Every Bride Has Her Day

“Yeah, but that’s the problem. Every time I hear a great idea, it sounds, well, great. And when I’m the bride – which I am – not every great-sounding idea is really all that great. I mean, they all sound great, but they’re not really great for you and me. I think the problem is there are way too many great ideas out there… only, none of them leave me feeling… great.”

Book: Every Bride Has Her Day by Janice Thompson, Revell Publishers, 2016

Genre: Modern Realistic Fiction/Comedy-Romance

Target Audience: Adult Women

Subjects: Prayer, Friendship, Love, Romance, Trust in God

Summary: The Baptist Church in Fairfield. The Presbyterian Church in Fairfield. The Gaylord Hotel in Dallas. A Hawaiian theme. A Texas cowboy theme. Mother, Future Mother-in-Law, Aunt, Co-Workers. The Fairfield Women of Prayer group. Everyone has an idea about what Katie and Brady’s wedding should look like – everyone except Katie that is. With all the ideas being tossed around, and not just tossed out as suggestions but almost demanded, Katie doesn’t know what to think anymore! Watching her brother’s fiancée go through the fire of trying to express her desires makes her think Brady’s idea of eloping to Hawaii isn’t such a bad idea after all! Just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, a huge portion of those offering suggestions back off… a little too much. A misunderstood comment has the entire town of Fairfield picking sides and refusing to speak to each other. The prayer group isn’t praying, the committees are not serving and the town is literally divided in half!

Notes: Every Bride Has Her Day is the third in the Brides With Style series. The series focuses on a small town girl who enters an essay contest for a dream wedding dress only to lose the man she thought would be her groom right before she wins it. She winds up with a job in the bridal shop and a new fiancée. In this third and final book, she has to figure out how to actually make it to the altar. She has the groom and the dress, but can not figure out how to pull off the actual event without offending any of the many people who give her suggestions and expectations. The spiritual emphasis is on the importance of both prayer and relationships. When a comment is misunderstood and the town falls apart, an accident shows everyone what really matters. There is also an element of learning to trust in God. One character is bitter and angry that she is still single when everyone around her is pairing up. She has to accept that God does love and care for her even though He has not given her a groom.

Personal Note: My only criticism is the amount of focus on how important it is for the bride to have exactly what she wants on her wedding day. One bride is wanting to make sure to not hurt anyone’s feelings and rather than being commended, it is implied that she needs to make sure she gets what she wants. However, a wedding is one day, one event. Relationships are even more important than getting what you want for one day – even if it is the biggest day of your life. I’m all for the bride having her day be the way she dreamed. I fought hard for my day to be the way I dreamed. However, looking back, I strongly believe that the focus needs to be on relationships more than the single day. Even a wedding is not an excuse for a selfish attitude. If there is a choice between it being the way the bride wants and a relationship, the relationship should be given priority.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

Philippians 2:3-5 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourself. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I enjoyed it!