As a soon-to-be Mother of the Groom (MOG), let me first say that the message was clear: my role is to "wear beige, stand back, and shut up"—unless, of course, a little scheming is called for.

This is a light, spice-free read told from the perspectives of both the MOB (Mother of the Bride) and MOG as they process the news of the engagement and are tasked with planning the wedding together, with a short timeline. Not an easy feat, given how different they are—Abigail envisions a classic wedding at her Connecticut waterfront home, hoping to make the society pages, while Alexa immediately dreams of a celebration in the California coastal town that evokes the feel of her Greek homeland. While the story focuses on the wedding preparations, it also delves into the personal dynamics and complexities of their relationships with family and friends.

About two-thirds of the way through, after an unexpected twist, the two mothers form an unlikely alliance. With the best of intentions, they join forces in a scheme to "save the wedding." With such a colorful cast of characters, I found myself wishing this dynamic had played a bigger role in the story.

Overall, it's a charming, feel-good read, perfect for anyone who enjoys a heartwarming story about family, relationships, and the chaos that comes with planning a wedding.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book and their story! It was so fun and a light read. I couldn’t put it down because I was very curious how it would all end.

This was a beautifully done romance novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the concept of this. The characters were everything that I wanted and enjoyed the element of this worked. Lian Dolan has a strong writing style and thought it worked well in this universe.

Fairly predictable but an enjoyable read.. Well written, great characters and well told. hanks for the opportunity to read this and much luck on publication.

High expectations for weddings is a pet peeve of mine, so this was right up my alley. Two mother in laws to be come together to help their kids put together the wedding of their dreams...but the ideas don't really mesh with the couple's dreams.

I loved the characters, and the plot is modern and fun.

The couple are both highly involved in their careers, so a lot of the planning goes to the moms, who both have very different ideas about how this will happen. The author didn't focus on the young couple, but gave us the middle aged women (facing the challenges that come with that, loss of money, fear of love, and where they will fit into the future picture."

Thank you to William Morrow and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

A delightful book about a big fancy wedding! Penny's mom, Alexa, is a successful travel guide in California, and Chase's mom Abigail is a rich housewife. Penny and Chase call to say they are engaged, and Alexa is shocked- a strong Greek woman, she doesn't see the point of the paperwork of a marriage. And Abigail isn't much better, as fortunes have been on a downturn for her husband as she holds it all together. Chase is the right hand man of the mayor of New York, both Chase and Penny's jobs are very important to them.

Planning a wedding and combining families is a common storyline, fighting between the couple and their mothers is practically a trope... but this book is such a refreshing take on it. The couple are very much supporting characters, we know them but they don't take the spotlight, this is like a romance novel where the love interests take a back seat. This is definitely Alexa and Abigail's story, of how they come together, overcome problems with their lives and the wedding planning, and really become amazing mothers to married adults. Interspersed within the narrative are bits of an advice column website to the "betrothed and beloveds" that is all about wedding planning etiquette, it is very funny, pokes fun at family dynamics and how stressful this can be.

I haven't been a bride in 20 years, and I won't be a "mother" to a bride or groom for probably 10 more years since I have teenagers. So for my own life, I am in that plateau of not attending any weddings for awhile. It was so much fun to jump back into that wedding planning world 20 years later, as so much has changed and yet so much remains the same. I absolutely requested this book because of the cover, my wedding had a lemons theme. I expected the book to be cute, fluffy beach read, and it definitely is, but I enjoyed it more than I thought. I would love to read a second book about Alexa and Abigail. They really put aside their own needs in order to make that transition into how your role changes as your adult child creates a new family of their own.