A Romance Wedding (2021)

Zoe Davis and Nick Ventri, who see each other like siblings, are owner/operators of successful Belle Weddings in Portland, Oregon. Both are disillusioned and burnt out working with the company as is, feeling they are now babysitters to a series of wealthy and demanding bridezillas as opposed to their want to create memorable weddings for loving couples. Although she was considering it to recharge, Zoe makes the decision to take a short break to return home to Romance, Oregon, a two hour drive away, when she learns from her mother Celeste Davis, that Zoe’s father, Richard Davis, has broken his leg, leaving their café, Celeste’s Place, short staffed. By the time Zoe makes it home, she discovers Celeste has already hired short term help in the form of Will Mason, Zoe’s former love, who just returned to Romance after a stint living and working in Seattle, he who plans to open his own restaurant in town. Zoe and Will broke up when Zoe moved away, their lives headed in different directions as Will always knew he wanted to live in Romance, while Zoe strove for that big city life. While they are cordial enough in this reunion, things between Zoe and Will take a downward turn when Zoe makes the preliminary decision to move back to Romance and expand Belle Weddings by purchasing the Mason farm, which has been on the market and sitting empty for a year, to convert it into a wedding venue. Will’s objection, as a potential restaurateur relying on locally raised foods, is in converting farmland into a commercial use. Many people in Romance support this view, they who don’t want to see Romance change, especially by an outsider, which is how they now view Zoe. It is not helped by some holding old grudges, such as Amanda Hines, Will and Zoe’s old schoolmate and now owner of the local bakery, she who has always disliked Zoe and even more so now in what she did to Will in breaking his heart. With Nick arriving in Romance also for a break, Zoe will have an uphill battle to achieve this business dream, which is only confused by feelings that still obviously exist between her and Will. —Huggo