Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire): Stories on Growing Up, Looking for Love, and Walking Down the Aisle for Complete Strangers by Jen Glantz Pages: 320
Published by Atria Books on February 7, 2017
Source: Paperback ARC from Publisher
In the tradition of Sloane Crosley, Mindy Kaling, and Katie Heaney, a hilarious and insightful memoir about one New York City Millennial’s journey to find herself, her dream career, and true love, all while juggling a truly unique job as the world's only professional bridesmaid.
After moving to New York City in her mid-twenties to pursue her dream of writing—and not living on the “Upper East Side” of her parents’ house anymore—Jen Glantz looked forward to a future of happy hours and Sunday brunches with her besties.
What she got instead were a string of phone calls that began with, "Jen, I have something exciting to tell you!" and ended with, "I'd be honored if you would be my bridesmaid." At first she was delighted, but it wasn’t long before she realized two things: all of her assets were tied up in bridesmaid dresses, and she herself was no closer to finding The One. She couldn't do much about the second thing (though her mother would beg to differ), but she could about the first.
One (slightly tipsy) night, Jen posted an ad on Craigslist advertising her services as a professional bridesmaid. When she woke up the next morning, it had gone viral. What began as a half-joke suddenly turned into a lifetime of adventure for Jen–and more insight into the meaning of love than she was getting from OKCupid—as she walked down the aisle at stranger after stranger's wedding.
Fresh, funny, and surprisingly sweet, Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire) is an entertaining reminder that even if you don't have everything together, you can still be a total boss—or, at the very least, a BFF to another girl in need.
Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire) is a humorous memoir from Jen Glantz. I immediately knew I had to read Always a Bridesmaid by Jen for a few reasons. One, I had already heard of her business- Bridesmaid for Hire and I thought it was genius! I have been casually following her through that and I love seeing things about how it all works. Two, Jen is my age and from the same town in Florida. We even went to the same high school for 2 years before our town built another school and split the students. I didn’t know Jen growing up, but I had several mutual friends who did. So I was super curious when I saw she was coming out with her own book! And then finally, look at the tag line: “Stories on Growing Up, Looking for Love, and Walking Down the Aisle for Complete Strangers.” That just sounds completely hilarious. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check this book out. And I was so glad that I did. Always a Bridesmaid(for hire) is fantastically funny and just plain fun.
Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire) follows Jen on a series of blind dates that are each worse than the next and leads up to the start of her business idea. I loved the casual conversational writing style. I felt like I was sitting down with Jen and she was giving me a play by play for how the whole thing happened. I loved it. I read Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire) in one quick afternoon. I’m going to give you a quick run-down for how her business came about, and then I will leave the rest of the fun and juicy bits for you to read about and enjoy. After Jen had been a bridesmaid about a million times, and after about a million bad dates of her own, she drunkenly made a craigslist ad saying she would be your bridesmaid for hire. She would help walk you through all the wedding and bridesmaid stuff that first timers have no idea about, then she went to sleep. And then she went viral and everything went from there. I had a blast on this journey with Jen.
I think this is a book that all twenty somethings should read. I think everyone will get something different out of it, whether you are single or not. I really loved it. I had a serious case of perma-smile while I was reading it. Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire) is a really, really fun book. I laughed out loud so many times I lost count. But more than that, it is so easy to relate to Jen. She is do darn likable. I can’t wait to see what she is going to write next! If you are looking for funny and fresh memoir for the millennial generation, this is it. If you are looking for a really funny read, read Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire). And then come back here so we can chat about it!
Calling 20somethings!Always a Bridesmaid(For Hire)by @JenGlantz is a hilariously fun read! @Bookbriefs @AtriaBooks #Readitnow Click To Tweet
About Jen Glantz
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Victoria
I haven’t read any work by this author but this sounds like a good book. Thanks for sharing.
danielle hammelef
That’s so cool about your connection to the author! This book does sound so much fun to read and I love when I can laugh out loud. Everyone needs more laughter in their lives. The cover is adorable.