Miss Manners' Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding by Jacobina Martin

Human beings since the dawn of time have honored rituals around life’s important passages. “A dignified ceremony followed by a happy celebration for those who care about the couple, done in a somewhat more formal version of the way they usually entertain…” is just great. Etiquette embraces simplicity, write the Martins. Not that it can’t be gorgeous or even extravagant (if you can afford it), and that you can’t have a good time. All best wishes, Judith Martin”Ī wedding is not meant to be about showing off or self-aggrandizement.

Miss Manners’ wedding etiquette book as inscribed to moi: ”To amuse you with what those who lack your taste are doing. Miss Manners’ Guide, however, was a great reinforcement and steady reminder of What Is Important, because it’s real easy to get distracted in all the Bridezilla insanity. (If you asked me if I would rather have lunch with Judith Martin or George Clooney, it’s not even close–nothing personal, George.) At the time planning my own second wedding, and without benefit of my always-knew-exactly-how-to-do late mother, I trusted my upbringing and instincts. My copy is full of stickies and highlights.Ī copy was given me three years ago by friends of ours, she the former press secretary to First Lady Betty Ford and a friend of Miss Manners’ creator, Judith Martin. Miss Manners’ Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding, by Judith Martin and Jacobina Martin. If you fear for your inner-Miss-Manners, consult the real one in her and her daughter’s indispensable and highly readable Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding.

And etiquette is about manners, and manners are about kindness. With wedding season upon us, the potential for manners mischief is about to be unleashed with a festooned and crinolined fury.

But there is knowledge which, if possessed by all nuptial-bound humanity, would make the world a better place.

Miss Manners' Guide to a Surprisingly Dignified Wedding by Jacobina Martin