7 Wedding Songs That Are Straight Out of a Romance Novel
Wedding season is heating up, and couples will be looking for the perfect songs to walk down the aisle to. We've got some suggestions for your country wedding, inspired by the stories in two new romance novels from Kensington Books.
Some of the top writers in the romance genre joined together for two new books that let them explore interconnected stories from different angles. Lori Wilde, Janet Dailey, Allyson Charles and Stacey Keith contribute to A Wedding on Bluebird Way, which features four romantic novellas that range from couples getting a second chance at love to stories of happily ever after. The four stories all begin at the Bluebird Inn in the small town of Serendipity, Texas.
Jennifer Beckstrand, Molly Jebber and Amy Lillard are three of the most popular Amish romance authors in the genre, and they got together for Amish Brides, a collection of three novellas in which brides in very different circumstances prepare for their weddings according to Amish traditions. Of course, what's true love without a perfect romantic soundtrack? These seven heartwarming stories put us in mind of some of the best country love songs of all time, and we've captured them in this very special list of wedding songs that are straight out of a romance novel.
Rascal Flatts, "Bless the Broken Road"
Allyson Charles' contribution to A Wedding on Bluebird Way tells the story of Savannah Loving, a strong-willed 25-year-old who flees from her wedding by stealing a motorcycle. When she's pulled over by Hank Evans, a local cop who's had a crush on her since childhood, it sparks off a new love. Rascal Flatts described the long path that finally leads to a love that was meant to be all along in their 2005 hit, singing, "This much I know is true / That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you."
Kenny Chesney, "How Forever Feels"
A Wedding on Bluebird Way features a story from Lori Wilde that's a testament to how true love is worth waiting for. Felicity Patterson and Tom Loving are two 40-somethings who have never quite gotten it right when it comes to love. That changes when they get together through a seemingly random set of circumstances when the Army Major attends a wedding at her bed and breakfast, the Bluebird Inn, and the bride flees the scene. Chesney's "How Forever Feels" is the perfect song for a couple who find love later in life: "I've been around the block a time or two / Done almost everything a boy can do / I've done some livin', yeah I've had fun / But there is one thing that I haven't done / I wanna know how forever feels."
Shania Twain, "You're Still the One"
Stacey Keith wrote a story for A Wedding on Bluebird Way that gives a second chance to a couple who lost their love years ago. Hailey Deacon is a wedding caterer who got her heart broken by Josh Loving, the brother of the bride who runs off. The wedding is the first time they've seen each other since then, and it gives them a chance to reconnect and find love again. Shania Twain's all-time romantic classic, "You're Still the One," is the perfect song to accompany their romance when they realize that it's not too late: "We might have took the long way / We knew we'd get there someday," she sings in the must-have wedding song.
Trisha Yearwood, "Second Chance"
Janet Dailey provides the final story in A Wedding on Bluebird Way, picking up the story of the jilted groom, Dr. Chance Worthington, and the wedding planner, Harper McClain. Brought together by the strangest of circumstances, they nonetheless end up together. Trisha Yearwood's "Second Chance" represents how they each get to turn a new page and start all over with each other: "Just close your eyes / Reach for the moment / Before it slips by / Here is your second chance / Take it and fly."
Lady Antebellum, "Ready to Love Again"
Jennifer Beckstrand wrote "The Reluctant Groom" for Amish Brides, a story which starts off with spirited Suvie Newswenger entertaining three marriage proposals — but none of them from the man she wants to marry. Aaron Beachy is a lonely widower who is too shy to make the first move, but with some help from his great-grandparents, the couple find their way together in a happy match. Lady Antebellum's "Ready to Love Again" tells the story of someone who finally feels ready to put themselves on the line for love again, as they sing, "Yeah I'm ready to feel now / No longer am I afraid of the fall down / It must be time to move on now / Without the fear of how it might end / I guess I'm ready to love again."
Tanya Tucker, "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane"
Molly Jebber's contribution to Amish Brides is "Joshua's Bride," in which Madeline Lehman and Joshua Stutzman have to fight to be together. She's adopted her sister's baby, and he has to defy his strong-willed family and their possible disapproval to be with the women he loves. Tucker's classic song is all about young lovers overcoming everything that life throws at them: "Like two sparrows in a hurricane / Trying to find their way / With a head full of dreams / And faith that can move anything / They've heard it's all uphill / But all they know is how they feel / The world says they'll never make it / Love says they will."
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, "It's Your Love"
Amish Brides ends with Amy Lillard's "A Summer Wedding in Paradise," which finds two people who thought they hated each other ending up in love through an unexpected chain of events. Reba Schmucker desperately wants to get married, but she can't stand Abel Weaver, the man her nieces are trying to nudge her toward. The feeling is mutual until a crisis brings them to understanding and love. McGraw and Hill's classic "It's Your Love" perfectly captures how sometimes, love is spontaneous and doesn't seem to make any sense. "It's your love / It just does something to me / It sends a shock right through me / I can't get enough / And if you wonder / About the spell I'm under / Oh it's your love," they sing.
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