cover image Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-Pedia

Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-Pedia

Harry Choron, Sandra Choron. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), $14.95 (353pp) ISBN 978-0-618-74658-3

With characteristic good humor, the authors of Planet Dog, Planet Cat and College in a Can provide a fun and comprehensive guide to marriage, covering the practical, the historical, the cultural and the legal-including, but not limited to, wedding cakes around the world, Charles and Diana's ""wedding of the century,"" the rituals of a Wiccan wedding, and ""69 rules of Wedding Crashing."" There's also plentiful, practical tips for making the occasion memorable without breaking the bank, from hiring a limo to choosing a DJ to deciding on flowers to designing the wedding program. The happily married Chorons (she's a writer and literary agent, he's a graphic designer) keep things simple with easy-to-follow bullet points and to-do lists that offer useful insight into the big day, and what to expect afterward (the groom's 117-item pre-wedding to-do list includes everything from ""start a joint checking account"" to ""play all the video games you own again"" to ""see at least one more naked woman""). For all the lists of rules (""14 Rules for Fighting Fair,"" ""Who Pays for What?""), the Chorons also provide the hows of breaking them, making this an incredibly thorough, friendly and encouraging guide. 150 b&w illus.