Modern Brides & Modern Grooms

A Guide to Planning Straight, Gay, and Other Nontraditional Twenty-First-Century Weddings

Mark O'Connell author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Skyhorse Publishing

Published:18th Nov '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Modern Brides & Modern Grooms cover

Finalist for the National Indie Excellence Book Awards, 2015 — LGBT Nonfiction and Marriage

Finalist/First Runner Up for the Rainbow Book Award, 2015 — Best LGBT Debut

How to make any wedding liberating, brave, and sexy.

This post-DOMA book is for any couple—same or opposite sex—seeking a personalized wedding that dignifies the relationship and the individual self. No “new normal” here—this guide emboldens you to harness your unique, brazen, queer truth; to be creative; and to plan your wedding your way.

Every fiancé faces the question: How do I become something new without losing myself? Using his own story—from how he and his husband connected via MTV’s The Real World to the real world of their marriage—author Mark O’Connell reflects on conflicts that arrive during wedding transitions, as well as various other transitions throughout your lives.

As a psychotherapist, O’Connell offers ideas to bridge relational gaps with your partner, family, and friends. As a professional actor, he also offers insight into the ways your wedding is a theatrical production: how this can help you to conceptualize the event, consolidate your efforts, and increase creative collaboration as a couple. This will serve you not only on the day, but also for the rest of your time together.

Whether we’re straight, gay, or other, weddings inspire us to carve out more fun, freedom, recognition, life-space, love-space, and connubial space than we’ve ever had before.

“No matter what circumstances surround your relationship or what kind of wedding you want, Mark’s perspective and advice will prove invaluable to working out the kinks and having not only your dream wedding but better communication with your significant other, family, friends, and in-laws.” —Liza Monroy, author of The Marriage Act

“This is the most timely book published this year. O’Connell’s book is a breeze to read, filled with wonderful examples of what he calls ‘queer marriage’ and illustrated with examples from his own marriage to another man, as well as from other marriages. It is a pleasure to read. I expect his next book will be about queer adoptions. And why not?” —Charles Silverstein, PhD, gold medal winner for lifetime achievement in the practice of psychology and coauthor of The Joy of Gay Sex

“This is more than just another plan-your-wedding book; it’s really a guide to planning your entire life together. It’s absolutely going on the required reading list for all my future first dates!” —Zachary Booth, actor, Damages and Keep the Lights On

“So, your wedding day . . . It has to be perfect. Mark O’Connell’s book immediately allows you to take a deep breath and say, ‘We can do this!’ It’ll help make your dream a reality with stress-free planning, communication, and love for your wedding day.” —Del Shores, award-winning director and writer of Sordid Lives
“No matter what circumstances surround your relationship or what kind of wedding you want, Mark’s perspective and advice will prove invaluable to working out the kinks and having not only your dream wedding but better communication with your significant other, family, friends, and in-laws.” —Liza Monroy, author of The Marriage Act

“This is the most timely book published this year. O’Connell’s book is a breeze to read, filled with wonderful examples of what he calls ‘queer marriage’ and illustrated with examples from his own marriage to another man, as well as from other marriages. It is a pleasure to read. I expect his next book will be about queer adoptions. And why not?” —Charles Silverstein, PhD, gold medal winner for lifetime achievement in the practice of psychology and coauthor of The Joy of Gay Sex

“This is more than just another plan-your-wedding book; it’s really a guide to planning your entire life together. It’s absolutely going on the required reading list for all my future first dates!” —Zachary Booth, actor, Damages and Keep the Lights On

“So, your wedding day . . . It has to be perfect. Mark O’Connell’s book immediately allows you to take a deep breath and say, ‘We can do this!’ It’ll help make your dream a reality with stress-free planning, communication, and love for your wedding day.” —Del Shores, award-winning director and writer of Sordid Lives

ISBN: 9781629145839

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 25mm

Weight: 574g

288 pages