Writing about domestic divas, Sophie Winston and her rival, Natasha, is always fun, but for my most recent book, I had the pleasure of planning an entire wedding without having to pay for it. Weddings used to be somewhat uniform. We expected the frou-frou bridesmaids’ dresses that would never be worn again, with dyed to match shoes, no less. The white cake was topped with a plastic bridal couple or flowers, and after a reception or dinner with dancing, the happy couple left for their honeymoon. Today, brides face a staggering variety of choices. Cakes are topped with rhinestone studded initials, if there is a cake. Cupcake tiers are all the rage as an alternative. And wedding festivities don’t necessarily end with dinner anymore. Some couples arrange for a lounge with dancing and go on to a brunch in their honor before taking off. I was shocked to learn that some brides buy two wedding dresses so they can change between the ceremony and the reception. Of course, a lounge and dancing necessitate a third dress. In the Domestic Diva Mysteries, Sophie and Natasha write competing lifestyle advice columns. Their tips are included in the books, along with recipes. Sophie…

I went to a wedding last weekend. The ceremony was lovely, the bride and groom, Dan and Lindsay, a striking couple very much in love, the reception elegant, the atmosphere festive. But, I got to wondering…if people could go back and do their wedding all over again, what would they change? Soon, I was asking the question out loud. Leaving out the jokester who replied, “I’d change the groom,” here are some of the answers I got. Katie, who married three years ago, wishes she had videotaped the ceremony so she could see everything she missed as she waited in the back room and as she walked down the aisle, too filled with excitement to notice much. Don, who married 55 years ago at the Carmel Mission in California, would go back and hire a professional photographer because the friend who took their pictures set the camera on the wrong speed and every picture was blurred. Teri, married 17 years ago, wishes she’d bought a wedding dress off the rack instead of having hers made. The seamstress kept insisting the dress was almost done and when she finally let Teri try it on the day before the wedding, not only…

The word brings up images of a blushing bride, a nervous, tuxedo-clad groom and joyful tears in the eyes of family and friends. Months, maybe years, of planning have gone into the single most important day in the lives of two happy people. I love weddings. At one time I thought I wanted to spend my life in the arena of gowns and people with smiles and happy tears. But, as life would have it, it didn’t work out and I went on to other pursuits – writing. When I look back, I don’t regret it. I have been able to be many people. Like Charlton Heston once said, “I’ve been president of the United States three times, and chancellor of England, and I ran the French government. And I led the Jews out of Egypt. What more could I want?” What more could I want except to be a writer, to live the lives of presidents, first ladies, cops, models, lawyers, doctors, architects, and everyone in between. I have flown planes and helicopters, worked with FBI and CIA agents, owned a ranch and held a secret baby. I’ve saved the lives of a presidential candidate, been the granddaughter of…