I do.

One of my close friends is engaged and has asked me to be her Chief Bridesmaid. I must admit that I'm not normally a wedding person, but now that she has set a provisional date I'm starting to feel quite excited.
To celebrate, here are some of my favourite fictional weddings:


1. A Wedding in December, Anita Shreve (2005)

At an inn in the Berkshire Mountains, seven former schoolmates gather to celebrate a wedding--a reunion that becomes the occasion of astonishing revelations as the friends collectively recall a long-ago night that indelibly marked each of their lives.

Anita Shreve is an incredible storyteller. 'A wedding in December' artfully weaves together the stories of the seven ex-schoolfriends to tell one powerful story, whilst also telling a story within a story.

"It was crap that confessing a thing relieved one of guilt, Harrison thought. How convenient to think so, how utterly deluding. Confessing a thing, he knew now, made the thing more real."


2. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (1861)

Humble, orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the dirty work of the forge but dares to dream of becoming a gentleman — and one day, under sudden and enigmatic circumstances, he finds himself in possession of "great expectations".

Ok, so there isn't technically a wedding (that's the whole point), but Miss Havisham, one of my all-time favourite characters, is just too gorgeous a character for this novel not to make the list. I paticularly love Carol Ann Duffy's representation of her in the poem 'Havisham'.

"I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes. I saw that the dress had been put upon the rounded figure of a young woman, and that the figure upon which it now hung loose had shrunk to skin and bone."


3. Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare (1612)

Claudio and Hero are engaged to be married, but Don John, the illegitimate brother of Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon, plots to ruin their happiness. Meanwhile, Hero and Don Pedro, convinced that old enemies Benedick and Beatrice are ideal partners conspire to get them together.

'Much ado about nothing' is (so far) my favourite of Shakespeare's plays, purely because of Benedick and Beatrice and the sass they bring to this comedy. This line is a particular gem: “I can see he's not in your good books,' said the messenger. 'No, and if he were I would burn my library.”

"When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married."


4. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (1847)

Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage.

I love Jane Eyre, the eponymous protagonist, for her wit, intelligence, and fiery spirit. She knows her own mind and is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. And how could I resist missing their fictional wedding off this list, with its infamous "ipediment"?

"The marriage cannot go on: I declare the existence of an impediment."


5. The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde (1898)

Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gewndolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily.

I must confess to be an enormous Oscar Wilde fan, and 'The importance of being Earnest' is one of my favourite plays. I would highly recommend this "trivial comedy for serious people" if you haven't read it yet, if only for the inordinate number of epigrams.

"Long engagements give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which is never advisable."


What are some of your favourite weddings from literature?