I love hearing about people's weddings and engagements. My friend, Malena Lott, who has a super great book out, Something New, agreed to tell us about her wedding. She's also giving away an ebook of Something New to one lucky reader! Details about the giveaway at the end of this post.
Malena Lott is a den mom, a dance mom and the author of The Stork Reality, Fixer Upper, Dating da Vinci and the popular beach novellas Life's a Beach and The Last Resort and several published short stories. Read all about it at www.malenalott.com.
My wedding would not come close to a luxe wedding as featured in my
book, but it did have a touch of luxury thanks to one classy mother-in-law.
In my fourth novel, Something New, the youngest Apple, Gwen,
25, is one of three brides-to-be in a national wedding reality TV show called Luxe
Weddings. But what the country doesn't know is her affluent family in OKC
isn't nearly as wealthy as they seem, which makes pulling off a luxury wedding
nearly impossible. And Gwen has a bigger secret: she's 90,000 in debt, thanks
to a shopping and designer shoe addiction.
In 1994, I married my college sweetheart on a tight budget. I was
raised by my grandparents and we didn't have a “wedding savings account.” My
grandmother had passed away three years earlier and my grandfather was retired.
I had college debt (though nothing to the level of Gwen's crisis) and my
wedding was saved by the grace and good taste of my mother-in-law who offered
to do the rehearsal dinner at her house (which happened to be on the night of
OJ's slow car chase), and afternoon wedding (no need for a meal that way) and
my grandMIL paying for the reception at her country club and booking us a
limo. Even our honeymoon stay at the Waterford was a gift.
So every part of the "luxury" from the fresh flowers to
the gorgeous cake to the locale, was thanks to my mother-in-law Sheryl's
guidance and them assisting with financing it. (In which case you put both
parents name on the invitation.) I went wherever she suggested and it was great
fun to pick out together. She wasn't pushySince she has three sons, she
repeatedly thanked me for letting her be a part of it, but it was I who was
thankful.
I married in to a kind family and my MIL is the only mother I have.
I'm blessed.
The only mishap from my wedding day was that my dress' zipper broke.
Thank God my florist was able to fix it. I mean, who knew? That night we drank
champagne, ate pizza, and I jumped on the bed. We may have done something else
on the bed.
Were any part of your wedding, "Luxe"? I'd love to hear
it.
Enjoy a brief excerpt from Something New, where Gwen meets Ax, an
actor trying out for the role of “Pauper” dressed as a knight. These type of
scenes are called the “meet cute.” Copyright Malena Lott.
Truth be told, losing fifteen more
pounds seemed as likely as Cinderella’s godmother appearing to do the work for
me. But, hey, I’m the optimist in the family. Everybody says so.
I made my way through the dark storeroom, flicking on lights. The
buzzer rang again, this time, longer, ruder, more insistent.
“Coming!”
I punched the garage door opener and watched as the old, heavy
door lurched and squeaked upwards. His shoes appeared first, tall black riding
boots, stitched to below the knee. Next came black leggings over muscled
thighs, topped with a chain mail shirt and black scabbard that held what looked
like a real sword, clasped by a strong hand with shiny nails, while his other
fist jutted into his pinched waist. Didn’t our regular delivery guy have a beer
gut? Stork-thin legs?
I blinked my eyes twice and held my breath, wondering if I had
gone back in time. A medieval knight topped with an unforgettable face, wide
smile, triple dimples and blue eyes under dark eyelashes and crazy, loose curls
that fell chin-length. Golden brown skin, so beautiful he looked like he was
lit from within. Native American? Hispanic? Hell, he could've time-traveled
from ancient Rome for all I knew. His eyes held a mischievous glint that told me
he was trouble, uncaged and wild. I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. No
way this was real, yet for a split second, I was sure my knight in shining
armor had come to steal me away. My grandmother’s stories had gotten to me.
“May I help you?”
The stranger grabbed the top of the garage door as it stopped
above his shiny hair. His eyes swept over me as if he’d touched me everywhere
he looked. A slight shiver went through me despite the heat, and I wished I’d
rethought my Saturday ensemble.
About Something New:
What if you were sure you lived a different life?
Three generations of women. Four secrets. One
stage.
When matriarch Maeve Apple receives a letter in
the mail that Princess & the Pauper is being remade, she believes she's 25
again and ready to relive her stardom. Meanwhile, her daughter, Bess, is
dealing with Maeve's dementia, her own divorce and planning her youngest
daughter's wedding, on the Luxe Weddings reality show. Bess' eldest daughter,
Kelly, has a secret of her won that could threaten her chance at love again.
Curvy Gwen, the youngest, may be the star of Luxe Weddings, but she finds her
heart belongs on the stage, attracted by the lights and her co-star, as they
search for Maeve's long-lost pauper and the biggest secret of all.
TO WIN SOMETHING NEW (Ebook format), just leave a comment telling us about YOUR wedding ... or your dream wedding if you're still waiting on that day. Winner will be chosen by Random.org. Contest runs through November 25, 9:00 Oklahoma time.
