by Rebecca Mead
First published 2007
New Yorker writer Rebecca Mead takes readers deep into America's massive wedding industry, worth $160 billion to the U.S. economy. She examines the machinery behind modern matrimony through sharp observation and investigative reporting. Mead explores professional event planners, department store registries, bridal gown retailers and manufacturers, and Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings program. Her social commentary reveals how this industry works to make American weddings increasingly elaborate and expensive. Through witty analysis, she connects the business of weddings to brides' deepest anxieties and dreams about their special day. Mead demonstrates that wedding practices reflect fundamental aspects of American identity and values.
Genres: business, american, sociology, social-issues, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, witty
Tropes: investigative-journalism, social-commentary
Setting: America, New York
Period: 21st-century
256 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press