Collins Need to Know? Weddings by Cathy Howes, published by Collins

Written in a conversational style and full of honest, real-world advice, this book is one you could sit and read from cover to cover without it feeling like a chore. I was immediately given the impression that Cathy Howes is a more sensible and thoughtful author than many. I also felt as though I could pick up some real pearls of wisdom here, whether on practical, aesthetic or even emotional matters.

Many aspects set it apart from a lot of other wedding-related books. I was interested to note that it begins with a couple of chapters taking a wider view of marriage than just the Big Day. It starts by pointing out, for example, that 'the practicalities of living together, agreeing household budgets, and building a home for the future are just as important - if not more so - as deciding on the colours for the bridesmaids' sashes and choosing the readings'. Perhaps not an amazing revelation, but still surprising for a book that I expected to be full of wedding-day specifics. There is even a mention of how high today's divorce statistics are, and some details about the relationship-counselling service Relate.

But, of course, the main subject of the book is weddings, and there's plenty of useful information to be found on all aspects of planning. One excellent feature throughout is the use of 'Want to Know More' panels - shaded boxes pointing you to extra information elsewhere in the book, and also listing useful external sources, including web links. This empowers you to go away and do further research on the areas of particular interest to you.

In case I'm making the book sound too 'worthy', I should add that it's also a glossy, good-looking volume with some great images, and is nice to flick through if you're not up for a long read. To pick out just one feature that appealed to me, there's a great guide to the different shapes of wedding dress and the body shapes they suit - simple but useful.

Buy the book
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