I’m excited to welcome Heidi McCahan back to tell us about her new novel with Love Inspired!
When Plans Derail and Your Tiara Breaks, What’s a Girl to Do?
Hello, Inspy Romance readers! So nice to be visiting with you today. It’s been a while, right? After many months of living both a professional and personal life that didn’t go at all according to how I had planned, and since I can now look back with a mixture of gratitude and amusement at how things have all turned out better than I expected, I think it’s only appropriate that we chat about plans that go, well, off the rails…
Natalie, the heroine of my new release The Firefighter’s Twins is an event planner. Rustic barn weddings held at her family’s farm are her specialty, yet she longs to shed her dual role as event planner and family business manager (she helps run the farm that is now a destination experience with a pumpkin patch, playground, train ride, etc.) so she can focus exclusively on weddings. Enter Shay, the hero, a firefighter and single dad of twin toddler boys who is still reeling because his life isn’t going quite how he’d planned, either.
Because it is prime wedding season here in the United States, and my novel is about a professional event planner, I was thinking about how weddings are a classic example of how we long for our plans to be executed in a flawless manner, yet we all have a story or have chuckled at an online video featuring a blooper or unforeseen mishap.
Allow me to share mine: I chose to get married in my husband’s hometown because he has a large extended family living close by that loved to attend family weddings. I had moved far away from my own hometown and had always lived far from my extended family, so logistically, it was easier to ask my side of the family to travel. We’d planned a low-key afternoon wedding, anyway, and did not expect a huge turnout.
Fast-forward to the evening before, when the rehearsal dinner is over, and I just want to retreat to my hotel room with my parents and relax. Well, that was not what everyone else wanted. Our two-bedroom suite became a revolving door of visitors. I was almost in tears, because I’m an introvert and I needed a minute, you know? I cope by micromanaging, so I started messing with the headpiece that was meant to attach my veil to my hair. It was a tiara (of course!), and somehow I managed to break the top off, which in my frazzled-bride-to-be state was the end of the world. Meanwhile, the socializing continues in the next room, and I’m about to lose it.
My dear sister, who has traveled across the country with her husband and three small children to be a part of the celebration, is in the midst of potty-training her son. Nature calls and he declares this the moment to take care of business. In his sheer delight at achieving success in the bathroom, he wants to share his news with all who’ve gathered nearby. He jumps off the toilet and races past my wedding dress, carefully arranged on a hanger with its glorious train spread out on the floor …right next to the bathroom door.
Have you ever seen the facial expression of a bride who has just realized there is poo on her wedding dress?
Thankfully, this was 2002, and we hadn’t quite figured out how to document our lives with our phones, otherwise this moment might’ve gone viral had there been social media available. There aren’t any photos of this moment, which is probably for the best. I don’t know how I managed to control my reaction, because I wasn’t a mom and had no idea how challenging potty-training can be, but a tiny voice of reason told me not to crush my nephew with my words. I just remember thinking that if I yell and scream at him, he probably won’t ever use the bathroom appropriately again, because he will be so humiliated. It isn’t often in life that I hold my tongue, but I am proud that I was able to do so in the moment.
Sometimes the Lord in His infinite wisdom can whisper truth to us even when our tiaras are broken and there is an unexpected mess at our feet, right?
Bless my aunt who swooped in with a hot glue gun and finagled that dewdrop shaped faux diamond back into its rightful place on my tiara, and used a plastic hotel keycard to scrape the offensive material from the embroidered flowers on the train of my wedding dress. My bridesmaids took me out to Applebee’s so I could relax, my nephew grew up to be a delightful young man, and Steve and I remain happily married.
If your life is not going according to your plans, I hope at some point you can step back and take a breath and try to see the humor. Ultimately I hope that you can lean into God’s promises that He is good, He is for you, and His plans never go off the rails.
One single dad plus twin toddlers
A formula for her new family?
Since his wife left, fireman Shay Campbell has focused on work and his twin toddlers. But the lovely Natalie McDowell is making him rethink that decision. She’s great with his boys, and they adore her. But he can’t go through losing someone again. Will a dream job offer win Natalie’s heart, or does it belong to Shay and the twins?
Heidi McCahan is the author of Covering Home, Unraveled, and Love Flies In.
She is also an active RWA and ACFW member, grand prize winner of the 2014 Idahope contest, and a 2015 finalist in Harlequin’s Blurb 2 Book contest. A Pacific Northwest girl at heart, she was transplanted in the South several years ago, and currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and three boys. Heidi is a huge fan of coffee, dark chocolate, and happily ever after, and can often be found enjoying a good cup of coffee and a great book. The Firefighter’s Twins, her first novel with Harlequin Love Inspired, releases in June 2018.
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Pre-Order The Firefighters Twins here: Amazon Barnes & Noble Harlequin iBooks Walmart
Your turn: tell me about a time when life did not go according to plan and yet you can look back now and see how it all worked out. I’ll choose two random commenters on June 4th, 2018 who will each receive an eBook copy of The Firefighter’s Twins. (Void where prohibited.)
Thank you, Heidi! This is a sweet story! I know our readers will enjoy!
MJSH says
Thanks for sharing your story. I had a wedding day that didn’t go as planned – rainy weather, wrong flowers, not such a gracious bride (unlike yourself), anxious family members who didn’t know their way around the city……yet, we’re still a happy family all these years later :)
Wemble says
Hi Janet and welcome back Heidi- I’m re-reading Covering Home at the moment:) Wow, what a pre-wedding time you had! The drama and chaos would definitely have had me in tears too!!
Hmm, moving to Melbourne was definitely NOT in our plans, but looking back, God has worked it out to be a very good thing for us.
Blessings:)
Renate says
Hi Janet and welcome Heidi! Thanks for sharing your wedding story. Most of my wedding hiccups happened months before the wedding – changing the wedding date due to caterer availability and finding an organ for the church. Then the day before the wedding my mom had my dad and brother in tears. I was becoming impatient with her meddling. The evening of the wedding we had a summer thunderstorm. Just as the pastor finished his opening prayer and said Amen, God answered with a loud clap of thunder, as if God blessed the Union. Hubby and I will be celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary on June 16. An interesting fact is that my maternal grandmother also got married on June 16, 1919. Heidi, your new book and cover are inspiring. Best wishes.
Janet Ferguson says
Glad there was a happy ending!
Janet Ferguson says
Hi Wemble! So cool that you are rereading Heidi’s novel! I loved the setting in that one! Your Melbourne story sounds interesting for a novel.
Janet Ferguson says
Hi Renate! So happy for you! 45 years is an accomplishment!
Ellie says
I think it’s very true that things turn out better than expected. It’s always cool to see how God works things out!
kim hansen says
What a wonderful cover, story sounds good too.
Heidi McCahan says
Thanks for stopping by. Unexpected wedding day glitches make the best stories, right? I’m glad you are still a happy family.
Heidi McCahan says
Thanks for re-reading Covering Home. That was a fun one to write, especially the parts about Japan. Wow, moving to Melbourne definitely sounds like a plot twist. Our God is good and always faithful, isn’t He?
Heidi McCahan says
Hi, Renate. So nice to ‘see’ you here. Happy Anniversary! That’s wonderful. Thank you for the compliments on my new book. Blessings!
Heidi McCahan says
So true, Ellie! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Heidi McCahan says
Thank you, Kim!
Renate says
Hi Heidi (again)! Just added Covering home to my wish list, since Japan caught my interest. In 2008 spent three weeks in Japan on. A Fulbright teacher exchange. As a retired World Language teacher, I enjoy reading books with international settings. Book sounds delightful.
Heidi McCahan says
Thanks, Renate! I hope you enjoy reading Caleb and Britt’s story.
Melynda says
When I was in high school, budget issues caused my dad to lose his job. He and my mom decided to use that as an opportunity for us to leave California and move closer to my dad’s side of the family. We ended up moving to Kentucky. To my 9th grade brain this seemed like the worst thing ever. Looking back I can see how God orchestrated the whole situation and brought so much good from it. I can’t imagine ever having gone to college in Tennessee if we had stayed in California. That college decision led me to taking my first post college job in Virginia, which is where I eventually med and married my husband.
Kimberly Rose Johnson says
I really needed this today Thank you for sharing!
Heidi McCahan says
Beautiful story, Melynda. Thank you for sharing!
Heidi McCahan says
You’re welcome, Kimberly. Thank you for reading my post.
Shannon Taylor Vannatter says
Hi Heidi,
I guess there are lots of plans derailing. I’ve looked forward to my nephew’s wedding for months and in the end, I didn’t get to go. Instead, I ended up traveling 8 hours to attend a beloved relative’s funeral. At least my nephew didn’t poo on my wedding dress way back when :)
Shelia Hall says
I’ll share the blooper from my wedding. I had planned a outside wedding , for 2 days before it rained, so the yard where I was to marry was muddy.walked down for ceremony fine started back from the ceremony and the mud sucked the shoes off my feet and my husband just pull me up the aisle in my stocking feet.also was near a pasture with cows and a horsefly decides to feast on my ankle during the ceremony. wasn’t funny at the time but watching my video it was funny later
Janet Ferguson says
Hi Shelia! Glad you can laugh now!
Valerie Comer says
Great to have you back to Inspy Romance for a visit, Heidi! What a story about your wedding! I’m looking forward to reading your debut Love Inspired.
Jennilyn says
My wedding day story starts at 8 AM as we got to the church. My maid of honor came out and told me my dress was ripped!
I went inside to discover a layer of tulle hanging to the floor! Vandals had broken into the church overnight! Theya ripped my dress, stashed a bridesmaids dress under the sink, ripped up the soloist sheet music, and dumped sugar in the bottom of the refrigerator!
One bridesmaid went to the sanctuary to pray, another consoled me and the rest got to work. Seamstress friend was called and police arrived to take statements. The sheriff asked my name to which I replied “do you want my name now or what it will be in a few hours?“ :-)
God is good!! My dress was fixed and no one could tell that I had even been ripped. Although it was the topic of conversation as we visited people during the reception.
The police never discovered anything however we believe it was just kids wanting to have a little fun. The missing bridesmaid dress had been hanging next to mine and I believe the hanger caught on my dress. It was an accident and not intentional. Although my grandmother thinks it was one of my husbands angry ex-girlfriend’s. :-)
It will be 22 years this summer and we’re still happily married. We can share the story with smiles and remember God’s goodness and provision that day!
Janet Ferguson says
So sorry, Shannon! That’s not a happy ending. Hugs!
Janet Ferguson says
Hi Kimberly! Sending virtual hugs!
Janet Ferguson says
Sweet! Glad it worked out! He is good!
Janet Ferguson says
Covering Home is great!
Janet Ferguson says
It’s a good one, Kim!
Janet Ferguson says
He is full of surprises!
Heidi McCahan says
Oh, no! I’m sorry you weren’t able to attend your nephew’s wedding, Shannon. Thanks for reading this post and taking the time to comment. Blessings!
Heidi McCahan says
That’s definitely a wedding to remember, isn’t it? Thank you for sharing.
Heidi McCahan says
Thanks, Valerie! It’s fun to be back visiting with all of you.
Heidi McCahan says
Hey, Jennilyn! Jennilyn is my cousin, by the way. Thanks for visiting Inspy Romance today, and sharing your wedding day story. Far more traumatic than my silly tiara and temporarily soiled dress. I’m so glad you moved forward with your plans that day. God is good, all the time.
Shannon Taylor Vannatter says
I’ve seen lots of pictures though. And we’re planning to get together to watch the DVR soon. The important part is that they’re married and everything went off without a hitch.
Susan P says
Wow, I’m glad you were able to see the real issue of not mentally messing up your nephew! I’m not so sure I would have caught that!! But, my mother had the foresight and wisdom to be preparing me since the day I got engaged that all weddings have mishaps and mistakes. We actually were looking forward to seeing what all would go wrong, just to be able to laugh about something! The morning of my wedding the car had a flat tire so we had to put everything into a truck and get to the church that way. Then an usher’s suit vest wasn’t at the store, I was so nervous I was about to throw up so we had hands full of mints up front, then the flower girl fell off her rocker during prayer (try to not giggle about that while in prayer, lol). I am a laid back introvert, so I just wanted to get done and didn’t care how it happened. Such fun memories!!
Janet Ferguson says
Oh wow! You did have some unexpected incidents! Glad you’re laid back and can laugh about it!
Anitra Parmele says
I’m reading these and grinning because as the erstwhile wedding co-ordinator at my mega church for a season I am struck with the reality that I was probably as often the cause of wedding surprises as I was the solution! I take great comfort in the fact that many remain happily married so the ends justify the means???
Winnie Thomas says
I can’t remember any mishaps with my wedding–it will be 50 years next week!! There was an unusual wedding line, though, with my mother, my sister, and my sister-in-law all about 7 months pregnant. And yes, I said my mother was pregnant–with my youngest brother. There are 9 siblings in my family, with about 24 years between the oldest and youngest. My mother and sister ended up having their babies 11 days apart. Also, no–the bride wasn’t pregnant. LOL