UPDATE: Linda Richter won the free download!

* * * * *

Wedding season is upon us. I love weddings. I adore the glamorous gowns, the profusion of flowers, seeing family and friends brought together in celebration, and most of all I love watching a couple pledge their forever love to one another. Some people are cynical about marriage these days, but I believe in it wholeheartedly. Something I love about romance novels is that you’re guaranteed a happily-ever-after ending, and usually that means a wedding. Of course, a perfect wedding doesn’t mean the years that follow will go smoothly. There are bumps in the road for any couple on their journey through life together—but at the end of a well-crafted story, we know the bond between the hero and heroine is strong enough to carry them through the challenges they are bound to face.

As wonderful as weddings are, preparing for the big day can be fraught with stress. Brides put pressure on themselves to create the perfect event, and there may be budget strains or conflict with family over decisions. And consider the bridesmaids, forced to wear whatever puffy-sleeved tangerine or fuchsia monstrosity the bride chooses for her!

All the drama can make an ideal backdrop for a story. My new novella, Kiss the Bridesmaid (available as part of the Weddings on Main Street boxed set), follows the budding romance of Mari and Jake, a bridesmaid and a wedding photographer, during the months leading up to Mari’s brother’s wedding. For Mari, the stress of preparing for the wedding has nothing to do with money, fashion or squabbles with the other attendants. She’s anxious about her hidden disorder that might make it difficult to stand at the front of the church during the ceremony. Meanwhile, Jake is recovering from a disastrous marriage and only wants to focus on the needs of his young daughter—but he can’t resist falling in love with Mari.

Do you have a favourite wedding story? Leave a comment below for a chance to win a copy of Weddings on Main Street, a collection of all-new novellas by eleven authors.

Amazon link: http://authl.it/B00KV0AZVI
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/weddings-on-main-street-tori-scott/1119711535?ean=9780985515485
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id888130300
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/weddings-on-main-street
My website: http://susanrhughes.weebly.com/