The Bridesmaid Guide by Kate Chynoweth
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I’ve really been just as bad this week as if I’ve gotten engaged myself. But bear with me for one more wedding and M-related book: The Bridesmaid Guide by Kate Chynoweth.
When M was my maid of honor, she mentioned in passing buying a book about being a bridesmaid. This was early on in the planning stages, and I didn’t think much of it when she told me. As with any of these sorts of girly guides, I always feel like they should be read more for fun than anything else, because aren’t we mature and intelligent enough to figure out being a bridesmaid? Common sense, right?
Sometime after the amazing bridal shower M threw me, right around the week prior to the wedding, when M mentioned the wedding-day emergency kit she was going to carry with her, I realized I had totally underestimated the job. Sure, anyone can be the maid of honor, but M quietly and subtly commanded everything within her control to be as classy and level-headed as she herself was. She had everything so under control that I did not once worry about anything on the day of the wedding or otherwise. She was the SMH—Super-Maid-of-Honor. All the other bridesmaids were in awe. I was in awe. My friend L said she was never so glad to not have been chosen as the maid of honor, because she would never have been able to pull it off like M did.
So when M asked me to be her matron of honor, the first thing I did after accepting was say, “You’ll have to send me that book you have.” And two days later, she put The Bridesmaid Guide in the mail. I received it today.
The Bridesmaid Guide isn’t exactly heavy reading. I’ve looked through most of it, and did notice that the word “fabulous” is thrown around like it’s the holy grail of womanhood. I’m going to ignore that. Otherwise, it is mostly composed of tongue-in-cheek tips that, while true and useful, are, in the end, mostly common sense. For instance, Chynoweth writes at one point, “Not every bridal shower needs a menu of finger sandwiches and tea, nor should every bachelorette party include lewd drinking games or male strippers.” Sure, that’s obvious. But then I remembered that not everyone may find this as obvious as I do. One friend of mine broke into tears when the friends who planned her bachelorette party made her wear a T-shirt adorned with Life Savers candies that invited men to suck the candies off. Didn’t they know that she was the quiet, conservative type?
I find that the tone of the book doesn’t really match my style. While it is trying to be witty and “fabulous” by including jokey charts and quizzes, there is something not quite jokey enough, and everything is a bit too earnest. Chynoweth doesn’t quite succeed at striking the balance between offering practical information and maintaining a sassy, fabulous tone.
That said, I found the ideas in the chapters on party theme ideas and gift and favor ideas creative and fun. But as I read, I realized that I could not use any of the ideas for M. She had already read this book! I will simply have to use the suggestions as inspiration or starting points. The lists of things to do and to prepare on the big day will definitely come in handy, as will the section on making toasts and speeches. Soon it will be my turn to do for M what she so fabulously did for me.
The Bridesmaid Guide by Kate Chynoweth
I’ve really been just as bad this week as if I’ve gotten engaged myself. But bear with me for one more wedding and M-related book: The Bridesmaid Guide by Kate Chynoweth.When M was my maid of honor, she mentioned in passing buying a book about being a bridesmaid. This was early on in the planning stages, and I didn’t think much of it when she told me. As with any of these sorts of girly guides, I always feel like they should be read more for fun than anything else, because aren’t we mature and intelligent enough to figure out being a bridesmaid? Common sense, right?
Sometime after the amazing bridal shower M threw me, right around the week prior to the wedding, when M mentioned the wedding-day emergency kit she was going to carry with her, I realized I had totally underestimated the job. Sure, anyone can be the maid of honor, but M quietly and subtly commanded everything within her control to be as classy and level-headed as she herself was. She had everything so under control that I did not once worry about anything on the day of the wedding or otherwise. She was the SMH—Super-Maid-of-Honor. All the other bridesmaids were in awe. I was in awe. My friend L said she was never so glad to not have been chosen as the maid of honor, because she would never have been able to pull it off like M did.
So when M asked me to be her matron of honor, the first thing I did after accepting was say, “You’ll have to send me that book you have.” And two days later, she put The Bridesmaid Guide in the mail. I received it today.
The Bridesmaid Guide isn’t exactly heavy reading. I’ve looked through most of it, and did notice that the word “fabulous” is thrown around like it’s the holy grail of womanhood. I’m going to ignore that. Otherwise, it is mostly composed of tongue-in-cheek tips that, while true and useful, are, in the end, mostly common sense. For instance, Chynoweth writes at one point, “Not every bridal shower needs a menu of finger sandwiches and tea, nor should every bachelorette party include lewd drinking games or male strippers.” Sure, that’s obvious. But then I remembered that not everyone may find this as obvious as I do. One friend of mine broke into tears when the friends who planned her bachelorette party made her wear a T-shirt adorned with Life Savers candies that invited men to suck the candies off. Didn’t they know that she was the quiet, conservative type?
I find that the tone of the book doesn’t really match my style. While it is trying to be witty and “fabulous” by including jokey charts and quizzes, there is something not quite jokey enough, and everything is a bit too earnest. Chynoweth doesn’t quite succeed at striking the balance between offering practical information and maintaining a sassy, fabulous tone.
That said, I found the ideas in the chapters on party theme ideas and gift and favor ideas creative and fun. But as I read, I realized that I could not use any of the ideas for M. She had already read this book! I will simply have to use the suggestions as inspiration or starting points. The lists of things to do and to prepare on the big day will definitely come in handy, as will the section on making toasts and speeches. Soon it will be my turn to do for M what she so fabulously did for me.
The Bridesmaid Guide by Kate Chynoweth
posted by Renee at 11:12 PM
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