Wedding Etiquette Hell: The Bride's Bible to Avoiding Everlasting Damnation

I was shocked when I read the ''most helpful'' reviews listed for this book because I am an avid devotee of etiquettehell.com and I seriously reconsidered my purchase despite looking forward to reading this book for some time. I took the allegations against Jeanne Hamilton seriously although I couldn't fathom they were accurate as I would never spend time on a website administered by such a hateful, elitist snob. HOWEVER, I could be wrong, so I definitely wanted to read the book regardless to find out if the charges were substantiated, and if indeed Jeanne Hamilton is hiding a hideous persona that somehow the website conceals but the book reveals. I take reviews seriously and finally decided I needed to judge for myself as to the allegations of racism and elitism.Having read Wedding Etiquette Hell at long last, I see Bridezillas are the authors of those reviews. Any time ethnicity or cultural traditions are mentioned in the book, it is when money grubbing entitlement practices are being discussed. If I am wrong about this, and there are in fact reproducible passages in the book that can be quoted in a future review, please do so. I see that did not occur in the scathing reviews, but my inferences of where the allegations arise from are absolutely accurate, I am positive. Bridezillas HATE this book, lololol. I found it hysterical and dead-on accurate. Sickeningly so!!I recommend this book for all wedding party members who have any integrity whatsoever, but it will be wasted on those who have none and will write negative reviews after having been exposed to themselves through the book lololol. Matrimony for the money --- how much of the divorce rate occurs from that TRUE motivation for marriage.

I am a fan of the author's Etiquette Hell web site (which covers more than weddings), so when I became a bride-to-be I picked this book up. What sets it apart from other etiquette guides, besides not having hundreds of pages, is that it uses real-life stories and covers only the areas that people are most likely to care about. In other words, it's relevant. She introduces etiquette rules and uses stories to illustrate them. Some of the stories are a bit extreme, but it is effective to get the point across.Some people may think that it is petty, but I don't think it is. Personally, I stopped talking to a friend when she didn't invite me to her wedding (and made it clear from the get-go that I wasn't invited) but still waved her engagement ring in my face and invited me to her bridal shower. Those are the things people really care about. No one's really going to remember or even care about whether the train on your gown was cathedral or chapel-length or what flowers and cake you chose and this book doesn't even address it. Instead, it covers things like being sure you have enough seating, having a venue that is appropriate, how to treat guests/family/the wedding party, invitation and announcement etiquette, registry etiquette, and generally not becoming a bridezilla.I subtracted a star, though, because the wedding planner/bride conversation sections probably should have been left out of the book. they just rehash what she had already spent the previous several pages saying and are unnecessary. Overall, though, this is a must for any bride-to-be.

I really enjoyed this book and got a lot out of it. I would have given it a higher review than 3 stars, but I did have some issues with the book:1. The author was too negative about certain wedding traditions, mainly the practice of having bridesmaids. She repeatedly used the phrase: "Honor" of being a bridesmaid, with the word honor in quotes. I found that very irritating, because as a recent bridesmaid myself, I can say that I was quite honored by the role despite the expense and time required.2. A majority of the advice in the book can be boiled down to: Be a decent human being. Most of the stories are about a bride or a person who behaved very cruelly or even insanely. These stories were usually VERY entertaining, but didn't yield much practical advice.As I said though, I really did enjoy this book and the author was able to win me over on a number of issues, most especially the issue of photography. I had been planning to have a 45 minute gap between ceremony and reception at my upcoming wedding, but the author was able to convince me that that would be rude, and that prewedding photography can be special in it's own way. There were also some good practical tips on socializing with guests, etc.I do recommend this book, but you'll need to read other, more complete wedding etiquette books to get all the necessary practical advice!

i read this entire book from cover to cover and I found it to be not only hilarious, but extremely helpful, as it covers basic etiquette concerning weddings that maybe not everyone is already aware of. i guess the main thing is that it basically illustrates how doing little "harmless" things that an ignorant or just plain naive person would do (i.e. putting wedding registry info along with an invitation, "forgetting" to give thank-you notes) could result in people getting really offended and/or hurt. the examples (true stories!) are quite interesting and funny to read, and make you realize how you really don't want to become one of those bridezillas! This is probably the book equivalent to that show on WE (can't remember the name) featuring "bridezillas" going nutso during their wedding planning. The thing is, once you see how ugly and nasty people like that can become, you'll want to do everything in your power not to turn into one of them. :)

I thought this book was hillarious as well as a great guide for any bride to be. Anyone who has ever been a bride or attended weddings probably knows a horror story or two regarding them, and can really relate to this book. I am using the advice planning my own wedding, and it's a much better read than most of the boring bridal etiquette books.

Loved it

The ideas in the book are pretty outdated.