A Waterfront Wedding: a sweet small town romance

A Waterfront Wedding is the third book in the Heart’s Landing series by Leigh Duncan. Filling in for her cousin, Evelyn wants to make sure that the Captain’s Cottage stays the favorite place for weddings. Meanwhile, her childhood friend, Ryan Court has invested his life savings into remodeling the old boatworks into a brand-new wedding venue. As the Wedding in a Week contest is an all-expenses-paid event with just seven days to do it comes to Heart’s Landing. As the winners come to Heart’s Landing, it pits the Captain’s Cottage and the boatworks against each other. The two friends become rival business owners as they help the young bride and groom, Evelyn and Ryan learn how little they truly know each other. Will  their newfound relationship survive when only one can win? 

As published by Hallmark, A Waterfront Wedding reads like a Hallmark movie, no surprise. However, it is an enjoyable sweet romance. It’s more than a second chance romance, it is more a story of two people who crushed on each other and didn’t know about the mutual interest. While the winning venue was not a surprise, however, the end of the story was surprising and very sweet and romantic. I enjoyed Evelyn and Ryan and the slow realization that they are attracted to each other. Their relationship hits all the romance formula parts: the glances, the misunderstandings, to the great reconciliations and the grand romance gestures. If you enjoy Hallmark-style romances, I highly recommend A Waterfront Wedding. 

A Waterfront Wedding is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook

National First Love Day: who was our first love?

Today is National First Love Day! A first love is the first person you truly fell in love with. The first one that gave you the first “butterflies in the stomach” feeling. The first date. The first spark. The one you talked to day or night. It was the person who truly saw a future with. It is also the first and one of the hardest heartbreaks. For some, their first loves were many, many years ago. The person they look back on with bittersweet fondness. For others, they are still with their first loves. What is first love? Why should we celebrate those first loves? How can we celebrate? If you are with your first love or not, today is the day to celebrate that first love! 

According to George Bernard Shaw, “first love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity.”  A first love is more than a crush, more than an infatuation. A crush is usually a brief but intense infatuation for someone who is usually unattainable. A first love is different. A first love is usually someone’s first serious relationship. And for some, it is their first lesson in heartbreak. Maya Angelou describes the loss of a first love as “so painful that it borders on the ludicrous.” You never forget your first love as little things may come up that remind you of them. That song from high school on the radio takes you back to your first day with them or the first kiss with them. For some, the first loves are their only loves. It is estimated that 25% of marriages are with a first love. I know many who married, and are still married, to their first loves, including myself. 

Why celebrate National First Love Day? First, it is a trip down memory lane to the best of times. First loves are usually the beginning of new things, a rite of passage that often takes us across the bridge from childhood into adulthood. In Deana Carter’s song Strawberry Wine (1995), a woman looks back on the summer of her first love.: “I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child/When one restless summer we found love growing wild.” Second, first loves are often a lesson learned. For those whose first loves became their first heartbreak, it shapes and informs us for the next time we fall in love. Lastly, first love are memories and stories we can share. The experiences that make us who we are today, whether they were happy, sad or even funny, should be shared. They can inform others about what to look for in a relationship, what to avoid and what they could possibly have to look forward to. 

How do we celebrate National First Love Day? Here are a few suggestions. First, create a playlist or play a song that reminds you of your first love. For me, one song is the first song my husband and I danced to while we were dating, Bryan Adams’ 2002 song, Here I am. Whenever I hear it, I am taken back to that first dance. Second, go on a date. And if you can recreate your first date. Many first dates involve dinner and a movie. Go to the restaurant where you had dinner. Watch the movie you watched that night. Lastly, stay home and watch a romantic movie. There are a lot of choices when it comes to romantic movies. From rom-com to melodramas, there’s a movie for everyone. From the popular Love, Actually (2003) to the classic Ghost (1990) to my favorites The Wedding Singer (1998) and The Notebook (2004), there’s a movie for everyone. 

In conclusion, National First Love Day is a trip down memory lane. First loves are powerful and important experiences in our lives. They are usually marked with personal growth with significant impact on who we are. Some of us may move on to other loves but that first love is always present and special. They are important experiences in our lives. Others marry their first loves and some are even still married to them. Whether your first love is a distant memory or the love of your life, first loves should be celebrated. Celebrate every first in that relationship. The first date. The first kiss. The first “I love you”. And even the first break-up. The memory of a first love is something that time cannot take away.