I don't read a lot of nonfiction but when I saw Rebecca Mead's book, ONE PERFECT DAY: THE SELLING OF THE AMERICAN WEDDING, I was intrigued. I recently got married in July of 2006 and the whole experience is still fairly fresh in my mind. When going through the process of planning a wedding, I realized what a big racket...I mean...industry that wedding planning has become.
ONE PERFECT DAY examines the new trends in weddings and how the ways in which we approach weddings have changed in the last 100 years. We have come to accept certain things as acceptable simply because of the ways they have been marketed to us. Mead offers up interesting views of the wedding industry as well as changing traditions. I found the whole thing really interesting.
For example, I wondered why it is so hard to find a wedding dress under $1000. And then you have to order it months in advance?!! That seemed crazy to me. Mead spends an entire chapter on wedding dresses including the impact that off-the-rack stores such as David's Bridal have had on this segment of the wedding industry.
If you have recently gotten married, will be planning a wedding or are just fascinated with the process, I recommend this book. It might make you angry, however, to see how this institution has been manipulated into a big money-making venture.
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