Working with thousands of brides for over twenty-five years, Cornelia Powell became known as “the bride’s sage” and “a wedding folklorist.” Bringing her experience in the fashion world as an associate editor at Vogue magazine and as a board member of the Costume Society of America, Cornelia first made headlines in the world of weddings with her innovative and nationally recognized bridal art-to-wear store in Atlanta in the 1980s and 90s. The first store to focus on the grown-up bride, Cornelia also brought to life for all brides the womanly spirit of her upcoming rite-of-passage. Always a leading spokesperson for conscious weddings, Cornelia later provided the same intimacy, awareness, and storytelling delight to a world audience in her online magazine, Weddings of Grace.
As a bridal historian and wedding entrepreneur, Cornelia draws the best from the past and creates a modern mythology for today’s bride. In her books, articles, blogs (The Woman You Become and Letters To A Bride), and as a sought after public speaker, Cornelia uses the language of ritual and relationship, costume and folklore, stillness and self-discovery to speak to the hearts of all women. This wise and original voice—unique to the wedding industry—shares ways to bring more ease, pleasure and reassurance into a woman’s life not only as a bride, but also as she moves through all of her life’s rites-of-passage.
Cornelia’s book, The Bride’s Ritual Guide: Look Inside to Find Yourself, became an Amazon best seller upon its release at the end of 2009. It has been called an essential gift for brides of all ages and a pleasure for every woman who loves matters of the heart.
Her upcoming book, in the works for several years, will be released at the end of 2011. The End of the Fairy-Tale Bride: Princess Diana, the 'Princess Myth' & a Royal Legacy for All Women uses her “things are seldom as they seem” storytelling approach against the backdrop of Princess Diana’s life and mythological death. She shows how this incomparable, world-stage life—with both its light and shadow sides—tapped into something deeper and more intimate than the world imagined. Influencing little girls’ daydreams and how women see themselves in the world, the legacy of a princess shapes the nature of future relationships and marriage as this new millennium moves us into the era of spiritual partnerships.
After thirty years in Atlanta, Cornelia moved to the “gloriously expansive and mystical” western North Carolina mountains in 2008. She looks out at the world from her writing loft nestled on a steep, green mountain ridge.
"And here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." -Antoine de Saint Exupery
"Love is, above all, the gift of oneself."
-Jean Anouilh
"Gratitude is what returns us to love."
-Lisa Clapier
Weddings of Grace Online Magazine - Through stories and articles, returning a woman to the heart of her rite-of-passage.
Open Your Heart Meditation CD for Brides
Open Your Heart Meditation CD for Women
Amazon best selling book released at the end of 2009: The Bride's Ritual Guide: Look Inside to Find Yourself (a book that changed how brides of all ages prepare for their wedding.)