other mothers who went through the same thing. It addresses her every question, concern, and ?Why me?!? moment. Some mothers want to do more than just wear beige and keep their mouths shut. This book lets them.

The question has been popped, the ring has been presented and the celebrations have begun! What's next? Just the wedding. Top Tips for Grooms presents ingenious ideas for the any groom-to-be, covering the ever-so-stressful months preceding the wedding - including surviving your stag party and choosing your outfit - to the big day itself.

Offers highly practical insights and advice to those wanting to plan weddings as a career choice. Written in an engaging and highly accessible style, this guide assumes no prior knowledge of the industry and is ideal for those just starting their careers. Packed full of case studies, activities, example forms, timetables, calendars, and helpful checklists.

Today's groom expects and is expected to take on a large and often times equal role in the planning of the big event. The days of the husband-to-be just showing up with a nice suit on and having no idea of what went into the planning are long gone. This is not to say that the groom's interests need to be the same as the bride's. This book will help the groom to choose what interests them and works well with their talents. If it is not picking out the table cloths to match the flowers, than it could be working on the menu or the invitations or even designing the wedding website. For the groom who wishes to be actively involved and not be limited by traditional wedding elements, the book will suggest ways to create a modern wedding. For example turning the focus to the enjoyment of the guests and thinking of the day as a big party, while still respecting the wishes of the families.