Seven essays celebrating the beauty of the imperfect marriage. We hear plenty about whether or not to get married, but much less about what it takes to stay married. Clichés around marriage—eternal bliss, domestic harmony, soul mates—leave out the real stuff. After marriage you may still want to sleep with other people. Sometimes your partner will bore the hell out of you. And when stuck paying for your spouse’s mistakes, you might miss being single. In Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give, Ada Calhoun presents an unflinching but also loving portrait of her own marriage, opening a long-overdue conversation about the institution as it truly is: not the happy ending of a love story or a relic doomed by high divorce rates, but the beginning of a challenging new chapter of which “the first twenty years are the hardest.” Calhoun’s funny, poignant personal essays explore the bedrooms of modern coupledom for a nuanced discussion of infidelity, existential anxiety, and the many other obstacles to staying together. Both realistic and openhearted, Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give offers a refreshing new way to think about marriage as a brave, tough, creative decision to stay with another person for the rest of your life. “What a burden,” Calhoun calls marriage, “and what a gift.”

You are cordially invited to celebrate A Parody of The New York Times Wedding Announcements by Kasper Hauser Along with fully illustrated guides to: Wedding-night sex, Honeymoon hot spots, Formalwear malfunctions, and much, much more. At four o'clock in the Afternoon. Or is it three o'clock? Didn't you bring the invitation? Huh? Where the hell is the turnoff? Back there. I think I saw a paper plate and some balloons. What's wrong? I just need to eat something. I'm fine. Remind me how we know these people? "In this collection, Kasper Hauser reminds us that a wedding announcement is a window into the most goofball daydream a couple can have about itself.... These are not parodies, but little human stories, full of want and hope, even when they involve falconry." ---from the foreword by John Hodgman

A compulsively readable behind-the-scenes memoir that takes readers inside the weddings section of The New York Times--the good, bad, and just plain weird--through the eyes of a young reporter just as she's falling in love herself. Growing up in the south, where tradition reigns supreme, Cate Doty thought about weddings . . . a lot. She catered for them, she attended many, she imagined her own. So, when she moved to New York City in pursuit of love--and to write for The New York Times--she finds her natural home in the wedding section, a first step to her own happily-ever-after, surely. Soon Cate is thrown into the cutthroat world of the metropolitan society pages, experiencing the lengths couples go to have their announcements accepted and the lengths the writers go in fact-checking their stories; the surprising, status-signaling details that matter most to brides and grooms; and the politics of the paper at a time of vast cultural and industry changes. Reporting weekly on couples whose relationships seem enviable--or eye-roll worthy--and dealing with WASPy grandparents and last-minute snafus, Cate is surrounded by love, or what we're told to believe is love. But when she starts to take the leap herself, she begins to ask her own questions about what it means to truly commit... Warm, witty, and keenly observed, Mergers and Acquisitions is an enthralling dive into one of society's most esteemed institutions, its creators and subjects, and a young woman's coming-of-age.

The three children of an Irish-American family in Long Island are witnesses to the cycles of dissatisfaction, bitterness and recurring affection that make up the lives of their extended family. A tender, sad and funny book from the author of the National Book Award-nominated That Night and Charming Billy

Here comes the bride...and the flower girl! This springtime wedding is the latest occasion to be celebrated in Natasha Wing's best-selling series. It's the night before her sister's wedding, and one little flower girl sure is excited! But will complications on the morning of the big day bring down everyone's happy moods? Any little girl who has dreamed of being a flower girl--and their numbers are legion--will love this fun, rhyming story told in the style of Clement C. Moore's Christmas classic.

The ultimate photo album.' (Harper's Bazaar). A movie lover's encyclopedia of weddings and a tribute to the most iconic Hollywood stars. Will quench your thirst for impeccable glamour and salacious gossip.

Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette is the classic indispensable, comprehensive guide to creating the wedding of your dream, now in its sixth edition. Today's weddings are more complicated than ever, with new traditions replacing old, and new relationships to consider as family life grows more complex. Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette has everything a bride will ever need to know to have the perfect wedding. Anna Post guides brides and their friends and family through weddings to maximize fun and reduce stress, including: How to handle awkward family situations How to address envelopes and word invitations How to choose an officiant How to blend family traditions The timeline of events throughout the engagement and during the wedding Who to include on your guest list How to use technology to your advantage