The Accidental Bride — Janice Harayda

With just one month to go before her fairy tale wedding to the third richest man in the second largest city in Ohio, Lily Blair is suddenly beset by doubts. Even though she appears to have it all - a budding career and a five-carat engagement ring from the man of her dreams - she can't decide whether to plunge headfirst into the security of married suburban life, or follow her career dreams solo to New York. And while the zany and loving cast of friends, family, and co-workers keep pushing her towards the aisle, Lily knows that, despite the passion she feels for her fiancé, she alone must come to terms with the biggest decision of her life.

As she locks horns with her mother on nearly every detail, issues like veal medallions vs. chicken wings become battles in an event being staged with all the grandeur and precision of a full-scale military operation. The situation grows funnier and more desperate at every turn as Lily must confront an absurd bridal fair, an unsympathetic psychiatrist, and the local gossip column. Before she loses her sanity, she looks to her heroine, Jane Austen, for inspiration. The result is hilarious, sweet, and smart. For Lily Blair is a real heroine for the 90s and beyond, and The Accidental Bride who will keep surprising you until the end.