One of the rule of romance novels is that they have to have an emotionally satisfying ending.

Many authors and readers use the phrase happy-every-after to describe the perfect ending for a romance novel.

While I agree that the a wedding is the ideal happy-ever-after in a Christian romance, I don’t necessarily think the wedding has to happen as part of the novel. It doesn’t even need to happen in the epilogue.

As an example, I’ve just finished a novel which featured the hero and heroine marrying at the end (I’m not going to name the book for reasons that will become obvious).

The heroine has just moved to a small town after she inherits the Inn her aunt ran. The hero is a local businessman who maintains the Inn’s gardens in his spare time. They’re attracted to each other, and a relationship develops. The book ends with their wedding, and she’s pregnant by the “one year later” epilogue.

My problem? The “hero” is a widow whose wife and son died less than two months earlier.

Wait. A. Minute.

“Hero” has been widowed for just two months? And he’s already moving on into another relationship? And his mother is encouraging it?

We find out the hero never really loved his first wife, that their marriage was a mistake. Well, that might explain how he’s emotionally able to move on so quickly, but it doesn’t show good judgement. I really wasn’t interested in the romance plot. The subplots were the only reason I kept reading.

In that case, the wedding scene crowned an already distasteful plot.

If the couple only meets for the first time at the beginning of the novel, and the novel takes place over a relatively short timeframe (weeks or months), then I prefer that the story doesn’t end in a wedding, or even an engagement. I’d rather that came in the next book in the series, after the couple have truly had a chance to get to know each other.

But if the story is a reunion romance or a friends to more story, then I’m more relaxed.

The couple have history. They know each other. That, to me, makes it more likely their relationship will succeed … as long as they can resolve whatever issue split them up in the first place.

Now, having said, that, I do enjoy a good marriage of convenience story …

And those typically include a wedding scene at or near the beginning. But in those stories, the whole plot is strangers getting married, then falling in love. The wedding is what brings the couple together, and the whole point of the story is that they will establish a lasting relationship.

What about you? Do you enjoy wedding scenes in Christian romance?

The whole point of a romance novel is that the two main characters end up with their “Happy Ever After” ending.

As such, many readers want and even expect the novel to end on a proposal or wedding scene.

I am not that reader.

I’m perfectly happy to read a proposal scene or a wedding scene, but only if it fits the story. As a general rule, this means I want to see the couple are emotionally and spiritually mature enough to make that decision. I don’t like proposal or wedding scenes that feel rushed, as though the characters don’t know each other well enough yet to make that kind of decision.

This is especially important in shorter books—novellas and short novels—which tend to take place over a condensed period of time. Yes, I know some people meet and marry within months or even weeks and go on to have long and successful marriages. But divorce statistics suggest these people are the minority, not the norm.

The other reason I don’t like the novel that ends with a proposal or marriage is because it often feels contrived. It feels as though the author has decided the book must end with a marriage, rather than the marriage being the logical emotional conclusion for the couple. It can feel manipulative, and I don’t like that. It feels like the characters are being forced into marriage rather than making that decision themselves.

This is one of the reasons why I enjoy reading books in a series.

While I don’t want the couple who first met on page one to be married by page three hundred, I do enjoy a good wedding. the right place for that wedding might be in the second or third book in the series.

A wedding at the beginning of book two or three can be a great way to connect the two stories and introduce the new couple. A wedding in the middle of another book can be a great emotional turning point, where the hero and heroine realise they want to be together.

What about you? Do you like weddings in a Christian romance?

What’s the best proposal or wedding scene you’ve read?