The Wedding People by Alison Espach – Book review

The Wedding People came with a lot of hype – and a lot of high-praise reviews – and you know what, it totally lived up to all of it! I honestly loved this book! I’ve finished it with a warm, fuzzy feeling and it’s been a while since I can say that about a read.

Opening sentence: The hotel looks exactly as Phoebe hoped.

Phoebe and The Wedding People

Phoebe, our narrator, is in a very low place. Her (now ex) husband, Matt, cheated on her and left her for a colleague (that they both work with, they are professors at the same university). Following the death of her beloved cat, she books a night in a luxury hotel – the Cornwall Inn in Rhode Island – with the intent that it will be her last night on earth. A final treat to herself.

What she didn’t bank on was the rest of the hotel being booked out for a wedding. The super-glam, one-million dollar wedding of Lila and Gary.

Lila will let nothing ruin her six-day wedding extravaganza, definitely not some random woman killing herself in the midst of it.

She is the only person she is afraid of now – she is the only one here who just tried to kill her.

The story flexes between Phoebe’s time with Matt when they were happily married, her childhood and the events that led her to the situation she is in now.

Her unexpected friendships with both Lila, the bride and Gary, the groom, are the main hook and it’s truly delightful to go on this journey with Phoebe; to be with her as she discovers how to build herself up again after hitting the bottom and to view her life through a new lens.

And, somehow, become Maid of Honour in the wedding of the year…

“I think we talk about happiness all wrong. As if it’s this fixed state we’re going to reach. Like we’ll just be able to live there, forever.”

A warm hug of a book

The Wedding People covers serious themes of suicide and depression but it is written in a such a beautiful way. There a laugh-out-loud moments scattered throughout, with hope and love taking the dominant role, rather than despair.

Each character is beautifully written, their flaws and vulnerabilities captured so well that you end up caring for all of them (even Phoebe’s ex-husband!)

“I just mean, a story can be beautiful not because of the way it ends. But because of the way it’s written.”

This is a truly tender read that’s witty, insightful, so funny and so charming. It’s just a delightful story packed full of hope and reflection. A warm hug of a book, I genuinely feel better after reading it. Pick it up and enjoy!

• Get your copy of The Wedding People here;
• Published by Orion August 2024;
• 367 pages;
• My rating: