Book Review: The Wedding People

Just finished reading The Wedding People by Alison Espach. I rated it 4 out of 5 stars. This book was an emotional, intriguing read that made it a breeze to get through.

Phoebe Stone and Matt's marriage was what a lot of marriages are like, good until it's not. Easy at the beginning but over time challenges present themselves and sometimes if you're not connected, you drift. They drifted quite a bit mainly because of Phoebe's infertility issues. Men are so selfish by nature, they can't help it a lot of the times. They are wired to only think of themselves whereas women, we think of everyone else sometimes. Matt wanted kids and so did Phoebe but Matt got sick of the cycle of trying IVF and wanted to quit. That didn't satisfy Phoebe she wanted to keep trying. I can see how this marriage fell apart. You have two people unwilling to face reality and communicate on a deeper level and be there for eachother.

Matt does the generic man move and cheats on Phoebe with his coworker Mia, very original. He actually leaves Phoebe, divorces her and has a kid with Mia. Of course Phoebe is devastated as all women would be. She still loved Matt but she also never felt quite like her real self with him. Still she falls into deep depression with her cat.

She always wanted to go to this fancy hotel for vacation, The Cornwall, but Matt selfishly made them go on vacation elsewhere during their marriage. At her lowest, after her cat dies, she decides to leave her home with nothing but what she was wearing and end her life in the nice hotel, The Cornwall. I was shocked when I realized her plan was to end her life? It truly was surprising and I did not see it coming.

Phoebe's plan derails when she arrives at the hotel, meets a bride, Lila, set to wed in this very hotel. Lila has literally taken over the hotel for her wedding and is annoyed Phoebe found her way into a reservation in a nicer room then Lila had. Phoebe was taken back by how elite and bratty the bride was in the elevator and is blunt with  her when asked 'what are you doing here on my wedding week?' Phoebe replies 'to kill myself'. Lila doesn't believe her then realizes she's not kidding. It's quite funny how this friendship starts with Lila coming to her room banging on the door to plead with Phoebe to not ruin her wedding by taking her spotlight, which would be filled with cops, ambulances and gossip if she went through with her plan.

It was easy for Lila and Phoebe to communicate. I think it's because Lila was terrified of getting married and Phoebe was terrified of continuing to live the life she was living but also of killing herself. This complicated, odd friendship flourished over the next week. Phoebe ends up not taking her own life, for now, and becoming Lila's maid of honor due to the original maid of honor backing out from sickness.

I really loved both these girls and their rawness with each other, even though awkward at times because they didn't know one another. Once I saw the potential of Gary, the fiance, and Phoebe that really gave me anxiety because he's set to wed Lila and you wouldn't want that blooming friendship fractured. Grief showed to free up Phoebe's and Lila's filter, Lila lost her father and Phoebe her life with her husband. The sooner you lose this filter the better off you are. Living in the truth really is the only way to live authentically. Unfortunately, it takes way too long for people to reach this filter free way of life.

It was really sweet to see Gary's daughter, Juice, evolve from being rigid and to herself to opening up more around Phoebe. Reading how losing her mother and Gary his wife, can affect them for years to come, especially if you don't talk about her openly.

I like that Phoebe kept it respectful with Gary and never crossed lines with him when they were in the same room out of respect to Lila. I'm also glad that Lila came to her senses and backed out of marrying Gary and realizes she might be in love with Gary's best friend , Jim, the one she 'hates'.

My favorite part of the book was when Matt, the ex husband seeks out Phoebe, at the hotel she slips and hooks up with him but does not accept or want him back. I'm never a fan of taking a person back after they betray you. For me, that makes it over no need to open that door again no matter how 'sorry they are'.

It was refreshing that the book ended with loose ends. Gary didn't end up dating Phoebe and Lila didn't end up dating Jim, right away, or at all because they left it open ended. A lot of the times books try to wrap up all the loose ends and it doesn't feel realistic.

Phoebe quits her job at the University and finds a place in the same town as the hotel she visited to rent and start a new life. Lila leaves on a trip to find herself. The book was so relatable and felt very plausible as a real story. One day you can be miserable and the next you feel like yourself again. Just take one step at a time and let the days pass as they should. Never give up on yourself, there will always be better days ahead.

This book can definitely have a part two in my opinion; where did Phoebe and Lila's friendship go, did Gary and Phoebe ever speak or hang out again, did Jim pursue Lila, did Matt leave Mia even after Phoebe rejected him? There's a lot more story to tell here.

The good news is, this book is being made into a movie! I will definitely be watching.

Happy Reading!

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