My rating: 4/5
Reading this story delightfully took me back to 10 years ago, as I was preparing to marry my husband. I can recall the numerous preparations and copious planning, but what I loved the most was searching for and finding my wedding dress. I immediately knew upon trying it on in the bridal shop, that it was the perfect one for me. The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck is an inspiring story of how one wedding dress played a significant role in the lives of four women, spanning 100 years. Integrated with themes of love, grief, forgiveness, and faith this is a uniquely profound and enjoyable tale that is impactful and intriguing.
“Sometimes luck put a man in the right place at the right time. Sometimes, a good friend. But more often than not, Daniel mused, it was the providence of God and His never-ending grace” (Daniel, The Wedding Dress).
The Wedding Dress is an intriguing novel whose main character, Charlotte Malone, is a wedding boutique owner who is begrudgingly maneuvering through her life grieving the loss of her mother, experiencing lack of family, and enduring a complicated relationship. An unexpected trip to an auction result in her purchasing a vintage trunk. Charlotte is unaware that the trunk contains a beautiful wedding gown. When Charlotte eventually discovers the dress inside, she realizes that although the trunk is from the 1900’s the dress looks brand new and unworn. A stream of discoveries uncovers astonishing mysteries and a fascinating history concerning the dress. Charlotte learns that the dress had three previous owners, who came to own the dress in an extraordinary manner. Upon her investigation of the previous owners as well as the intricate history of the dress, Charlotte acquires a newfound appreciation for true love, obtains familial bonds, and experiences a renewal of her faith.
Romans 8:28 KJV: And we know that all things work together for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
The Wedding Dress is a well written novel that is set in Birmingham, Alabama. The story is told with several points of view within intermittent time frames including 1912, 1939, 1968, and present day. The story is quite enthralling and the multiple characters and intermittent flashbacks to different decades are easy to follow. The author was brilliantly able to take a unique tale and integrate Christian faith aspects within the novel that was both inspiring and encouraging. The story emphasizes the perfect and blessed plans that Christ has for our lives, even in seemingly dismal situations. I wholeheartedly loved this story and I highly recommend this to others.
