Entertaining insider’s look at what goes down before and after the wedding march.
Debut author Walters, a wedding photographer, recounts incidents witnessed on- and off-camera.
For 15 years, the author has created hundreds of stunning images that suggest perfection while witnessing bizarre events and less-than-flawless behaviors behind the scenes. This book is a collection of tales from real-life weddings in major cities of the South. Although a ceremony may be planned years in advance, things can go awry in an atmosphere rife with alcohol, prescription drugs and formal attire. Anecdotes touch on everything from “White People Dancing” (not pretty) to overwrought bridesmaids slapping the floor or prowling for unattached men, sometimes resorting to striptease. One bride enhances cleavage with strategically placed duct tape, while another uses maxipads to cushion her corset (the pads drop unceremoniously to the ground throughout the day). In addition to bridezilla and her groom, some guests assume self-assigned roles; e.g., Uncle Frank (so dubbed in the book) whose job it is to get the party started. He works the crowd into a frenzy but doesn’t know when to have a seat. To an impartial observer, this is a fun, ballsy read—one man’s unique take on wedding misadventures. Each vignette is shrewdly and comically told, using fake names. The South is roasted. In Dixie, we’re told, it’s OK to speak unkindly of another if the insult is followed by “bless her heart.” After pages of sarcasm, sometimes directed at photographers, the tone shifts at book’s end, as future brides are given tips on makeup and body language to make the most of their photo shoots. The book is both clever and rash, airing, as it inevitably does, the dirty linen of one’s former clientele. A few anecdotes are impersonal, such as one about a horse that heeds nature’s call; but many take dead aim at the happy couple and their families, while stereotyping members of the wedding. Shell-shocked parents of the bride, out 40 grand for that “one perfect day,” may not appreciate the wit.
Entertaining insider’s look at what goes down before and after the wedding march.Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2013
ISBN: 978-1483932392
Page Count: 306
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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