Name: The Wedding People
Author: Alison Espach

The Wedding People by Alison Espach is a compelling mid-life drama that balances dark comedic farce with shovel loads of depth and wisdom. Read my full review.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach Book Review The Wedding People by Alison Espach: A sage dark comedy

Publication: Hachette Australia, Paperback July 2025

Genre: Drama, Literature, Romance

The Wedding People Publisher Synopsis

The smash-hit Read With Jenna pick that has sold over a million copies worldwide, a hilarious and heartbreaking novel about a woman who checks in to a glamorous hotel at the lowest point in her life, only to find herself swept into a stranger’s wedding and forever changed by her entanglement in their dysfunctional family.

Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people – but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall Inn who isn’t here for the big event.

When the bride discovers her elaborate destination wedding could be ruined by a divorced and depressed stranger, she is furious. She has spent months accounting for every detail and every possible disaster – except for, well, Phoebe . . . Soon, both women find their best-laid plans derailed and an unlikely confidante in one another.

Hilarious and moving, The Wedding People is an irresistible novel about love, friendship, dysfunctional families, and the unexpected paths that lead to happiness.

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My Review

The Wedding People, Alison Espach’s third novel, would be considered her breakout title. It captured my attention on its 2024 release and has been on my TBR pile since then.

It’s important to go into this novel aware that it’s far from your typical rom-com. The words ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘lowest point in her life’ should be underlined in the publisher’s synopsis.

“There is no such thing as a happy place. Because when you are happy, everywhere is a happy place. And when you are sad, everywhere is a sad place.”

I was surprised by the frequency and matter-of-fact way potentially ending it all is discussed in this narrative. So while The Wedding People story arc is ultimately redemptive, it does take quite a while to get there. Plus, a range of issues discussed and experienced by the characters will undoubtedly be triggering for many.

But, from a literary appreciation standpoint, it’s these things that I was surprised to encounter within Alison Espach’s protagonist’s first-person narrative that also made it beguiling. And, keeping readers enthralled while still a little unsure of their footing in each scene, is the key to excelling in darkly comedic farce. Jess Walter is a master at it, and now Espach has impressed me in this regard also.

“I just mean, a story can be beautiful not because of the way it ends. But because of the way it’s written.”

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However, what I enjoyed most about The Wedding People was tangential to its dark farce. That was its intelligent multi-layered dialogue. In terms of engagement with the protagonist, many readers felt they could relate to Phoebe, but that was not my experience. She’s undoubtedly a strong character that by design we want to succeed. But it was actually the stark observations and social commentary underpinning the banter her character catalyses which I admired.

“Phoebe prefers this new way of talking. And maybe this is just one of the really nice things about getting older. Maybe this is the part of her life when she gets to start saying what she means, for better or worse. Because no amount of truth can be worse than the feeling she got after years of hiding from it.”

So in summary, if you are looking for a light-hearted romantic comedy and/or not in a great headspace, then I recommend you save this for another day. Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is a well executed novel jam-packed with sage perspective that best sits in the dramatic literary fiction category.