Jeanne Hamilton

"I was moved by this etiquette expert's very down-to-earth take on how a bride should act; there was nothing here about when to raise your pinky or why everything must be "perfect." Instead, she presents a healthy and positive outlook about why a wedding is a celebration and not a theatrical show with the bride as "director," insisting on getting her way and forcing the wedding party to conform perfectly to her 'vision.'"

Jenna Glatzer, editor of AbsoluteWrite.com and author of OUTWITTING WRITER'S BLOCK AND OTHER PROBLEMS OF THE PEN

Drawing on her experience as a wedding consultant and creator of the popular web site, EtiquetteHell.com,  Jeanne Hamilton co-authored Bridezilla: True Tales from Etiquette Hell  which provides an inside look at the real-life antics of brides gone bad.  Hamilton's second book, Wedding Etiquette Hell: A Bride's Bible to Avoiding Everlasting Damnation (St. Martins Press, 2005), focuses on the wedding etiquette that really matters.  

The real-life stories for Bridezilla and Wedding Etiquette Hell come from EtiquetteHell.com, a web site  created, owned and operated by Hamilton. On the Etiquette Hell Web site, victims of etiquette faux pas have the opportunity to pour out their grievances and nominate rude, tacky, greedy, uncivil members of society as candidates to be thrown into Etiquette Hell. In the eleven years of the Web site’s existence, thousands of people have contributed tales of woe. The critically acclaimed web site archives over six thousand stories covering twenty different categories of faux pas including Business Etiquette, Funeral Etiquette, and other life matters besides weddings.

"I have heard just about everything that can be done in the way of rudeness from fist fights at weddings, pinning down a bridesmaid to forcibly paint her fingernails, elaborate schemes to extort cash from guests, a bride whose first dance with her husband at the reception was actually a striptease, and vengeful mothers who make the Wicked Witch of the West look like Snow White," says Hamilton who collects the stories. "Just when I think I can't possibly be surprised by someone's tackiness and rudeness, someone sends in a story which elicits either a burst of laughter or astonishment at the audacity of rude people." 

Having earned a B.A. in Psychology from Towson  University, Jeanne served as a policy analyst and lobbyist on Capitol Hill for several years before marrying and starting a family. Her experience ranges from being a soccer mom to serving in local civic organizations to coordinating numerous weddings and receptions, both privately and professionally, so Jeanne is well-qualified to identify brats of all kinds.  Jeanne  lives in the Southeast US with her husband of 21 years and their three children.

As a guest, Hamilton can entertain your listeners with side-splittingly funny but verified stories of Wedding Hell, the top five wedding etiquette "thou shalt nots", and practical advice for dealing with the Bridezilla in their lives.

For media interviews regarding the book "Wedding Etiquette Hell: The Bride's Bible to Avoiding Everlasting Damnation", please contact St. Martin's Press publicist Vicki Lame at T: (646)307-5553 / F: (212)674-6132 or email at Vicki.Lame@stmartins.com

Page Last Updated May 18, 2007