Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? — Melissa Senate

Eloise Manfred just sold her soul to the wedding devil.

In exchange for a free $100,000 dream wedding, she'll be featured in a trendy magazine as "Today's Modern Bride." So what if the advertisers dictate what she wears, eats and registers for? From the gown (it has yellow feathers) to the reception hall (vampire chic) to the rings (what metal is that?) to the prime rib (tofu!), Eloise knows that what really matters is the groom (cold feet?). All she has to do is keep a wedding-planning diary (heavily edited) and have her friends and family ooh and aah over her leather veil in photo shoots.

Friends, Eloise has: bridesmaids Jane, Natasha, Amanda and oddball co-worker Philippa, the magazine's "Traditional (ha!) Bride." Family, she doesn't have. Eloise's mother passed away, her father took off years ago, her too-cool-for-words brother is either climbing Mount Everest or scamming a rich older woman in Beverly Hills and her fiance's family is certifiable. So between choosing rubber bridesmaid dresses and worrying about the photo shoots, Eloise finally asks the question: Hey -- whose wedding is it anyway?