A Romantic Comedy about Death and Second Chances
30-year-old Nashvillian, Julia Holmes is just weeks away from becoming Mrs. Aaron DeMinthe. For as long as she can remember she’s dreamed of getting married at Whitfield Chapel and now her dreams are about to be realised.
Julia has meticulously planned every detail of her big day from the flowers to her gown but the one thing she didn’t plan for is Aaron’s announcement: he needs to tick something off his bucket list before they tie the knot and that something is to hike the last leg of the Appalachian Trail; a project several years in the making. Julia is appalled by this idea and tries to dissuade him from going but his mind is made up and so, she reluctantly gives him her blessing.
Less than 48 hours later, as he summits Mt, Katahdin, the last mountain of the trek, he’s struck by lightning and killed, effectively kicking the bucket while ticking something off his bucket list. Julia is grief stricken and inconsolable and despite the fact that she’s surrounded by her best gal pals, her parents and Lincoln Douglas, who was on Mt, Katahdin with Aaron when he died, she loses her grip on reality and quickly starts unravelling at the seams.
Returning to Whitfield in search of closure she happens upon the Chapel’s Wedding Director who offhandedly mentions that they’re looking for a Weekend Wedding Assistant and before she can even think about it she takes the job. As she ushers four brides a weekend down the aisle she was supposed to walk down herself, Julia tries to understand why she said I Do to a job she never set out to get, in a place she’d only meant to occupy for an afternoon and wonders if she’ll ever find true love again.
‘Rachel Gladstone’s sad, funny, redemptive story will strike a chord with anyone who’s loved and lost-and gotten back up on their feet again. This is a blueprint - wise and knowing - for recovery and renewal. Brava!’ - Ken Burns, Filmmaker
‘The Weekend Wedding Assistant is a story about figuring out who to become once you’re outside of defining relationships…It’s an uplifting message that never grows old.’ - Foreword Reviews
‘Rachel Gladstone’s The Weekend Wedding Assistant is a fast moving and highly entertaining story about death, love, passion and all the sorrows and hopes that living brings. Wonderful, exuberant, real. A great weekend read! I’m looking forward to a film adaptation!’ - Lucinda Williams, Grammy Award-winning artist
‘Rachel Gladstone’s The Weekend Wedding Assistant is the comical, captivating and cinematic tale of a woman who loses her fiance, then finds herself. Unpredictable, utterly entertaining and brimming with wisdom, this heart-grabbing novel is the beach read that’s never out of season.’ - Jennie Fields, author of Age of Desire
