Book Review: The Magic Room

Here's a little known fact that some of you blog followers may not know: I purchased my wedding dress before Cody and I were actually engaged. And we're not talking a week or so before, we're talking almost a solid three months before he proposed.

Cody and I were talking about getting engaged and I believe my parents knew that he was "the one," so one day when I was home during the summer my mom booked us an appointment at David's Bridal and off we went. I wore a fake ring to play the part and we had a grand 'ole time. I actually only tried on three dresses in all and my wedding dress was the clear winner. We went to lunch, talked about it, my mom called my dad to talk about it, then she laid it out carefully: "Abby, we have money set aside for a wedding and can get this for you, but if something happens between you and Cody, are you sure this is still the gown for you?" I knew it my heart it was what I had always dreamed of and we drove home that day with my wedding dress.

Would you believe that a few weeks later I brought Cody home to meet my extended family and we had the worst weekend of our whole relationship? Oh man, it was rough! So rough that once we were back in Abilene, I left to go hang out with friends in the metroplex to recoup for the weekend and think over our relationship. Unbeknownst to me, Cody recouped from the horrible weekend by buying my engagement ring! The difference in men and women, huh?

Despite the rough weekend that followed, I still have such sweet memories of shopping for my wedding dress for my mom, along with the many fitting appointments and accessorizing that are a apart of this process. It's been well over three years since we got married (and almost five years since we bought the dress!) and I still would choose it all over again!

Recently I had a chance to read The Magic Room by Jeffrey Zaslow. Here's a description of the book:

You may not have heard of Fowler, Michigan, much less Becker's Bridal. But for the thousands of women who have stepped inside, Becker's is the site of some of the most important moments of their lives-moments that speak to us all. Housed in a former bank, the boutique owners transformed the vault into a "magic room," with soft church lighting, a circular pedestal, and mirrors that make lifelong dreams come true.

Illuminating the poignant aspects of a woman's journey to the altar, The Magic Room tells the stories of memorable women on the brink of commitment. Run by the same family for years, Becker's has witnessed transformations in how America views the institution of marriage; some of the shop's clientele are becoming stepmothers, or starting married life for a second time. In The Girls from Ames, beloved author Jeffrey Zaslow used friendships to explore the emotional lives of women. In The Magic Room, he turns his perceptive eye to weddings and weaves together secrets, memories and family tales to explore the hopes and dreams we have for our daughters.

This book is definitely an interesting read for mothers and daughters. It will make you laugh and cry as you read the personal stories woven throughout the book, as well as make your reflect back on your own experience or future expectations of wedding dress shopping. It does have more facts and statistics than I expected it to, but still makes for an easy, enjoyable read!

Who did you take to go wedding dress shopping? Was it easy to know which one was "The One?" And am I the only girl out there who bought her dress before she received the ring? :)

Join the discussion about The Magic Room at BlogHer, where it’s the latest selection from the BlogHer Book Club!


I was provided with an electronic copy of The Magic Room to read and review as well as compensation for my time, courtesy of BlogHer and Penguin Books. All opinions, as always, are my own.