A Vintage Wedding By Katie Fforde

In a small Cotswold country town, Beth, Lindy and Rachel are looking for new beginnings.
So they set up in business, organising stylish and perfectly affordable vintage weddings.
Soon they are busy arranging other people's Big Days.
What none of them know is that their own romances lie waiting, just around the corner ... A Vintage Wedding

As a huge Katie Fforde fan, I would love to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, for a review copy of this book. This is my honest review.

Beth, has just moved into the village, and has agreed to help her sister organise her wedding, so its more like sister Helena's vision and not their controlling mother's. Beth also believes there is nothing you can't learn from youtube, and has a whole range of skills, especially when it comes to computers.

Rachel has also just moved into the village, and is slightly OCD. She likes white spaces, no mess and has an eye for organisation and every little detail, as well as being an accountant.

Lindy has lived in the village her whole life, has 2 young children and is a part time seamstress.

The three girls all meet at a Save Our Village Hall meeting, and are all in agreement that the village hall would, after being done up, be a perfect venue for weddings. During their chat, they decide to join forces and set up Vintage Weddings, a company designed to help people organise their weddings on a budget.

As always the descriptions of the Cotswolds and of village life, and the characters of the people in the village are intricately described, and you end up feeling like you are part of the village, and in fact I wish I did live there.

The main story in A Vintage Wedding is the preparations leading towards Helena's wedding. They do get a practice wedding on a proper budget, and the scenes of that one, had me welling up.

To me this book is vintage Katie Fforde, doing what she does best, small town romance with an interesting profession. Loved every second of this story. 464 I'm DNFing this one at 21%. I didn't like it, and it has been in limbo since june 5 (it is now august 19...).
Not only was the Dutch translation awful (not as in incorrect, but in the choice of words. It felt old-maiden like. I'm not sure whether the original text has the same problem, and frankly, I don't care, because I won't be reading it.

What else bothered me? Well, if you care to check, I hardly post updates when reading. I posted 6 lenghty comments on this one...

I'm recapping them here in reading order, since they were all unrealistic actions, and definately the author's fault and not the translator's;

WARNING: SARCASM AHEAD

- Someone who lives in the country, does not go out and buy kindling wood in a store. You collect it on your walks, or in your garden.

- And this really 'got my goat', because I work in the industry; a non-seamstress promises a VINTAGE WEDDING DRESS can be altered to fit (it has to be let out, since it's too small). Guess again, darling, in most cases, this is not possible. Oh and the statement 'People in the '80s (1980s) were a lot thinner?'.. UGH.

- Very good business sense: an aunt will be baking the wedding cake for her sisters wedding, and without sampling any of her baking (or asking the aunt whether she wants to), the MC promises her first client auntie will bake her cake too. Note: this 'aunt' is not a baking professional. If it where the case, I wouldn't be up in arms about this.

- Another thing, related to the kindling, that proves the author does definately NOT live in the country: one of the other MC's (there's 3 of 'em, and all of them infuriating), who has a fireplace that has NEVER BEEN LIT, and the draught capacity of the chimney has not been checked, lights a fire and THEN LEAVES FOR THE EVENING. This is irresposible in so many ways, I was cussing so loud when I read this, my neighbors acctually came over to check whether everything was allright.
point 1: a cold chimney won't draft as well as it should, and needs monitoring, to make sure the smoke actually gets pulled out, and not blown into the room.
point 2: if the chimney does not draw propperly, it's a CO2 hazzard.
point 3: it's a fire hazzard. Really. You should never leave a fire unattended, unless you can close off your fireplace with a spitguard. And even then, it could cause a chimney fire (althouh granted, this is unlikely in a new chimney, it's caused by sooth build-up).
I guess the MC has a really good fire insurance that pays out easily?

And then I haven't touched on the basic premisse of this book: off course you decide to start a company with two girls you've just met, in an industry none of you have any experience in, or any qualifications (sewing, baking)... At least one of them is an accountant. And really, in my pion this makes things even worse. BECAUSE SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER.

What peeved me the utmost about this book, is the set of mind it reflects, and, unfortunately, a set of mind I have encountered in real life numerous times, and still infuriates me. (And yes, I know I've been using 'infuriate' a lot in this review, but that is really how I feel about this issue).
People think, because baking, sewing, knitting and all those other crafts are something 'everyone can do', you can build a business out of it WITHOUT EXPERIENCE OR EDUCATION.
Wake up people, this is not true. Would you call yourself a plumber because you know how to install a kitchen faucet? Or a carpenter because you can screw 2 pieces of wood together? Probably not. Then why do people accept that someone who can push the peddle on a sewing machine calls herself a seamstress?

I could go on and on about this, and examine the sociological reasons for this, but I don't think this is the place. I just want to wake people up and think about this for a second.

Rant done. 464 Sajnos egyre gyakrabban lehet találkozni a magyar könyvpiacon a gyenge, igénytelen, a magyar nyelvtan alapszabályaira hírbÅ'l sem adó fordításokkal, de ez a mű még a már megszokott, silány minÅ'séget is alulmúlta.

A történet maga sem túl erÅ's - futószalagon sorozatgyártott, összefércelt románc - és a fordítás csak rontott rajta.

Csak hogy a legcsodálatosabb pillanatot említsem: a Christian name-et sikerült keresztény név-nek fordítani. Itt kezdtem ném szolid hajtépésbe. Ez most komoly? Ennél még a Google-fordító is jobbat tud.

Szégyelje magát a Libri Kiadó és szégyellje magát a fordító is. És hát Katie Fforde se legyen elájulva magától, van hova fejlÅ'dni.

Az egy csillag annak a ténynek szól, hogy könyvtári volt a könyv, nem a saját pénzemet dobtam ki az ablakon. 464 Beth, Lindy and Rachel set up 'Vintage Weddings' when they're thrown together and decide to start working on organising weddings for people.

In truth I read this because I was so far behind in my Goodreads Challenge and wanted a 'quick read'. As you can probably tell with me taking a month to read it, it didn't quite work out that way. Why you ask? Well let's make a list.

- one dimensional characters
- a healthy dollop of insta-love
- people changing their opinion on whether or not they're in love in a paragraph
- love/men fixing character foibles
- women being described as looking 'well' if they've had sex
- a romantic rival being described as 'fat' and 'ugly' and other derogatory ways despite being apparently a horrible person which could have been the main criticism
- 20 somethings saying things like 'awesome, you rock' unironically
- surprisingly little plot and a lot of filler about wedding planning that was...well...yeah

But seriously the one thing that annoyed me was the style of writing

Katie Fforde 2 stars for my first (and probably last) Katie Fforde book. I liked the idea of the story and of the characters but the execution was not ideal for me.

While the romances were sometimes quite cute, I never really bought into the friendship between Lindy, Rachel and Beth that was supposed to be the focal point. Yes, they did sometimes talk about their love lives but it always felt rushed with none of them actually talking about their past other than the facts, like I'm divorced or I have children.

Furthermore, the development of the characters was just so rushed at times (e.g. Rachel's admission of having a problem with cleanliness came suddenly out of the blue and her cure as well) that it seemed strange and devalued the reading experience for me. Moreover, I sometimes had the impression that the author was working really hard to ensure that the plot could not be interpreted as in any way offensive or politically incorrect. I mean it was nice that Lindy was introduced as a loving mother but to emphasize the fact that she didn't regret giving up the future she had imagined every time she was tired or angry that the kids misbehaved got a bit much.

While the love stories centered on Rachel and Lindy although rushed were quite cute and endearing at times, I didn't understand Beth's sudden realization of Charlie having been an a**hole all along, although the book never really gave an indication of that. And her new romance really bugged me as well, as she let him walk all over her after such a short period of knowing one another.

Concerning the idea of starting a wedding planning business, I was also disappointed that it remained more or less a good idea but mainly untested, especially because the main point of planning cheap weddings became soon redundant with Beth's mother having a change of heart concerning financial support.

To sum up, this book was quite entertaining at times, but it definitely didn't live up to the promises of the blurb in my view. A Vintage Wedding

***Copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review****

This isn't my favourite of Katie Fforde's books, but it is still a really fun and romantic read. I really like the premise and for the most part it works really well (once I'd got past my initial irritation with the character of Rachel!) but there were a few things that just didn't work for me as well as they could have done. I also felt a little bit like there were a couple of lose ends left at the end in a couple of the subplot. Still it was a nice way of passing a few train journeys, even if I didn't love it the way that I love Flora's Lot and Stately Pursuits. 9781780890838 If you can suspend disbelief right from the beginning, you should enjoy this light-hearted tale set in the Cotswolds. There women quickly form a friendship. One of them Beth is left to inexpensively organise her sister’s Helena’s wedding. This sparks an idea and the three women, Beth, Lindy and Rachel, are inspired to set up a business organising weddings on the cheap using among other things, vintage clothes. Rachel, has OCD and a passion for painting everything white. Teaming up with Beth, also a relative newcomer to the village and Lindy, a single mother who has lived all her life in the area certainly brings some changes into Rachel’s life.
As you would expect in a book by Katie FForde about wedding planning there is also romance, sometimes from what seem to be the most unlikely candidates. A couple of the male romance candidates are not quite what they first appear and add some complications.
I enjoyed this book, and you may too if you don’t take it all too seriously but accept it as an entertaining tale told with Kate Ford’s light hand. In a world where there are a lot of dark novels and serious tomes, this is just as refreshing as a spring morning. And if things sometimes happen all a little too easily, and Beth happens to instantly became an expert cake decorator after watching You Tube , then just go along with it. This is meant to be a fun read and it is.
464 Katie Fforde is the perfect author to read when you feel down or when you just want something light, happy, and funny. Vintage Wedding is no exception! Love the emphasis on friendship and how it can truly enrich and even change lives. While the characters are sweet, attractive, & quirky, morality isn't their strong suit. (No descriptive love scenes or anything, though, at all). They seem to give into their carnal desires rather quickly, but are sweet and fun to read about. I enjoyed my time spent with the lovely ladies Beth, Lindy, & Rachel and appreciated their collective genius of talents and their love for each other. May we all meet such friends in our own lives (and be as successful in business with them)!

-Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Katie Fforde for a reading copy in exchange for an honest review- Katie Fforde This book is so brilliant had me hooked straight away and didn't want it to end at all. Very well written with very realistic characters and the countryside sounds so idlic and full of friendship, romance, families and starting a new business with friends. Worth far more than five stars and very enjoyable read.
There are three woman Beth rachel and Lindy and they all live in a small Cotswold town and want to make something of their lives but how do they manage. They decide to set up a business organising wedding at affordable prices and using the village hall which needs work on it before they can start. Do they manage to make ago off the business and when all of them say they aren't interested in men will that soon change or not.
Great really highly recommend it. 9781780890838 Not a bad book, I just realized that not only was this really long, but a lot of things do not get resolved at the end of this. Which made me wonder if this had a sequel (it does not). Due to that, I gave it three stars.

A Vintage Wedding follows three women (Beth, Lindy, and Rachel) live in a small village that seems to be on its last gasp. There's not a lot of trade or new people moving there. When Rachel (one of the new arrivals) is roped into going to a hall meeting on what to do with the hall and if there was a way to use it to boost finances for the village. Rachel meets Beth (another new arrival) who is staying nearby at her sister's fiancée's family rental. Beth is young and doesn't know what she wants to do, but is running out of money and options. Lindy has two little boys and dreams of doing something bigger with her life. Getting married and divorced wasn't part of her plan. When the three women meet at the hall meeting and start to slowly know each other, they end up taking part in planning a wedding for a local woman. From there, their idea of Vintage Weddings takes shape.

I don't know about having a favorite character this time. I just genuinely enjoyed all of the characters. As I said above, this was a bit long to get through. Fforde tells each of these women's stories in a very concise way with a lot of development. Honestly it could have been broken up into 3 books. I liked two of the love interests, loathed one, and felt indifferent towards another (yes that's four men). The love interests honestly seemed secondary to things though and I wish that Fforde had handled dangling plot points.

For example, why did Rachel get divorced? I could guess, but it's never outright said. Lindy seems ambivalent about ever marrying again and getting her boys a stepfather and that carries throughout the book. Beth is....she wasn't bad, but I got exhausted by her the way she got exhausted by her mother and sister. I think she got way too overly involved with things with regards to one of the love interests and I felt annoyed about it.

The flow was good, the book goes back and forth between all three women really well.

The setting of the village sounds charming. But I honestly thought it was a bit weird there was a whole thing about raising money for the hall's roof and that just kind of died off. Also cleaning and redoing the hall kitchen. The whole thing was so weird. And there seemed to be a resurgence of business in the village, or about to be some.

Like I said, the ending was weird and it felt like this book was setting up a sequel. The three women only plan two weddings, so who would even consider that a great business at that point? Also the money discussed did not seem like a lot to be living on. Lindy for example seemed to be working 24/7 designing and redoing dresses and I totally blanked on other work that she did. It just seemed like a very odd stopping point. English