Mead, Rebecca. One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding.(Brief article)(Book review)

Mead, Rebecca. One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding. Penguin Pr: Penguin Group (USA). May 2007. c.236p. index. ISBN 978-1-59420-088-5. $24.95. SOC SCI

In her first book, journalist Mead (The New Yorker) takes on bridal traditions, the $160-billion-dollar wedding industry, and our cultural expectations of weddings and marriage. Beginning with the "bridezilla" phenomenon, Mead examines how a bride's expectations and dreams are often shaped and expanded by vendors and consultants seeking merely to capture her dollars. From there, she digs deeper into sociological issues, including the ways that a lack of religious or ethnic customs leaves many brides …