Book Review: The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks

I am a huge fan of Nicholas Sparks. A Walk to Remember is the first book I read when I realized that I am quite old to be reading Sweet Valley High. During the earlier years of his career, my college BFFs and I would stay at National Bookstore for hours salivating over his books on the racks. When our wallets would allow it, we'd brag our newly-purchased, amoy-bagong-imprentang books. But later on, my fascination on his work took on a break as I learned to appreciate other authors as well. When he went to Manila to promote The Best of Me, my interest was suddenly awakened after its hibernation. And as a good follow-up, I got The Wedding as a farewell gift from my former officemates in Navitaire.


After reading it, I asked myself why I let this book slip under my radar. But I realized that the timing is just perfect. We're nearing  our first wedding anniversary and reading The Wedding brought back a lot of memories of our wedding preparations. My husband would find me laughing and talking to myself while I was reading the book because of the many coincidences with the book and our life as a couple. Just like us, one of the characters is supposedly getting married on the day of her parents' wedding anniversary. I also reminisced all our sleepless nights, fighting over the budget and even dealing with difficult people along the way. Of course it also reminded me how nice it feels to finally walk down the aisle and marry God's best. Even if I could, I wouldn't change a single thing about that day. And if I can just get married over and over again, I'll gladly do so. Pero siyemre, same groom! *wink wink*

Some people think that because we're still on the honeymoon stage, everything in our married life is just a walk in the park (with matching flowers, butterflies and love songs on the background). More than my lack of sleep because of his snoring at night and my habit of unconsciously kicking him out of the bed while I’m sleeping combined with the constant fighting over who between him and Xiam Lim is more handsome, we also deal with serious issues that other married couples have to deal with. And reading The Wedding became a reminder that marriage is a work in progress. Although I’m married to a sweet and loving man, we sometimes argue about why he isn’t as expressive and romantic as I hope him to be. The book tells about how important it is for husbands to never stop courting their wives. Even if you know deep in your heart that you love your spouse, you must find ways to express it to keep the intimacy within your marriage.

If you are tying the knot, I highly suggest you read this book. Para alam nyo kung anong pinapasok nyo! Akala nyo puro pabonggahan ng kasal lang ang buhay?! After the wedding, you have to deal with the thing called M-A-R-R-I-A-G-E. If you're married, especially if you're having difficulties expressing what you feel to your spouse, this book will surely enlighten you.

All of my Nicholas Sparks favorites are the tragic ones so The Wedding is the first feel-good Nicholas Sparks book on my list.