In WEDDING TOASTS & VOWS, eminent wedding writer Bette Matthews provides helpful hints and step-by-step instructions for creating the perfect nuptial speech, whether you're the bride herself or an honored participant who simply wishes to express his or her love for the parties involved--and would like to do so with grace, humility, and humor.

From the #1 wedding brand comes this indispensable resource, completely revised and updated, to help you choose the perfect words, music, and traditions for your ceremony and reception The ceremony is the cornerstone of your wedding celebration. There are countless ways to make it your own, from meaningful poetry readings to the music that plays as you walk down the aisle. The Knot Guide to Wedding Vows and Traditions is an important resource for brides and grooms. New and expanded topics in this edition include: -Interfaith ceremonies and blending spiritual traditions -Ways to use technology to enhance your ceremony -New online resources for finding the perfect words for your vows, program, and more -Gay marriages and civil unions -Popular song choices that are already considered classics Throughout, you’ll also find a rich and inspiring selection of both classic and original ideas for: -Religious or secular vows and readings -Traditions and symbolic rituals -Speeches and toasts -Music for the processional, recessional, and the special dances at the reception

Whether you are writing wedding vows or wedding toasts and speeches, this workbook leads you through a step-by-step creative process that is easy to follow and will produce inspired results. Written for couples who want to express their love for each other openly, honestly, and beautifully in their wedding vows, for the best man or maid of honor who doesn't often speak in public and is not sure how to write and deliver those all-important toasts, and for the father or mother of the bride, close friends, and relatives who will be speaking at the many events surrounding a wedding, it also provides a step-by-step rehearsal process, techniques for dealing with "stage fright" or anyone's bad case of nerves, and quotations to add elegance and spice to your own words.

Vows & Toasts provides inspiration for the most important words spoken at awedding ceremony and reception. Author Rita Cook helps readers find the rightwords to say I Do and Here's to You!

"Vows & Toasts" provides inspiration for the most important words spoken at awedding ceremony and reception. Author Rita Cook helps readers find the rightwords to say I Do and Here's to You!

In this book the author, an investigative journalist, traces the social history of marijuana from its origins to its emergence in the 1960s as a defining force in an ongoing culture war. He describes how the illicit marijuana subculture overcame government opposition and morphed into a multibillion-dollar industry. In 1996, Californians voted to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Similar laws have followed in several other states, but not without antagonistic responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement. The author draws attention to underreported scientific breakthroughs that are reshaping the therapeutic landscape: medical researchers have developed promising treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, chronic pain, and many other conditions that are beyond the reach of conventional cures. This book is an examination of the medical, recreational, scientific, and economic dimensions of the world's most controversial plant.