Guest Post - Extreme Celebrity Weddings by Wendy Holden - Blog Tour

Is there anything better than a really fabulously over-the-top celebrity wedding? I don’t think so, which is why I’ve written a novel about them. Laura Lake And The Hipster Weddings is a riff on the phenomenon of elaborately over-styled nuptials, from boho-chic woodland affairs with guests on haybales to castles, tiaras and ancestral carriages, or arty extravaganzas in Victorian loos in Shoreditch.

Writing it, I was inspired by a number of recent real-life unions of famousness. The twenty first century has marked a new high in hedonistic high jinks on a marital theme and long may this continue! Here are my top five.

5. The bohotastic Charlie Gilmour nuptials when the bride and groom (stepson of Pink Floyd star Dave), wearing only the flowers in their hair, jumped starkers into a Sussex river in 2016 to join guests already in there.

4. Tamara Ecclestone and Jay Rutland Billionaire Bernie’s little girl Tamara made it legal in a lavish three day 2013 French Riviera extravaganza. Brandishing a champagne flute and wearing three separate white outfits over the course of the celebrations, Tamara danced on the beach with a groom resplendent in white shorts and blue deck shoes. A banging post-wedding beach set was provided by superstar DJ Mark Ronson, while wedding singers were Elton John, Mariah Carey and Lionel Richie. Lionel dedicated Endless Love to the couple, although it might as well have been Endless Money.

3. Bo Bruce’s cosmic Celtic handfasting in Savernake Forest. Under a mighty oak called The King of Limbs, and watched by guests sitting on haybales and conveyed into the depths of the forest by tractor, The Voice star wed her best friend/bandmate/ Henry (the groom wore no socks) in a 2016 ceremony involving their hands being bound together with ribbons. The magical nuptials were full of creative touches; besides poetry readings there was an acoustic performance by Red Sky July, a trio including someone called Charity Hair.

2: Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo. An intimate 2013 ceremony in the stunningly understated location that is Monaco. The sunglasses-sporting groom’s arrival in an army jeep kicked off three days of celebrations including a party on Princess Caroline’s yacht. To wed the second in line to Monaco’s throne, Colombian billionaire’s daughter Tatiana sported her signature laid-back hippie-chic style; a bespoke crochet gown by Missoni and a simple wreath of flowers on hair styled in flowing waves. The couple’s Boston terrier dog Daphne was in attendance.

1: Will and Kate The splendid 2011 Westminster Abbey bash with Prince William and his brother showcasing splendid red uniforms and Pippa Middleton showcasing her famous bottom has yet to be equalled for sheer showbiz glamour. The cartwheeling verger, Princess Beatrice’s alien hat, the real trees in the cathedral aisle and David Beckham actually wearing his OBE are only some of the details that linger in the memory. Can Prince Harry’s rumoured forthcoming nuptials knock it off the number one spot?

Laura Lake And The Hipster Wedding by Wendy Holden, published in hardback and ebook by Head of Zeus

Thanks so much Wendy for these great examples of extreme weddings. For more amusing weddings, take a look at Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings which I loved.

Amazon UK

She'll need a triple-barrelled name for the castle one. She'll need a gallon of glitter for the woodland one. She'll need a lobster-shaped hat for the Shoreditch one.

Laura Lake longs to be a journalist. Instead she's an unpaid intern at a glossy magazine – sleeping in the fashion cupboard and living on canapés. But she's just got her first big break: infiltrate three society weddings and write a juicy exposé.

Security will be tighter than a bodycon dress, but how hard can it be? Cue disappearing brides, demanding socialites – and a jealous office enemy who will do anything to bring her down...

Win free signed copies of Laura Lake And The Hipster Weddings by sharing your own hilarious wedding stories with me! I can't wait to read them! They might even inspire another novel! Please go to https://goo.gl/forms/xYaoaGCgxPpNR23g1  Thank you.  Love Wendy xx

Book Review - Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings by Wendy Holden - Fab Firsts

Fab Firsts is my new regular Sunday feature, that is going to be highlighting books that are firsts. When interviewing authors, it will be about their first book, as well as other firsts in their lives. When reviewing books for this feature, there will be a mix of debuts, first books in a series, the first time I read an author, and possibly other firsts depending on what I can think of!

If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to you.

I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts, while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs which are my current main focus!

Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings is the first in a new series by Wendy Holden, and also Wendy's first book for new publisher Head of Zeus. 

Amazon UK

Title: Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings

Author: Wendy Holden

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Head of Zeus

Publication Date: 9th March

Rating: 5 Stars

She'll need a triple-barrelled name for the castle one. She'll need a gallon of glitter for the woodland one. She'll need a lobster-shaped hat for the Shoreditch one.

Laura Lake longs to be a journalist. Instead she's an unpaid intern at a glossy magazine – sleeping in the fashion cupboard and living on canapés. But she's just got her first big break: infiltrate three society weddings and write a juicy exposé.

Security will be tighter than a bodycon dress, but how hard can it be? Cue disappearing brides, demanding socialites – and a jealous office enemy who will do anything to bring her down...

Such an incredibly entertaining story, that had me loving every second of the book. One of the things that struck me most was the incredible amount of imagination Wendy Holden used in naming some of her characters, the majority of them have at the very least surnames that are rather clever, and the others have some quite different first names to the normal ones you see in most books. 

The book isn't just full of imaginative names, but the three weddings that are featured, plus the art installation at the beginning are all very creative, and just so different. Laura Lake as the assignment of a lifetime when she is given the chance to write about the new trends of hipster weddings for Society magazine. 

She needs to somehow infiltrate each wedding to try and get the best accounts, and in doing so manages to have run ins with an old nemesis from her school days. There is the wedding that has easily the most unusual location I've ever seen for any sort of function, there is the one that involves a hand fasting ceremony and a lake and the other in theory is more traditional but what a creepy location. 

We first meet Laura when she is living in Paris and being part of an art installation to earn extra money, along with Caspar. From the early chapters we get a great idea of what Laura's grandmother Mimi is like, full of advice on how to be a Parisenne lady. So its a a wrench for Laura to take up a job offer in London. 

What you soon realise with this book is nothing ever goes according to plan, and that Laura has a lot more guile and cunning than it first appears, as she gets herself in a whole variety of situations. In places you do have to suspend your grip on reality and accept there is definitely some artistic licence being used, but that just added to the fun of the book for me. 

I can already see the start of potential story arcs for future books in this series, specifically around Laura Lake's parents, as it would be lovely to learn more about her background. 

Laura Lake and the Hipster Weddings has a fresh new main character and is the start of what promises to be a fabulous series. It feels a bit different to other books by the author, but still is very easy to read and I loved  it all. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for this copy of the book which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.