If you’re looking for the best fiction books about weddings and don’t know exactly which ones you “must” read, these are my top picks, all of which I highly recommend.
I usually like my list posts to be really comprehensive, but here, I haven’t read a lot of the books about weddings that are out there. However, upon looking through what I HAVE read, I realized that there are a few books about weddings that I absolutely LOVED, and it made me realize that a small, but very well-curated, list may have a bigger impact overall, as I can very genuinely and personally recommend all of these books as the best fiction books about weddings to you!
Best Fiction Books About Weddings
Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand
Best for fans of escapist beach reads
Beautiful Day is the Nantucket wedding-themed novel of queen of the beach reads, Elin Hilderbrand. While the Carmichael matriarch Beth was living her final days, she detailed instructions for young daughter Jenna’s wedding in a “Notebook.” (capital “N”)
Years later, she has passed away and Jenna is planning her Nantucket wedding in the backyard of the family home per her mother’s very specific wishes, sprinkled throughout the story.
Along the way, there are “outtakes” by the guests and all the “rich people” family drama that comes along with Elin Hilderbrand books (and weddings themselves!), to keep you entertained and wondering how (and if) the wedding will play out.
It’s an easy breezy (and fun!) read to escape with.
Related Posts: Elin Hilderbrand Books Rated | Elin Hilderbrand Book Guide
The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz
Best for fans of Hallmark movies
The Grace Kelly Dress is one of my favorite books about Grace Kelly. Three generations of women are inspired by one wedding dress worn by one American princess – Grace Kelly. It’s a satisfying, light read brimming with heart.
Each of these three women is uniquely tied to “the dress.” First, the seamstress: two years after Grace Kelly’s wedding, she designs a replica for a bride, as she begins to fall in love with the bride’s brother.
Second, there’s Raquel a/k/a “Rocky” — a modern, non-traditional bride who has unhappily inherited the wedding dress of her mother, Joan, who is the third woman in the book. Rocky is torn between whether to wear her mother’s dress or break her heart.
As the three women’s lives become further intertwined while Rocky’s wedding date approaches, the reader uncovers the love and heartbreak in the history of “the dress.”
This book celebrates both individuality and tradition, and I couldn’t recommend such a sweet story more highly.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Best for fans of thrillers
- New York Times bestseller
- One of the New York Times best thrillers of 2020
The Guest List is a “death at a wedding” thriller book that was one of Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks. It’s an Agatha Christie-style mystery, wherein someone is dead at a coastal wedding in Ireland, but the reader doesn’t learn who or why until the end.
Everyone is a suspect, and this one is both engrossing and suspenseful, as dark secrets are revealed.
It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark
Best for fans of Love Actually
An Entertainment Weekly Summer Reading pick
It Had to Be You intermixes the love stories of several members of a wedding planning group, along with their clients (and maybe even a guest or two) in a romantic comedic fashion. It begins at a wedding gone wrong, where a middle-aged Liv learns that her business partner (and husband) has abruptly died.
The kicker? He bequeathed his half of the business to his mistress. Savannah is young and full of Southern charm and, with Liv, they must start over in more ways than one.
As they plan several weddings, they and their entourage experience everything from second chances to secret romances and changes of heart… including some diverse storylines. It’s simply filled to the brim with both love and weddings.
Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Best for fans of historical fiction
Named one of InStyle‘s and PopSugar’s best books to put in your tote bag for the Summer
Meet Me in Monaco is another book about Grace Kelly — this time about her actual wedding. As Hollywood stars and paparazzi descend upon Cannes, France, actress Grace Kelly takes shelter away from British photographer, James Henderson, in Sophie Duval’s failing perfume shop. This single meeting forms bonds between Sophie and Grace, as well as Sophie and James, that span several decades.
The lives of these three characters continue to intertwine as Grace meets, becomes engaged to, and then marries Prince Rainier of Monaco in a grand royal wedding, to become Princess Grace of Monaco.
It’s a glamorous escape read with heart and hope, and also a few unexpected twists!
The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand
Best for fans of “rich people problems” and murder mysteries
New York Times bestseller
The Perfect Couple is one of my favorite Elin Hilderbrand books, as an avid reader of so many of her beachy novels. It’s another “death at a wedding” mystery that truly transports the reader to a Nantucket estate wedding week.
The reader must figure out whether the death was an accident or murder (and if so, whodunnit?). In the process, all of the characters’ secrets are revealed, making their glossy, privileged exteriors appear darker than at first glance. There’s SO much drama and intrigue!
As it turns out, the bride and groom at this wedding may not be the “perfect couple” after all, but this is still the “perfect” wedding mystery. While I very often correctly guess the ending of thrillers, I did *not* correctly guess this ending of The Perfect Couple, so it gets extra bonus points from me!
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
Best for fans of spicy romance novels
- New York Times bestseller
- TikTok sensation
If there’s one person Lina can’t stand, it’s her co-worker Aaron. But, when he’s her only option to bring to her sister’s wedding in Spain, where her ex will be with his fiance, she drags him along as her fake date and boyfriend.
There, she begins to see him in a new light, and things get very steamy. The problems are that this charade is all seemingly for pretend and that once they get back to New York, the reality is that he’s her new boss.
If you love slow burns and/or spicy enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, or workplace romance books, you’ll probably love this book as much as everyone else!
Related Post: The Spanish Love Deception Summary
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Best for fans of romantic comedies
- Instant New York Times bestseller
- Starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal
- Named a “Must-Read” by TODAY, Us Weekly, Bustle, BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, Southern Living, Book Riot, Woman’s Day, The Toronto Star, and more
The Unhoneymooners is one of my favorite love stories that will remind you of your favorite romantic comedy movies. Olive is the perpetually unlucky twin sister. Naturally, her sister, Ami, is about to have her dream wedding for free.
As Olive spends the wedding day with the unlikeable best man, Ethan, the remainder of the wedding party gets food poisoning, in a truly hilarious sequence of events. What remains from this disaster is an all-expenses-paid honeymoon that the happy couple is too sick to attend.
So, Olive and Ethan begrudgingly head for paradise with each other, and when Olive runs into her future boss, she tells a little white lie and desperately needs Ethan to be her newlywed. Their “fake” relationship starts to show them that the time they spend together isn’t all bad after all.
It’s a great choice for fans of The Spanish Love Deception.
Conclusion
Those are all my top picks for the best fiction books about weddings you’ll love.
If you are reading this post about the best fiction books about weddings because you are getting married, check out How To Write a Wedding Script next.
