The fictional Bridesmaids Union was created as a private Facebook Group by Iris to chat with other like-minded, taken-for-granted, disgruntled bridesmaids as they spent money they didn't have, made plans they didn't want and went out of their way for the bridezillas in their lives. Iris was a over-achiever in the bridesmaid category, serving as a trustworthy maid to many ungrateful friends and now for her sister Jasmine, the youngest sister and parents' favorite. Elder sister, Rose, known for her smarts and fuller figure, but not her attractiveness or style, moved to Florida for her career and as a bonus, avoids the family drama. Rose is by far the most likable character in this book and I wish more of the focus of the story had been about her background and life experiences. Jasmine seems to have a heart underneath all of her Instagram filters and beauty armor, but it is waaaayyy deep down. Iris is frustratingly a door-mat, agreeing to whatever popular person is in her life that she wants to impress. As the story progresses, she does a bit too, but it is a very SLOOOOW progression. Their parents are very conservative Christian, always commenting on how they need to get good men in their lives, go to church and not embarrass the family. Mother Connie, especially is harsh, as she monitors her daughters' appearance, beauty, style and weight. It is mentioned many times in the book that Iris ("a size 8" which is very slender!) needs to loose weight. I would understand if this were just coming from her judgmental mother, but it seemed to pop up everywhere. Her sister Jasmine ("a size 2") was deemed PERFECT throughout the book. Rose is only distinguished (and not in an admirable way!) by her intellect and derided for her healthy appetite and fuller figure. This was truly unfortunate as this just adds to everything women see, hear, read that says their body size determines their worthiness. There was political discussion, especially concerning her conservative parents, but it would have been more meaningful had it been in some context (voting rights? racism? LGBT family?) instead of just randomly popping up to remind readers how their views differed from Iris. It would have been great for the parents to have a breakthrough about how their often hurtful comments affected those around them. The Bridesmaids Union was joined by Kyle, a gay man who was going to be in his former boyfriend's wedding party but wanted to win his ex back before the wedding. Kyle was interesting and funny but I really would have enjoyed it more had Kyle had his OWN story (the way the book played out could have been triggered by some other means) and Iris have hers as they really didn't mesh well and it was distracting from the main story (more time could have focused on the main characters). Kyle had a big enough character--funny, charismatic, engaging, to be the star of his own story. This was an enjoyable read--great for summer!

Single mom Iris works in a job that she hates and is in credit card debt up to her neck because of all of the over the top weddings that she's been in. In a fit of rage after feeling completely unappreciated, she starts a private Facebook group to complain about bridezillas. As you can imagine, the group is not really as private as she'd like it to be and you can see the train wreck coming. Everyone is crazy in this story in different ways and there are times that Iris is kind of unlikable. Regardless, I found the story readable and relatable. Triggering for those like me that get short of breath reading of credit card debt! Also may be triggering for Trump voters as Iris has a tendency to put her family and friends in buckets-those that voted for Biden or Hillary and those who voted for Trump.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.

When Iris Hagarty gets frustrated from yet another bride making unreasonable demands on her bridesmaids, she reaches out for support. She sets up a Facebook group called The Bridesmaids Union to air her grievances and find support from other women who have a closet filled with dresses that can never be worn again and credit card bills from trips and gifts and shoes. It’s a private group, so she has control over who sees what, making sure that the overall feel of the group is uplifting.

It helps her to have the group as an outlet, since so much of her life is given over to being a single mom to a young son, working as a compliance administrator in a local hospital, and disappointing her overbearing religious parents. She has two sisters. Rose is the oldest, and she lives in Florida and rarely comes back to New Jersey. And her younger sister Jasmine has been distant ever since Iris had canceled her wedding, right before she found out she was pregnant.

But now everything is different. Iris is a perennial bridesmaid, and Jasmine is getting married. Jasmine invites Iris over, with two of her best friends, so that Jasmine can officially invite them to be her bridesmaids. It’s there that Iris learns that her baby sister is an Instagram influencer and her pet shoe business is really taking off, since a key celebrity has taken notice of her adorable pet heels and placed an order. Her husband-to-be is a tech genius who sold his company in his 20s for millions and is starting another company.

Iris “wins” the opportunity to be Jasmine’s maid of honor, but as the weeks of wedding planning go on, the wedding grows from a small private party into a big, expensive, showy extravaganza with a goat as a ring bearer. And as the wedding gets bigger and wilder, Jasmine and her demands get crazier. Iris goes online to keep her Bridesmaid Union friends appraised of it all, but when another admin takes the group public, everything blows up in Iris’s face.

When Iris is faced with her own bad behavior online, will she finally find her voice in the real world, or will she choose to keep her mouth shut and keep airing her grievances online?

The Bridesmaid Union is a funny, understanding, warm story of finding your voice and taking responsibility for what you’re feeling. Author Jonathan Vatner gets in the head of bridesmaids and into the heart of sisters with intelligence, compassion, and plenty of drama.

I got completely swept up in The Bridesmaids Union and enjoyed all the ups and downs. But what surprised me most was how much Vatner packed into this one novel. This would be an ideal book for book clubs because it has the potential to spark conversations about family, religion, politics, weddings, Facebook, privacy, parenting, dating, ugly dresses, influencers, feminism, art, and sisterhood. This novel has so much going on that you can use it as a jumping off point for a multitude of discussions, or just for a wine-enhanced comparison of bridezillas you’ve known, if that’s what your book club is into.

Egalleys for The Bridesmaids Union were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I loved some elements about this book, particularly the heroine finding her voice, yet I honestly found the way most of it is told was a bit of a slog to get through. I don't even know for sure if it was the constant downer reminder of the state of politics or just me not being a fan of Vatner's writing style, I just know that it was not a story that I particularly enjoyed following. Leading lady Iris is definitely an interesting character and the situations she finds herself in are also definitely interesting, there's just a missing spark in the telling of those interesting elements that I could never quite connect to.
It's definitely not a romance, but it's not a serious drama either. I honestly can't decide what I'd categorize it as because it has elements of both without fully committing to either. It's not a bad book and I don't regret reading it, it's just not one I would go out of my way to recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the read!

The Bridesmaids Union is a fun summer read for all people who have encountered a Bridezilla in their lifetime.

Iris has a lot of friends getting married, and she has been a bridesmaid in quite a few weddings. And every time, it seems the bride has a break from reality and requires something crazy from her bridesmaids. Anyone who reads Reddit or surfs social media knows the horror stories - brides who asked (former) friends to dye their hair so every bridesmaid has the exact same shade of blond (even the brunettes and redheads); bridesmaids who had to spend thousands on gowns, accessories, and travel, only to be asked to throw elaborate parties as well and give extravagant gifts to the happy couple; brides who never acknowledge all of the hard work her bridesmaids do leading up to and on the wedding day to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

Iris is tired of it, and, after another bride not acknowledging how she'd saved the day, she complains on a post on Reddit. It gets so much attention, she posts more, and eventually begins a private Facebook group called The Bridesmaid Union, where women (and men) can vent about crazy weddings and friends, and support each other through the trials of being a bridesmaid or bridesman.

The Bridesmaid Union is a success, and Iris uses it as a sounding board as she is a bridesmaid once again, this time for her younger sister, Jasmine. She and Jasmine used to be close, but haven't been in recent years. But Jasmine wants her to be the Maid of Honor, and Iris agrees, knowing that this will be difficult. Jasmine has expensive taste, and Iris is barely hanging on financially. She has a 5-year-old son, Mason, who she is raising alone. Her former fiance left her, and never knew he fathered a child. Her family helps (but not without strings) so Iris tries to do as much as she can on her own.

There are many funny moments that women who have been bridesmaids will definitely identify with, as well as moments when your heart goes out to Iris as she tries to handle parenthood, sexual harassment at work, demanding family members, and reaching out to her former fiance, as her son keeps asking about his dad.

Of course, things go wrong (sometimes very wrong) as her sister's wedding approaches. Can Iris pull it together and make things right for her sister, and for herself?

This is more meaty than some summer reads, but for me, that made it a much more enjoyable book. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Bridesmaids Union was generally enjoyable fluff. Iris was annoyingly spineless for the first 95% of the book. She may possibly be growing a backbone at the very end, but that was the whole source of the drama so I couldn't expect her to just get her shit together 25 pages in.

I was not a fan of this one. I wanted to like it cause I was intrigued by the synopsis but I couldn’t stand the MC Iris and not being able to connect with a character especially in a book like this is really hard.

I did enjoy the the inclusion of the text messages/dms/Facebook posts and that the story was on the shorter side. But like I said I just had a really hard time connecting with Iris. She had a constant need to “beat a dead horse” about quite a few things and her relationship with her parents and younger sister was way more than dysfunctional. Her sister really was a difficult bride and was quite selfish in her actions towards others.

Just a thought. The need to have a healthy venting outlet is important and in some cases a post on the internet might not be the best place depending on the topic.


Thank you @netgalley and publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I love Bridezilla books! Iris is a wedding planner who is fed up with whiny brides. She creates an online site for others to add their stories. Her sister becomes engaged and asks Iris to be her MOH.
Thankfully, Iris has an outlet for her frustrations with her sister. Through this she becomes more interested than she should in the groom to be, and finds her sister may not be marrying for the right reasons.
A really fun book, right in time for wedding season!!
Thank you NetGalley for providing this copy. The opinion in this review is solely my own.

The Bridesmaids Union by Jonathan Vatner had promise when I read the synopsis. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but I was extremely intrigued by the idea of Iris Hagarty and the group she creates called The Bridesmaid Union on Facebook. It is a place created for bridesmaids to vent about issues they’ve seen with weddings they are involved in. The story devolves from there unfortunately. The premise was great and overall I was intrigued enough to finish reading the book, but I was hoping for a little more drama and a few more likeable characters. I thought I had a few of the plot lines figured out to where the twist would happen, but there was no twist. I do wish there was a bit more to the story and felt as though there were a few things that I was left questioning.
Overall, I would say two and a half stars rounded up to three.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really really loved the concept behind this one but overall the writing didn't do it for me. As someone who has been in a lot of weddings and is planning their own, I had really high hopes for the book and was expecting to commiserate with the bridesmaids a lot more. I really did enjoy the use of the facebook feeds, including that media usage did make it feel more "real" with the stories!

I suppose there was a lesson in this book for all of us: be careful what you post on Facebook, and be careful of those nude pictures someone else has control over. It was pretty hard to find any other redeeming quality to this book. I found it especially difficult to like any of the main characters.

This is such an amazing read. Strong characters, great plot, and good pacing. I enjoyed this very much and would definitely recommend to anyone!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Bridesmaid Union is a roller coaster read. Iris, after being a habitual bridesmaid, creates an online venue to vent her frustrations. It quickly takes off, but boy does she make many poor decisions. I was waiting for the fallout and when it occurred, man, was it worse than I thought, a total catastrophe.
I thought Jasmine was exhausting and totally self absorbed. I won’t share my thoughts on Mason’s biting episodes.
I had sympathy for Iris, but a lot of her problems, she brought on herself. I didn’t really care for her.
My two favorites were Electra and the baby goat.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions and views expressed are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

I love a good wedding book and this is one of those books! The story was so fun and engaging. Jonathan Vatner does a fantastic job of writing a compelling novel that kept me engaged from the very beginning. Would recommend this book to anyone who loves a fun wedding story!

I loved this novel! Iris was witty and flawed, but I found myself liking her even though at first I thought she was just an unhappy woman. I could totally relate to her annoyance with some of the bridesmaid hoops she had to go through.

So going into this book I was under the impression that this was going to mostly be a fun comedy about a woman that has let one too many bitchy brides take over her life and starts a private facebook group to get some support from other women. While that was a portion of the book, most of what I was reading was a family drama that for a lot of the book just made me feel kind of bummed. Throughout the entire book I constantly felt like I had no one to really root for. While the mc Iris was likable for the most part, a lot of the time I didn’t feel a connection to her and I really disliked her family, except for her oldest sister Rose, who just didn’t involve herself at all in the family drama. What I enjoyed most about Iris was her connection with her son. I thought her relationship with Mason was very sweet and I thought the reconnection with Mason’s father was handled really well. Honestly, I felt like this book was a way for the author to push their political agenda and warn about the potential dangers of using social media. Those things would have been fine if it had blended into the story better and I didn’t feel like those issues were at the forefront of the novel and over taking the story. I will say that I was able to easily finish this book and my absolute favorite scene was the one with all the delicious sounding muffins. I think if I had gone into it expecting a family drama rather than a comedy I might have enjoyed it more. I want to thank netgalley and St. Martin’s press for this arc!

This book is well written and raises a number of really interesting concepts. The problem is, I just did not like any of the characters. The main character, Iris, is a single mom with zero backbone. She has almost bankrupted herself going to destination bachelorette parties and buying bridesmaid's dresses. She's got a skeevy boss who sexually harasses her constantly, but she never stands up to him because she feels nothing will happen. Her son's father doesn't know the kid exists because Iris once again didn't want a confrontation. Her parents, evangelical Christians, constantly berate Iris and demean her choices. The oldest sister, Rose, has all but estranged herself from the family. The main plot of the story revolves around Iris' very spoiled younger sister, Jasmine's engagement, Once again Iris' credit card is put to the test. Jasmine is a bridezilla to the nth degree and yet again, Iris doesn't stand up to her. Instead, she starts a Facebook group, The Bridesmaid Union, to lament her bridesmaiding woes.

In the meantime, she's looking for companionship and meets Cristoff, a photographer, via Bumbl. Cristoff is a photographer, specializing in nudes. He manipulates her into posing nude for him, assuring her that he will not release the photo and will only sell one print of it. Eventually, everything blows up in Iris' face.

The resolution of the story was less than satisfying. Once again, Jasmine got what she wanted. Iris didn't stand up to her. Her parents were slightly less critical, but just barely. The only positive was a better relationship with Rose, the eldest sister.

There are a number of other sub-threads. There's Kyle Kyle, a very dramatic social influencer who befriends Iris through the Facebook group. Iris reconnects with her son's father.

I know that every book doesn't have to have a "happily ever after". However, I do like to see some character growth. I just didn't see it here. Iris lets things happen to her and doesn't ever go after what she actually wants.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up

Overall, I liked the concept, but there were parts that dragged a bit. I absolutely hated Iris’ family, except for Rose. I would have loved to see more of her. I’m not sure how I feel about the ending…it fit with the book but I don’t feel some of the characters deserved the ending they got.

There’s a lot more I can say about the book but I don’t want any spoilers here so I’ll save the deep dive for my blog post after I’ve had a chance to fully absorb the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

4.5⭐️

Thank you to St Martin’s Press, Jonathan Vatner, and NetGalley for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was not too sure where this book was going to go, but WOW did I find myself hooked! It was such a disastrous, all over the place, filled with many different kinds of characters and I loved it lol. I could picture this story as someone’s actual life story. Being a bridesmaid is not an easy thing (I have been lucky enough to be in this role three times and not once did I deal with a bridezilla!), and I can understand the frustration women experience in the increasingly demanding expectations in this modern day.

I really like the character of Iris. I find her easy to like and sympathize with as she is just a normal, struggling person who is just trying to find love and get by. She needs to figure out how to stand her ground and speak her mind a bit more, but hey, she’s a work in progress. There is one romantic path I would have loved to see pursued (no spoilers here!), so in my imagination things turned out a bit differently at the end.

I encourage you to add this story to your TBR and give it a try!!!!

The Bridesmaids Union by Jonathan Vatner is a well-written, fast-paced read that is filled with family drama. Once I started reading, I could not put this one down.