Olivia's Thoughts

About Weddings

Every now and then we read in the papers that marriage is going out of fashion and that half the couples who do marry, end up divorcing anyway. And then we read that people are still falling over themselves to have their big, special romantic day. I did it, most of my friends did it or are planning to do it, and none of us ever believe there will be anything other than a Happy Ever After outcome when we walk down that aisle and make those vows, no matter what the statistics say!

Isn’t it just this – the triumph of love and hope over the cynicism and pessimism of today’s society – that makes us so happy to stand up there in front of all our friends and family and make those really very scary promises with such boldness? Call me a romantic fool, but personally I think it’s brilliant that people are still wanting to prove the cynics wrong, still eager to make their commitment to each other public and legal, and believe it’s going to last for ever!

About Friendships

 Tales From A Wedding Day is very much a story about friendship – about friends who are there for each other, and about friends who let each other down. But it’s also very much a story about forgiveness.

How difficult is it to forgive a friend who hurts you? Easier than forgiving a stranger? Or more difficult? When we call someone a friend, we open ourselves up to them in a way that makes us more vulnerable than we are with everyone else. We trust them – and what if that trust is betrayed? Does the special bond of friendship mean we can get over the hurt and forgive them? Or does it mean we reject them forever because the betrayal is so deeply felt? These are the issues faced by Abbie in Tales From A Wedding Day. Read the book to see how they are resolved!

About Hen Weekends

 Maybe you’ve found your way to this site because you’re planning your own hen weekend – or the hen weekend of your sister or best friend. If so, you’ll have already discovered that you only have to put hen weekend into Google to see that the traditional ‘girls’ night out’ has not only turned into a weekend, or in some cases a week or even longer – but it’s become big business.

Expenditure on their hen and stag weekends is one of the issues confronting Katie and Matt in Tales From A Hen Weekend. Katie takes her group from Essex to Dublin for a long weekend. Whilst that wouldn’t have been exactly cheap, it’s certainly a long way from the expensive trips planned by some brides-to-be. Week-long jaunts to Spain or the South of France don’t seem to be unusual these days, and I’ve even heard of hen or stag parties going to New York, and to the Caribbean…

Of course, every girl wants to spend time with their favourite females just before their wedding, have a few drinks and a lot of laughs but is it really necessary to bankrupt ourselves in the process – especially when most couples are also planning something special for the honeymoon, to say nothing of the expense of the wedding itself, and the ongoing cost of buying or renting a home? If the current trend continues, with hen parties going higher and higher upmarket, the inevitable risk might be that the bride won’t have anyone who can afford to go with her!

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