THEMES

But can she survive the year-long catastrophes that make wedding planning so--uh--memorable? Ten authors share their comic visions.

• MURDER WITH PEACOCKS Donna Andrews
  Overtaxed bridesmaid and unofficial wedding planner Meg Langslow is consumed with three weddings and one dead body in this first in a series.
  
  
• BORN TO BE WILD Patti Berg
  Novice wedding planner Lauren Remington wants her best friend's big day to be absolutely perfect. But then the caterer dies 72 hours prior to the event, and Lauren falls to the mercy of Born to Be Wild catering and the company's Harley driving, leather-jacket-clad owner.
  
  
• AMANDA'S WEDDING Jenny Colgan
  Melanie and her best friend try to save her former crush from an eternity with a shallow, golddigging snob by stopping AMANDA'S WEDDING. But can Mel's mixed signals lure the Scottish laird away from disaster?
  
  
• ONCE UPON A WEDDING Kathleen Eagle
  Mother of the bride Camille Delonga never imagined that planning her daughter's dream day would reconnect her to her own--and her ex-husband, Creed Burke.
  
  
• OTHERWISE ENGAGED Suzanne Finnamore
  How do you know if he's the one? After a full-fledged campaign that resorts to cajoling, scheming and outright begging, Eve's boyfriend finally proposes. But suddenly, everything about Michael drives her nuts.
  
  
• SHOPAHOLIC TIES THE KNOT Sophie Kinsella
  Think planning one weddingcan be taxing? Losing control of her wedding plans to eager friends, family and future family, Becky Bloomwood ends up with eight gowns, two weddings and hopes that by the time she straightens her mess out, she'll still have her one and only groom.
  
  
• MOTHER OF THE BRIDE Lynn Michaels
  Cydney Parrish, surrogate mother to her newly engaged niece, finds herself at odds with the groom's beligerent uncle, wealthy mystery writer, Angus Monroe who's determined to prevent blissful matrimony between the two young lovers.
• POPPING THE QUESTION Cheryl Anne Porter
  Dianna West learns the hard way that people don't choose who they fall in love with. As the owner of the successful marriage proposal company, "Popping the Question," Diane never expected to fall in love with a client. Should she choose her business or her heart?
  
  
• AS LONG AS SHE NEEDS ME Nicholas Weinstock
  Oscar's distressing assignment to plan a secret wedding for his publishing-exec boss leads to nothing but trouble. A series of misunderstandings has wedding columnist and possible love interest Lauren La Rosa thinking Oscar is the lucky groom. Can he set the record straight, get the girl and save his job?
  
  
• DIARY OF A MAD BRIDE Laura Wolf
  In Wolf's first novel, Amy Sarah Thomas disdains the ideology of marriage until she gets a ring of her own. Then everything changes and, as chronicled in diary form, she embarks on a year-long whirlwind of wedding angst and catastrophes.