The Wedding Shop

This book got better and better as it progressed. At the beginning, I was a bit put off by how the story jumped from one person's viewpoint to anothet, and from three different time periods. Once the connections between the characters and y me periods were made, the story took off. The Wedding Shop is a story filled with love, trust in God, and faith in God's plan for us. If you struggle to keep going at the beginning, keep going! It is well worth it!

This is another great story by Rachel Hauck. We see the history behind the different owners of a bridal shop in Heart's Bend, Tennessee. Cora Scott inherited the shop from her great aunt in the early 1930's. Cora worked in the shop for her aunt so she had a working knowledge of how to run the shop. Her mother and a seamstress helped Cora out as she had customers visit from far away. She made appointments and served refreshments--all to make the bride and her mother feel special. The shop had a staircase that brides walked down in their gowns as though making their entrance on the day of their wedding. Cora fell in love with a riverboat captain who promised to come back for her soon. Birch Good loved Cora but he was just a friend to her. Her family and others told her the captain would never come back for her but she didn't believe them. Cora's life is long and filled with disappointment, rejection and yet happiness in spite of it all. She is strengthened by her faith to overall obstacles and have the forgiveness towards those who have disappointed her along the way. She is such a strong woman.Haley Morgan and her friend Tammy grew up playing in the closed shop. They promised each other that they would buy the shop one day and open it again as a bridal shop. But Haley joined the Air Force and pursued a career. After the death of Tammy, who was engaged to another hometown friend, Haley retires and moves home to open the shop to honor the plans that she and Tammy had made as children.There are so many details and depth in the stories of these two women who set out to live their dream of helping women find the perfect wedding gown and yet the story is about so much more. Many obstacles stand in the way for Haley. The shop is so old and needs so much work and money that she doesn't have. The man that she cared about growing up and who was engaged to Tammy is helping her since he is a contractor. Their relationship is strained in some ways because of their relationship with Tammy. Haley's mother is vehemently against her opening the shop. She has higher plans for Haley but this is Haley's life. As the story unfolds we see why she is so much against it and there is a thread running between the different women involved in the shop. Again, this is a story of forgiveness and letting the past go. It is also about how the shop meant so much to older women who live in Heart's Bend and got their wedding dress from Cora. They want it to be a success again.This story is in the same vein of The Wedding Dress, The Wedding Chapel and The Writing Desk as they tell the story of the lives of women from different timelines as only Rachel Hauck can tell. This is a wonderful, beautiful story that stays with you after the book in finished.

The Wedding Shop is Rachel Hauck’s most recent novel set in Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, and since I’ve read both of the others—The Wedding Dress and The Wedding Chapel—and absolutely loved each of them, I’ve been super excited for this book. Besides, I just knew that this sounded like an absolutely FANTASTIC story, so I preordered this just as soon as I had the chance. Just like I knew she would, Rachel wove together a wonderfully sweet story full of characters I absolutely fell in love with from the moment I met them. Rachel wrote a novel that was not only an adorable love story, but was also full of the sweet love of Jesus and the miracles He works in our lives each and every day, and that was what made this book all that much better.I connected with Haley Morgan almost immediately. As soon as I got to know her story better and I realized just how hard it was for her to forgive herself for her past, I couldn’t help but love her all the more, on top of feeling such an intense level of sympathy and compassion for her. I was taken with the idea of her opening the wedding shop from day one, and as I became aware of the parallels between her and Cora, I was even more positive that was exactly what Haley was supposed to do. The other thing I was positive about in regards to what was “meant-to-be” when it comes to Haley is Cole. Cole is absolutely one hundred percent fantastic, and I think he is absolutely perfect for Haley. Or he’s just perfect. Either way is fine with me.Cora Scott is also a fantastic character. Although I couldn’t understand her one bit with the whole Rufus business (I never would have hung on the way she did), I absolutely love all the work she does with her shop and for the brides who couldn’t afford all of the things they would like to have. And then there’s Birch. Oh my goodness, I loved him from the very start. I couldn’t imagine how she managed to put him off for so long, and for quite a while I wasn’t even sure everything was going to work out (keep in mind I’m not saying that it did either). Anyway, I absolutely loved Birch, because if Cole isn’t perfect, Birch most definitely was.All in all, I really, really, really loved this book and I already cannot wait to read it again. I’m planning on lending it to my best friend as soon as possible, and I know The Wedding Shop is a name that will be on my all-time favorites list from now on. I can’t imagine giving this book anything other than all five bookshelves, and I cannot wait to read more from Rachel because she is a wonderfully talented author.(This review is from my blog, spreadinghisgrace.blogspot.com)

Delivered on time and well packed but book not to my taste.

Love the story of this but really hard to read to read as the print is so small, will be looking to another copy with bigger print.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It is nostalgic, it is memorable, it has some very unusual plot curves in it, and some rather unbelievable scenes, e.g. the purple man, and the one dress fits all concepts, and 18 years of waiting for a 'Yes'.Did I enjoy reading it? Yes, I liked it, but was it amazing? I can't go so far as to say that. It takes the reader to different eras and different characters, but it didn't flow as smoothly as I would like, and I found I didn't get to know the characters as well as I would have liked.This was my first read by Rachel Hauck, although I did read some sample chapters of Memory House which had been loaded on my Kindle reader at time of receipt. I certainly would read more by this author.A quote from the book: “It’s the Lord’s way of showing you He loves you. Time to get off the bench of past mistakes and shame.” The book shows this quote well through-out the story lines.

This book is contains a dual storyline that weaves together in a way that is unexpected. There is the historical part of the story that takes place in the 1930's with Miss Cora trying to keep her Wedding Shop open during the great depression. Then the other part is set in the current period and focuses on Hailey who is trying to reopen the Wedding Shop after having been closed for more than 30 years. Story is told from various points of view, both the girls and some guys, I love getting multiple people's perspective. I feel it allows me to get to know the characters even better.Cora is so blinded by love for a riverboat captain she can't see a love that's right in front of her. Will she get a happily ever after? Will the Wedding Shop owner get to wear her own wedding dress?Even though Hailey has closed herself off to love she is determined to get the Wedding Shop open, but she facing challenges along the way that stand in the way of it happening. Can Hailey get the Shop open and will she find love in the process? I enjoyed how Ms. Hauck shared the message that Jesus is always there for us through everything, how he can take our baggage and turn it into something beautiful. I fell in love with all four main characters. Story had me experiencing a bunch of different emotions, crying at sad ones and aweing that the sweet moments. I was not expecting the two stories to weave together the way they did, it was a pleasant surprise. This book also incorporates details about two previous books, The Wedding Dress and The Wedding Chapel. This one can be read as a stand alone, but I would recommend reading the other two as well, as they are so worth it.

Can't praise this book enough. It refreshed my doul, with the miracles God pulls off to fulfill His calling Hayley to "step into" the shop and all it means. I love how all the pieces come together. Love the characters and their depth. Just all out love the whole book. Thanks. Made my day.