FEATURE/Music for the Bride and Groom: Warner Bros. Publications Releases Ultimate Wedding Showstoppers Music Book

Business Wire, March 5, 2003

Lifestyle Editors/Feature Editors

FEATURE...Spring Beauty & Bridal

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2003

Before they walk down the aisle, future brides and grooms will want to check out the new Ultimate Wedding Showstoppers book from Warner Bros. Publications. A compendium of more than 80 of the most popular love songs in history, from Mendelssohn's "Here Comes the Bride," to Shania Twain's "From This Moment On," the book will serve as a guide to selecting romantic music for that special day.

The Ultimate Wedding Showstoppers includes complete lyrics and music for piano and guitar for every one of its romantic classics. This makes it an invaluable aid for anyone who plans to perform a love song at a wedding.

In addition to its wide array of songs, the book features a richly detailed narrative about the history of wedding ceremonies from ancient times through the present. These pages provide some fascinating items on wedding customs and traditions dating back to the Romans. For example:

-- The practice of wearing a white wedding dress was started in 1499 by Anne of Brittany when she married Louis XII of France.

-- A Swedish bride will often wear a silver coin from her father in her left shoe and a gold coin from her mother in her right.

Many of the most fascinating stories in the book involve the songs themselves. Felix Mendelssohn never imagined that his "Wedding March" would become the most famous nuptial song in history. He composed the piece in 1842 as "incidental music" for Overture to a Midsummer Night's Dream, a work he had composed in 1826.

Mostly however, this keepsake book is about the music. More than 340 of its pages are devoted to transcriptions of lyrics and musical notation. These pages provide a panorama of love songs that cover a variety of musical genres and historical eras. Among the romantic ballads included in the book are "Always," "Amazed," "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me," "The Hawaiian Wedding Song," "In Your Eyes" "Love and Marriage," "Theme from Ice Castles," "Up Where We Belong," and many more.

The Ultimate Wedding Showstoppers is available at leading music and book stores everywhere, and has a suggested retail price of $19.95.

For information/photos, contact Fran Vincent at Warner Bros. Publications at 800-327-7643, ext. 1749, or visit their electronic media kit through Business Wire at http://www.businesswire.com/emk/fl-warner-bros.shtml.