Since she opened her shop in New York in 1990, Vera Wang has become the bridal gown guru for the rich and famous, and during fittings she has been privy to a plethora of wedding plan woes.

Now, in the manner of Heloise and Amy Vanderbilt, she has written a book of advice (“Getting married is a process, just like life is a process”) and etiquette (the only reason to return gifts from the bridal registry is if you call the whole thing off).

The large-format book, “Vera Wang on Weddings” (HarperCollins, $60, hardcover) is richly illustrated with lavish weddings think Sharon Stone, William Baldwin, Pete Sampras and beautiful brides.

More books to help you write the wedding chapter of your life:

If you think weddings today look pretty much the same and you’d like yours to look a bit different, take a trip down memory lane, urges Nancy Eaton in “Your Vintage Wedding” (Harper Resource, $27, hardcover, January). She surveyed wedding styles through the 20th century and came up with suggestions about how to create your own period wedding look.

Mother, whose wedding is it, anyway? “The Mother-of-the-Bride Book” (Citadel Press, $18.95, hardcover), by Sharon Naylor, helps moms negotiate the fine line between being an indispensable helpmate or what Naylor calls a guilt-tripping Runaway Mother of the Bride.

You’re declaring your intention of sharing your life with this other person. Whether your ceremony is religious or secular, you are asserting your vows, preferably in your personal voice. “Wedding Vows: Beyond Love, Honor and Cherish” (Warner Books, $12.95, paperback), by Susan Lee Smith, will help you find the right words.

A reality check instead of a checklist is promised by Lara Webb Carrigan in “The Best Friend’s Guide to Planning a Wedding” (Regan Books, $13.95, paperback). Carrigan wrote this book after surviving, and relishing, her own dream wedding.