Mother of the Bride

The relationship between a mother and daughter is often fraught, but never so much as during the preparations for that walk down the aisle. Ilene Beckerman has taken that walk with three daughters and tells us, with great wisdom and wit, why childbirth is less painful than planning a wedding. Ilene Beckerman was nearly sixty when she began her writing career. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Ladies' Home Journal. She has judged People's "Best and Worst Dressed" issue and has traveled the country, speaking to women's groups. "Sometimes," she says, "I feel like Grandma Moses, she didn't start until later in life either, but I try not to look like her." What do five girls, one short, one tall, one buxom, one flat, one who gave birth a month ago, have in common? A bridesmaid's dress they all hate.