09.23.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:24 am by Administrator
Weddings are an industry. There are florists, venues, waiters, planners, wineries, makers of cute-little-white-wedding-bell-shaped-soap; all of whom make money off weddings.
Of course there is the romance of the whole situation, but many think, and makers of chair covers are one of them, that if you spend money, you can make the whole event that much more romantic. Sorry, it’s a bit of a killjoy.
Today I was reminded of how it is not only the wedding couple, but all the guests that also contribute financially. According to an ICM survey listed on Which?, Brits spend a total of £6.7 billion on wedding gifts each year. Depending on how close to the couple they are, guests will spend between £23 - £70 (yowzers!) on the couple. Scots are the most generous (next time I’ll invite more of them).
Having said that, I never really think about how much weddings cost to attend. Recently I went to the wedding in Cornwall. It was absolutely lovely. It also cost me £55 for the B&B, £60 in petrol, £30 for the gift, etc…
Maybe the whole reason the industry charges ridiculous prices for weddings is that no one cares. As a guest, I am willing to drive five hours on a Saturday morning to Cornwall make a 1.30 wedding, stay overnight, pay the money as stated earlier and then drive five hours home on Sunday. I want to do it.
If I’m willing to do that as a guest, then it doesn’t take much to imagine that a bride and groom will spend a whole lot more to make their day as romantic as possible.
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09.10.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:45 pm by Administrator
www.weddingchaos.co.uk, a web site just awarded most useful wedding site in ‘Which?’s 101 Most Useful Web Sites’, is going to give away five copies of Taking the Plunge to their loyal readers.
If you haven’t snagged a copy already, go to their site and find out how to win yourself one. Details will be announced in conjunction with their next emailed newsletter.
Good luck!
For some reason the link above isn’t working. If you cut and paste the following into your browser, it should do the trick:
www.weddingchaos.co.uk
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09.05.07
Posted in reviews at 5:17 pm by Administrator
Book reviews. They’re good. They’re bad. They’re, eh?
Not too surprisingly, the review of Taking the Plunge on Estella’s Revenge (an amazing e-zine about books, my all-time favourite topic) was a mixed bag.
I say not surprisingly because her biggest grudge was how confusing it was not knowing whether the book was fiction or not. This was a point I made when I read the original proof for the blurb of the book. I asked for it to be added, not only to avoid confusion, but also because I think the fact it is a true story is one of the driving forces of the book.
My editor decided not to include it. I didn’t push it as I didn’t think it was a major issue, but it might be something to look at if the book is ever successful enough to be printed again.
The reviewer also felt the switch from first to third person was jarring. I always knew there would be some people who felt this way. I think for me, and I may have said this before, the story was too close to me emotionally, for me not to distance myself.
That said, the mixed bag always includes some sunshine. The reviewer highly recommended it. She said, “Taking the Plunge is a fun read, much in the Chick Lit vein, with light and dark moments, plenty of humor and interesting characters.”
Not so shabby after all.
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