One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by Rebecca Mead

Sep 27, 2007 Lissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Last year, I took part in the wedding of one of my childhood-college friends, a person I have always considered to be level-headed, practical and generally a good person. That was before I found myself in a $500 dollar bridesmaid dess ($284 for the dress, $235 for the alterations), standing in 3-inch navy blue sandals ($55), listening to a minister drone on about the power of different kinds of love. That was also before I found myself giving her three separate parties: a bachelorette party, a l...more Last year, I took part in the wedding of one of my childhood-college friends, a person I have always considered to be level-headed, practical and generally a good person. That was before I found myself in a $500 dollar bridesmaid dess ($284 for the dress, $235 for the alterations), standing in 3-inch navy blue sandals ($55), listening to a minister drone on about the power of different kinds of love. That was also before I found myself giving her three separate parties: a bachelorette party, a lingerie party and a bridal shower ... all of which I was expected to provide gifts for, as well as pay for and plan (luckily many of the other guests chipped in on some of these activities). It was with all of this in mind that I picked up One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, by Rebecca Mead, at Bookberries, a small independent bookstore on Lexington Avenue.

Mead sets out in her prologue that she is not writing a book about Bridezillas. Instead, she posits that it is the consumer-driven nature of weddings that drives and feeds the Bridezilla phenomenon, and it is this aspect of marriage that she choses to explore in her book. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of weddings, from bridal registries to choosing a dress, to choosing a minister, and discusses the way that these are symptomatic of particular aspects of American life in general.

My two favorite chapters in this book were the chapter on wedding dresses and the chapter on the selection of an officiant. In the wedding dress chapter, Mead begins with the purchase of wedding dresses and the rituals that surround this. She disucsses the idea that many women are looking for a dress the resonates with them - that will make them a princess in a poofy white dress starring in her big production - and the way that bridal stores give the illusion that each dress with come, one of a kind, specific for each woman. Then Mead goes to the factories in China where these "one-of-a-kind" dresses are made.

In the chapter about officiants, she talks about the idea that weddings are often no longer traditional religious ceremonies and couples look for ways to impart a sense of uniqueness on the ceremony. She watches a wedding officiated by a new-age minister. As part of the ceremony, the couple has an apache wedding prayer and a candle ceremony. She tries to track down the origination of these traditions and finds that the candle ceremony was instigated by greeting card companies and the so-called "apache" wedding prayer is from the movie "Broken Arrows". She also talks about the fact that anyone can become a wedding officiant by completing a course over the internet. Anyone can get a certificate (for a fee of five dollars) giving you the title of, "Cardinal, Lama, Guru, Friar, Reverend Mother, Swami, Magus, Dervish, High Preistess, Druid, Monk, Baron, Apostle of Humility, Martyr, Goddess, Angel and Saint (p138)."

Brides are encouraged to consume by all sorts of different industries. Mead cites a wedding survery that looked at the spending habits of engaged and single women. The survey found that engaged women spent more than single women on tanning sessions, diet paraphernalia, personal training, cosmetics, tooth whiteners, matching bedding sets, towels and a number of other things. The only things that single people routinely spent more money on were hair dye and pagers. Mead says, "The picture of the unattached life evoked by the survey is not a happy one: lonely nights passed between mismatched sheets, after evenings spent in the bathroom with a bottle of Miss Clairol, waiting for a beep on the pager (p118)."

It would take forever to discuss all of the funny, interesting insights in this book. Suffice to say, it was well worth the read even at hardcover prices.(less)

24 likes · like · see review

Sep 19, 2007 Johanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: leisure, research

$161 billion is what Conde’ Nast Bridal Group figures is the total yearly expenditure by Americans for weddings (26). The American wedding is a billion dollar industry fueled by “wedding porn,” media, and the pressing urge by brides to have perfect (expensive) weddings. Rebecca Mead’s One Perfect Day shreds the wrapping from the “supposed” traditional key elements that drive the wedding industry.

Let’s look at a few “supposed” wedding traditions marketed by the industry and highlighted in Mead’s...more $161 billion is what Conde’ Nast Bridal Group figures is the total yearly expenditure by Americans for weddings (26). The American wedding is a billion dollar industry fueled by “wedding porn,” media, and the pressing urge by brides to have perfect (expensive) weddings. Rebecca Mead’s One Perfect Day shreds the wrapping from the “supposed” traditional key elements that drive the wedding industry.

Let’s look at a few “supposed” wedding traditions marketed by the industry and highlighted in Mead’s book:

* Wedding Gown/Dress- The history surrounding this key player in the supposed wedding tradition does have a long history, but not as long as some would like you to believe. A young bride wearing white has its roots in the 16th century. White was not always the first choice by young brides, as the poorer had to suffice with whatever they had available. Wearing white had less to do with one’s maidenhood and more to do with the fact that the bride was rich and could afford to keep the gown clean (79-80).

* Unity Candle - Use of the so-called “Unity Candle” in weddings began in 1960 (132).

* Apache Indian Prayer (also called the Navajo Prayer) - This prayer is frequently used in weddings, but as far as anyone can determine, including Apache culture scholars, this is just a work of “poetic fiction” with apparent roots in modern day cinema, i.e., the film “Broken Arrow” (134-135).

* Diamond Engagement Ring - In the late 19th century, the diamond engagement ring began to gain a foothold in America. In the 1930s, with the push of advertising from De Beers, the diamond ring moved into its “supposed” traditional niche in the American engagement/wedding scenario (57).

The wedding industry and planners are thriving and manufacturing wedding memories as quickly as brides and grooms can snap them up. Mead’s book opened my eyes to the wedding con that sucks our money and drives us into debt. I refuse to be a part of this charade.

I highly recommend this book, particularly to anyone considering getting married.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 12, 2008 Bethany rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: I Do Foundation staff

As someone who's worked in the weddings space for a while, this book was an interesting peek behind the scenes. The book mostly just confirmed my belief that weddings are extremely over-commercialized, and that much of what brides view as tradition today has been entirely created by the industry. It was interesting to read example after example of what the other calls "traditionalesque" -- created behaviours that aim to tap into a couple's sense of tradition, while allowing them to express their...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 07, 2008 Maya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-non-fiction-2008

I'm not quite sure what to say about this book: I found myself composing and recomposing things in my mind before I had even finished it.

It made me angry, it agitated me, and I couldn't stop reading it. I'm certainly a receptive audience for this author, because I really didn't bring a lot of fairy-tale ideas to my own wedding, and I was lucky enough to have good friends and family who helped with a lot of things: my dress was made for me, to my non-sequined specifications by a dear friend, so...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jul 15, 2007 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: brides and "always a bridesmaid"s alike

I admit I was a little scared to read this as I am attending four weddings this summer and I don't need any encouragement to be that gripey single girl in the corner, slurping her free cocktail, bemoaning the pointlessness of financial extravagance of love when everyone just gets divorced anyway. But I am happy to report that the day I finished it I attended a wedding and choked up at the sight of the bride and groom, well, choking up. And throughout the book, Rebecca Mead is careful to do the s...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jul 12, 2007 Grace rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have mixed opinions on this book (obviously, judging from my rating). A few segments of the book were quite interesting looks into the backstage area of the wedding industry. I found the chapter on wedding gowns especially interesting, as the author described a visit to an overseas gown factory. I hadn't realized that so many wedding gowns, not just less expensive, but "designer" ones, are "handmade" by factory workers. The author's description of the "white blindness" of all those cookie cutt...more

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 07, 2008 Beth rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book was a giant disappointment. It was widely referenced last year when it was published. Mead states on page 7 that her "interest in the wedding industry...was driven by a conviction that weddings provide an unparralled lens into the intimate sphere of American life, and that the way we marry reveals a great deal about prevailing cultural expectations of love, hopes for marriage, and sense of the role of family."

If that's her purpose-and I don't believe for one second that it is-why is so...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 13, 2007 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who find excessive consumerism ridiculous yet are still part of it

So, this book is basically an overview of different aspects of the wedding industry and how much effort people in the industry expend in order to make money. It made me not want to have a wedding. The average American wedding costs $25,000 and is incredibly time consuming and stressful.

At the end, the author briefly discusses that Americans don't have one, coherent view of the purpose of a wedding ceremony since we have a wide variety of religious and cultural beliefs and because a wedding no lo...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 03, 2007 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: nonfiction readers

Shelves: what-is-this-country-coming-to

This was interesting in a depressing, "society is driving off a cliff" kind of way. The author takes you inside bridal marketing conventions, wedding gown showrooms, etc., and her descriptions of wedding excess and the mercenary flavor of the salespeople are darkly entertaining, even though she's not telling you much you don't already know, or suspect. She also offers a sympathetic argument that modern women are trying to replace societal structure with "new traditions" and overpriced wedding ac...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 31, 2009 E.H. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: theboxmarkeddone, nonfiction

A survey conducted by the wedding website The Knot in 2008 found that the average wedding cost about $28,000. With something like 2.3 million weddings in America each year, this amounts to an absurd amount of cash changing hands - $160 billion annually as of 2006 (when Mead was writing). Each year, more articles on the attendant craziness and "bridezilla" culture appear - brides who spend $5,000 on a Vera Wang wedding gown, who ask their bridesmaids to get botox, plastic surgery, or worse. And e...more A survey conducted by the wedding website The Knot in 2008 found that the average wedding cost about $28,000. With something like 2.3 million weddings in America each year, this amounts to an absurd amount of cash changing hands - $160 billion annually as of 2006 (when Mead was writing). Each year, more articles on the attendant craziness and "bridezilla" culture appear - brides who spend $5,000 on a Vera Wang wedding gown, who ask their bridesmaids to get botox, plastic surgery, or worse. And each year, the rate of divorce seems to go up.

How did we get here? What prompts this sort of behavior and why is it culturally acceptable? In fact, in a world where women make as much as men and are as likely to keep working afterwards, where we enjoy the ability to live with our significant others before marriage, why get married at all?

These are the questions that Rebecca Mead sets out to answer in One Perfect Day. And what she finds is very interesting to anyone who has been to a wedding or had thoughts of getting married herself.

The story Mead puts together is one of a fairly secular public with no particular institutions to turn to for guidance in putting together a wedding - with the exception of the bridal industry. Where traditional practices have been rejected for disallowing the sort of personalization that those about to be married demand for their ceremonies, the "traditionalesque" has sprung up to replace it, replete with bits of ceremony stripped from other religions, or even from TV shows or films that sound good. Huge industries have sprung up to allow the bride to find exactly the right meringue, which is then sewn for her by four hundred Chinese laborers making $0.50 per hour, or to remind her that her invitations match her shoes.

If family and culture dictate tradition, Mead says, traditionalesque is dictated by industry and driven by profit. Even the idea of a diamond engagement ring is a relatively new one, developed by the DeBeers company in 1938.

So does this hollowing of tradition lead inevitably to the hollowing of a culturally significant turning point in a person's life? Not necessarily. Mead attends numerous weddings over the course of the book, some of which seem especially poignant (for example, a wedding by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas) and some of which seem perfunctory or disappointing (including a tiny wedding in a church in Hebron, WI). In a world with no set bodies to prescribe what is meaningful, meaning is where you make it.

The one complaint I have about this book is that gay weddings and the question of "Why marry?" are addressed only in the epilogue. She does have some poignant things to say about the former (for example, addressing the way that every gay marriage seems like a triumph), but though she raises the latter, even asking a handful of brides, she never offers a good explanation. Perhaps, like the rest of a wedding, the reason must be created by the couple to suit themselves.(less)

like · see review

Jan 28, 2013 Aubrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found this book very eye-opening, particularly since I'm in the midst of planning my own wedding. I was aware that the wedding industry has co-opted the American wedding into a primarily consumerist venture, but Rebecca Mead's thorough examination of the inner workings of that industry underscored how it has not only permeated, but in many cases defined what we consider to be the most important elements of a wedding. Wedding dresses, registries, receptions, and photography are all the province...more I found this book very eye-opening, particularly since I'm in the midst of planning my own wedding. I was aware that the wedding industry has co-opted the American wedding into a primarily consumerist venture, but Rebecca Mead's thorough examination of the inner workings of that industry underscored how it has not only permeated, but in many cases defined what we consider to be the most important elements of a wedding. Wedding dresses, registries, receptions, and photography are all the province of the wedding industry.

As Mead explores the operations and machinations of the wedding industry from the inside out, she strives to make sense of it all and explain why it is the way it is. "Bridezillas" (and "groomzillas") exist, to be sure, but they don't comprise the majority of people who get married. Why then, Mead asks, is the industry so pervasive and excessive? She argues that it is because the nature of marriage in America has changed. Until recently, getting married was a huge upheaval and rite of passage for a young woman. Today, most Americans don't get married for the first time until their mid-to-late twenties. Consequently, most brides and grooms have been living on their own for many years. It's very common for couples to live together long before marriage, and getting married doesn't really change a whole lot in their everyday lives in the same way that it would have fifty years ago--but they still need to feel like something major has happened. Mead argues that the wedding industry has stepped in to fill this void by making the wedding itself the thing of significance. It's a fascinating point of view, and one that she supports well. Her book is thoroughly researched. She has interviewed major wedding planners and industry moguls throughout the United States, and even traveled to China to visit a wedding dress factory where workers make five dollars a day creating dresses that will be sold in America for thousands of dollars.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is or will eventually be planning a wedding. It forced me to think about where my expectations about weddings have come from and which ones really matter to me. In addition to being eye-opening and informative, One Perfect Day was altogether fascinating and at times hilarious. In short, it is definitely worth reading for both the educational and entertainment value. (less)

like · see review

Oct 28, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a great view of the wedding industry. I think it gives a clear view on how the industry wants you to spend lots of money, and what they have done to lure you in. Yes, I am sure anyone who picked up this book had a somewhat decent view of how everyone around you is ripping you off for your wedding, but Mead's book points out how much planning is actually being done.

That being said, the tone of the book is a little sympathetic. Mead, doesn't always try and make you feel bad for wanting a w...more

like · see review

Jan 21, 2012 nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Weddings are expensive, but why? This is a question that my fiancée and I have asked each other time and time again throughout the process. All we want to do is get married, we'll say, in between my sniffles as the pressure of trying to find something in our means reduces me to tears.

(To be fair, our planning just one component in a Perfect Storm of Crazy that is happening right now, and the tears are really a release from all the pressure and uncertainty and fears that stem from Trying To Handl...more Weddings are expensive, but why? This is a question that my fiancée and I have asked each other time and time again throughout the process. All we want to do is get married, we'll say, in between my sniffles as the pressure of trying to find something in our means reduces me to tears.

(To be fair, our planning just one component in a Perfect Storm of Crazy that is happening right now, and the tears are really a release from all the pressure and uncertainty and fears that stem from Trying To Handle All The Things At Once. And also maybe a little because that caterer screwed us big time.)

But the expense of weddings, that is what Mead is out to examine. I read this book with a sinking pit in my stomach the whole time. I hate being marketed to, but I did do and will continue to do a lot of what Mead discussed. I don't buy in the Disney myth and dont't drop cash like some of these gals, but damn it, I will register for kitchen goods. Mead's tone is never judgemental, but the judgement is there in between the lines none the less. This is where your dress comes from. This is what those editors of those magazines think of you, how they talk about you behind your back.

I thought the book's copyright date was fairly current, but as I went through it, I found some components to be outdated. Yes, David's Bridal and Sandals and Martha Stewart, all the ilk are still popular. But there was very little examination of how the budget bride is now being marketed to via the Internet - being told to DIY and purchase on Craigslist and eBay and Etsy - through blogs and boards and tweets. And the fight for same-sex marriage is rendered a few (powerful) paragraphs at the end of the book, when the content therein and it's relationship to other themes deserved a better look.
So why do we buy dresses made in another country, with hand-sewn beads by laborers who cannot afford the goods they make? And why do we buy those magazines, hire those videographers, agree that photographers an investment worth making? Why are we busting our humps to make one perfect day?

Mead says it's the marketing, the assessment that brides are the best consumers and without the free will to remove themselves from the clutches of devious businesses. Based on her own wedding, discussed in the epilogue, it seems like the only true way to not conform to the notion that you are a unique, individual couple who deserves a unique, individual experience myth is to stop playing the game.

But in my heart of hearts I don't believe this. We are planning our wedding in the wake of Something Possibly Very Bad happening to a member of my family. When that happens, everything you think you know sort of gets shook around. It is a strange time to try and plan something so extravagant, you feel a little crazy for considering this.

But I will be forever glad that my mother was beside me when I had my "Oh, Mommy" moment. I know she needed that as much as I did. Some girls really want that and can't have it. And I will hire a (reasonably priced) videographer and a photographer to capture this day, because I will want to remember it and share it and revisit it. Why?

Because we are so lucky. We are so fortunate to have found each other and have this right to wed. Because we are so lucky our family and friends are with us to. I want to stand in the library before the people I love most and make a promise to the person I chose to share my life with. And I want us to eat a (reasonably priced) meal and have a drink and dance to hours of Pitbull songs.

And it's not because I was sold that dream. It's because we all deserve one day where everything is great, where you have all the people you love most together to celebrate something joyful. That is worth the cost to me.(less)

like · see review

Sep 04, 2011 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Author Rebecca Mead takes a sociological look at the different industries surrounding a wedding - dress (white didn't become the color of choice until after WWII), wedding destinations (Disneyworld, Aruba, Gaitlinburg, TN), the registry, ceremony readings (the commonly used "Apache Indian Prayer" appears to have no ties to American Indian culture, but was written for a wedding scene in the movie "Broken Arrow" with Jimmy Stewart) and more. It's a great read for anyone who's planning a wedding, h...more

like · see review

Aug 21, 2011 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-non-fiction, history, library, psychology, relationships, sociology, womens-studies

After someone recommended this book in passing on a newly engaged acquaintance's Facebook page, I decided to reserve it at my local library. Since my senior year of college, I've been fascinated with the idea of weddings. With the uprising of the wedding fetishism and white wedding reality surplus of shows on mainstream television. What Mrs. Mead does with her book is exceed my expectations regarding the subject matter. She approaches the topics presented in a refreshing manor filled with social...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

I've never been the kind of girl who wants a giant wedding, to wear a fancy white wedding dress, and to declare my love in front of everyone I've ever known. Instead, I've always been snarky about weddings, especially the ridiculous cost of them. The author stressed the idea that people often spend for the wedding because they think that the more money put into the wedding, the better their marriage well be. Interesting, consider half of marriages end in divorce now. I found this book fascinatin...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 06, 2011 Robinfenske rated it 3 of 5 stars

Favorite parts so far:

p.10
The foremost product peddled by the wedding industry is the notion that a wedding, if done right, will provide fulfillment of a hitherto unimagined degree, and will herald a similarly flawless marriage and a subsequent life of domestic contentment. . . The perpetuation of this fantasy, it seems to me, is much more pernicious and damaging that any amount of havoc that might be wrought by a Bridezilla on a rampage. A bride who is gripped by the desire to have her guests'...more

like · see review

Aug 01, 2010 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

I should probably begin this review by admitting how deeply opposed, on many levels, I am to the wedding industry. I find the fact that many people spend tens of thousands of dollars on one day of their life both disturbing and depressing.

My own wedding was very non-traditional, held in a friend's backyard, with only a handful of guests, and officiated by a minister friend. My husband wore a suit from Macy's; I wore a blue party dress bought at JC Penney's. Our rings both bear lab-created gemsto...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 30, 2009 Kate Ditzler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: marriage

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jul 18, 2009 Beckie rated it 4 of 5 stars

In "One Perfect Day," Rebecca Mead explores the overwhelming madness that is the American wedding industry. This journey takes her to bridal-gown factories in China, Disney's bridal boutique, and Aruba, among other locations. The book was written back in the parallel universe of 2007, when wedding expenses were on the upswing (they have gone down a bit, on average, in the recession), a fact that's important to keep in mind reading it.
Rather than simply rehashing the terrific expense of the prese...more

like · see review

Jan 06, 2009 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

A few pages into the first chapter, I almost set this book aside, finding it a bit too hard-bitten and cynical to complete during a harsh Minnesota winter. I like to do my serious reading in the summer, next to the pool, when my spirits don't need buoying after an icy commute.
I ended up finishing this book despite its dark commercial overtones about the wedding industry and business of getting married. Rebecca Mead's stellar writing is the reason. Her lucid descriptions of the characters she me...more

like · see review

Dec 02, 2011 Ariel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was an interesting behind-the-scenes look at the wedding industry. It was accessible and readable, but also comprehensive and thorough. The author gives glimpses inside a wedding dress factory in China, conferences for wedding planners and videographers, the management of a bridal magazine, and a few wedding officiators. She intersperses these snapshots with factual research that fleshes out the anecdotes. I think the most valuable thing the book accomplishes is making you rethink your perc...more

like · see review

Jan 22, 2013 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Sadly, I wasn't thrilled with the book. While interesting and well researched, I sort of hated the author. I felt like I was being lectured at by a militant ivy league undergrad, freshly returned from her semester abroad. The tone of the book was just too "above it all." There's something uniquely annoying about people who bash weddings for the sake of bashing.

I will, however, concede two points to Mead. First, the factoids were interesting. Did you know that Disney didn't have it's "fairytale...more

like · see review

Aug 09, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction-or-mostly-non-fiction

Mead is a smart narrator and a thorough researcher. Her witty voice makes what could be a dry subject entertaining and bubbly. Moreover, Mead refrains from critiquing weddings as a whole. What she is after is the thoughtless pursuit, by both the wedding industry and engaged couples, of the ideal wedding day. What, Mead asks, are we truly buying when we buy embossed napkins and sachets of rice and Godiva chocolate wedding cake favors? And, is there a better, a more productive way, to find what we...more

like · see review

Nov 26, 2010 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars

Really interesting, fun, and well-written book about what you could call the "wedding-industrial complex".

I'm getting married in January, 2011. A friend of mine recommended the book as a good deconstruction of the wedding industry. And she was absolutely right.

The author does a great job at looking into all sorts of aspects of weddings (dresses, photographers & videographers, locations, officiants, etc.) and talks about how these things have changed over time, and why. A lot of it, not surpr...more

like · see review

Nov 26, 2009 Kara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: psychology, women-studies

This book turns the wedding industry upside down. Having been engaged for a few months now after the glow has somewhat settled and it’s down to business I’m glad I read this book when I did. One of the first things I did after I became engaged was purchase wedding magazines. I even signed up on theknot, which now I’m regretting because I am bombarded with junk mail and my internet browser is nothing but wedding this adds and wedding that adds. My fiancé and I have been scouting out venues from L...more This book turns the wedding industry upside down. Having been engaged for a few months now after the glow has somewhat settled and it’s down to business I’m glad I read this book when I did. One of the first things I did after I became engaged was purchase wedding magazines. I even signed up on theknot, which now I’m regretting because I am bombarded with junk mail and my internet browser is nothing but wedding this adds and wedding that adds. My fiancé and I have been scouting out venues from LA County to Riverside County in hopes to find the perfect place for the perfect day. Well, he’s happy almost anywhere I on the other hand fell prey to that princess for a day mentality, but only briefly. I’ve been to several beautiful family and friend weddings and enjoyed all of them very much. I can’t say I would do anything different if I were them. What this book made me realize is that although the wedding industry may make suggestion after suggestion of where to, how to, this veil over that veil, it’s a day that not only calls for a bit of a financial investment but should be remembered as an investment of values. It’s easy to get persuaded into the wedding machine. Before I read this book I knew I would have to make some commitments; not only to my future husband but to a venue, a caterer (or restaurant) a florist (or friend) and where we spend our money is just as important as how. I can remain traditional but draw some lines. We will be married by a minister but I draw the line at wearing a dress with the word bride or wedding attached. Don’t get me wrong, I want to feel amazing, share my day with loved ones and remember the day forever. When I first purchased my wedding magazines I giggled at the idea of playing princess for a day and it’s now shortly after I realize that the fancy photographers, the perfect honeymoons or the poufy dress will get me no closer to that princess. It’s in the eyes of my future husband and in my day to day I am already that Queen. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Oct 02, 2012 Caroline Niziol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rebecca Mead does not step delicately around issues surrounding modern American weddings in One Perfect Day -- rather, she tackles them head-on with class and wit. Her examination of the extravagance and opulence expected from modern-day weddings makes for a exhilarating ride. Going beyond just the statistics, she talks with photographers, planners, and vendors to get their inside view to the world of weddings.

My own perspective on the world of weddings is highly colored by my own experiences pl...more

like · see review

Sep 27, 2011 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been considering reading this book for many years -- however long it's been mentioned in Read's NYer bio. Finally, as I'm planning my own wedding, I read it, and I'm glad I did; I think it was Franklin who said marriage should be entered with both eyes open, and heck if that isn't also true for the wedding planning process. My favorite parts of the book were those that directly address the subtitle: "The Selling of the American Wedding." Mead unpacks the bridal tidal wave of marketing nonse...more

like · see review

Jan 31, 2011 Simone rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read

I started reading this as background for a research project Kelly and I proposed, and while it had some interesting interviews and behind the scenes information with bridal industry types, I think I wanted a different book. The introduction and the prologue highlighted what I'm more interested in, the meaning and reason behind the construction of the "one perfect day" / "Bridezilla" mentality. Mead offers some possible explanations, some of them compelling ideas - such as the idea of current "ri...more

like · see review

Jan 29, 2013 Ann Rufo rated it 3 of 5 stars

I actually had a hard time getting through this book, which is weird, because you don't have to sell me on the overmarketization of weddings and bride culture. "Sell me," get it? Anyway, it is certainly a well-researched and detailed indictment of corporations taking over the rite of marriage and marketing it to women, so that they appear like nearly the same overspent event no matter which one you go to, but I would have liked more insight or critique into the role of gender and social construc...more

like · see review

title link	preview: One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding
avg rating	preview: One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding Goodreads rating: 3.46 (766 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/428350.One_Perfect_Day?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174671013l/428350.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/428350.One_Perfect_Day?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by Rebecca Mead[/url]

One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (7)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Rebecca Mead

Books by Rebecca Mead

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About One Perfect Day: ...