Cressida McLaughlin is at her enchanting best with her latest uplifting, warm-hearted and wonderfully new romantic tale, The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding!

Wedding planner Ellie Moon is overjoyed that Charlie and Daniel, owners of Cornwall’s favourite cream tea bus, are about to get married. Ellie intends to pull out all the stops and to give the happy couple a wedding day they will always remember. While her professional life is going great guns, her personal one is a completely different story. Having had to rent out her charming Cornish cottage, Ellie’s entire world has been turned on its head, but she intends to make the best of things and not to let her personal woes get in the way of her job. But that was before she began spending more and more time with her handsome new tenant, Jago…

Gorgeous mechanic Jago is worried about his elderly father. Jago would love nothing more than to see his father smile again, but he needs Ellie’s help to do so. As the two of them are thrown together, they begin to get closer and sparks soon begin to fly between the two of them. As a tentative friendship quickly gives way to something far deeper than either one of them imagined, will Jago and Ellie find the courage to take a leap of faith and a chance on a happy ending? Or will they allow their fears and insecurities to get in the way of a love that will last a lifetime?

Summertime escapism does not get any better than Cressida McLaughlin’s The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding. As delicious as an ice cream on a hot day, The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding sparkles with hope, heart and humour and readers will find themselves falling in love not just with the charming village of Portglow, but with Ellie and Jago’s captivating and feel-good love story.

Cressida McLaughlin strikes gold once again with the perfect summertime romance that will keep readers glued to their sunloungers: The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding

‘The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding’ is the fourth book in the ‘The Cornish Cream Tea’ series by Cressida McLaughlin.

Wedding planner Ellie Moon is dreaming up the most beautiful bespoke wedding for Charlie and Daniel, owners of Cornwall’s favourite cream tea bus. Even though her own life has been turned upside down and she’s had to rent out her charming Cornish cottage with its climbing roses and lavender beds, Ellie is determined to give them a day to remember. Her new tenant, handsome mechanic Jago, keeps popping up around the picture-postcard seaside village of Porthgolow. When they’re thrown together in the effort to help his elderly father get a spring back in his step, she discovers that he is full of surprises. Can romance bloom and give Ellie the fresh start she’s been wishing for?

This was the first book that I’ve read by Cressida and it truly was enjoyable and heartwarming story.

The story is seen through the perspective of Ellie, a busy wedding planner who’s organising the big wedding for power business couple Charlie and Daniel. But, whilst she’s planning the wedding of the year, she’s distracted by her handsome new lodger Jago and his turbulent relationship with his father Arthur.

I adored Ellie, she’s such a kind and warm-hearted woman. Recovering from her own divorce, she’s determined that every moment of her client’s day and the moments leading up to it are absolutely perfect and no job is neither too big or small. Jago is also a lovely character, charismatic and handsome, it’s obvious that Ellie and him have a strong attraction. I loved Rose, Ellie’s sister who was quick to speak her mind and give Ellie a gentle push in the right direction of finding love. Whilst Arthur was a grumpy character who was at his most happiest when surrounded by plants.

The setting of the story is absolutely stunning and so picturesque. Cressida’s writing is so vivid and descriptive with the wonderful insertions of the floral and horticulture of the area, that made for really lovely reading.

Even though this was the fourth book in a series, I read it as a stand-alone and it was perfect to get absorbed in. But, I do hope to read the rest of the series and meet more of the characters.

Beautifully written with engaging characters that was glorious to curl up with, ‘The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding’ was the sweetest story I’ve had the joy of reading this year.

You can buy ‘The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

I have loved every one of the Cornish Cream Tea series but this one felt like a real staging post in the series. Having followed Charlie's story and her romance with Daniel, this book focuses on the preparations for their wedding. Enter the wedding planner, Ellie, and a new set of characters to follow! I liked how the new characters were interwoven with the familiar faces. Ellie turned out to be a likeable yet complicated character who was dead set on improving her wedding planning business and utterly focused on helping couples arrive at the wedding of their dreams. Suffice it to say, in this case, there were some major hurdles, not all of them under Ellie's control.
Jago is the mirror image of Ellie as he tends to let life drift by. Ellie struggles with her role as his landlady as she desperately misses her cottage and the garden. Through her actions around the cottage and her attempts to help his father overcome his isolation, you see that she has in fact got a heart of gold. Brimful of romance and set on the beautiful Cornish coast, this has all the ingredients which made the series so loved by its readers. This one will not let you down.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book

The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding by Cressida McLaughlin was an utter joy to read from start to finish. In fact, I think it has been the best book in the series since book one as it just had such a good feeling about it right from the opening page. All the old favourite characters we have come to know and love do make a reappearance but this time around it’s Elowen ( Ellie ) Moon who is the main focus of the story. She is a wedding planner hired to organise the wedding of the stalwarts of the series Charlie and Daniel. A couple who are calm, confident, assured, competent and friendly and one who I feel readers have really been rooting for an outcome for since we first met them. This book felt like their story was coming full circle as we saw their relationship previously blossom and develop and now they are finally tying the knot. The run up to the day and the day itself will not be without its problems and it’s up to Ellie to make sure things turn out OK and the couple are provided with the wedding of their dreams.

Once again Cressida nails the setting of the Cornish coastal village of Porthgolow. I still sit and read these books and just wish that it was a real place and that one day I could pay a visit. Sadly that is not to be but the descriptions and vivid imagery of all the little shops and cobbled streets, not to mention the beaches and rugged coastline are just fabulous and really help to add that little bit of extra sparkle to the book overall. The Cornish Cream Tea Bus, as run by Charlie, features again as do her cousin Delilah and also Hannah from the previous book and I am glad they are not forgotten about but yet at the same time they don’t steal the show. I can’t also fail to mention the descriptions of all the Cornish cream teas and treats that leave your mouth watering and this time around, flowers do have such a symbolic and important role to play particularly for Ellie.

But now it’s Elllie’s turn to share her story and it was a fabulous story to read about. The inclusion of Ellie’s home, Cornflower Cottage, was brilliant as it became a pivotal point for several of the new characters and it allowed different storylines to be explored. The love she has for her cottage and the garden she has created shine through and even though she has moved out and rented it out, and is now living with her sister, the devotion and what it gives her in return on an emotional level are vitally important. The garden and some new friends will hopefully sustain her through the challenging times ahead. As the new characters that feature are all lost in their own way and need some support, comfort and someone to guide them in the right direction. Something that will bond them together and in doing so perhaps they can sort out the problems that seem to dog their life. For too long Ellie has been trying to be independent, to find her own solitary space in the world but she may come to realise that happiness is closer to home and simply found if you look close enough.

Ellie loves every aspect of her job organising every last minute detail until it is just perfect but she is struggling to make a real success of her business even though it is her passion. Having rented out her cottage in order to boost her income she hopes the wedding of Charlie and Daniel will be a great success and even more business will follow through word of mouth. She puts such enormous pressure on herself to make it a day to remember and throughout the book I felt she really doubted her capabilities. She lacked the confidence to just go for it and I think this slightly stemmed back to her previous experiences with her own marriage. But underneath it all you could see she was dedicated, hardworking and had the tenacity to see things through to the very end even is she did waver along the way.

Ellie does go into overdrive to find a suitable location for the wedding and to help Daniel with something extra special for Charlie for the big day. But at the same time she needs to realise she has to allow some room for some spontaneity in her life. To learn that perhaps she can’t control everything solo, that she would drive herself mad trying to and that it’s OK to feel like a failure if something goes wrong but that others will be there to pick and prop you up and to steer you in the right direction. No matter the obstacles, disasters and mishaps that may arise along the way, of which there were many, but they all added to the overall sense of fun and excitement that existed throughout the book. Ellie has the weight of expectations on her shoulders and in my mind she created a lot of this herself as I do think Charlie and Daniel were quite laid back. But I suppose if this is your livelihood you dedicate 110% to it. The wedding fuels a fire in her even more, that perhaps she had been lacking for a little while despite all the brilliant qualities she possessed. She will soon learn as will several of the characters that we grow by making mistakes and learning from them.

Of course there had to be some romance in this story given the title, apart from the wedding which when it eventually arrived was so beautiful and real. Said romance comes in the form of the delectable Jago Carne. Ellie first encounters him on the lane to her house where her car has broken down, he is like the knight in shining armour coming to her rescue. At first she doesn’t realise he is her new tenant for Cornflower Cottage and she wonders who is this man? What is he doing in Porthgolow and most importantly is he married, single or what? What exactly is his story? Jago was a closed book initially until certain things come to light. I loved how his story became so effortlessly intertwined with Ellie’s. Her sister Rose and her job as a district nurse have an important role to play and this strand of the story was touching and heart-warming in equal measure.

Jago needed help and a confidence booster to face what he had been running from. He had his issues but I think in this case he was being a typical man and was finding it difficult to open up. At some points I think Ellie did stifle him when it came to his personal life and the situation he was trying to resolve and she learned this lesson the hard way. Yet at other times the sparks really flew between the pair. The chemistry was undeniable between them and you really wanted them to get together because you just knew they were perfect for each other in every way. That they would really compliment each other. All in all The Cornish Cream Tea Wedding was a fabulous and really enjoyable story and the perfect addition to the series. I look forward to reading Christmas Carols and a Cornish Cream Tea when it is published later this year.

I believe that this is the first book that I have read by Cressida McLaughlin, but I can honestly say that it won’t be my last. This story is simply gorgeous and made a dark and dreary evening very enjoyable.
Set in Cornwall within the fictional town of Porthgolow, the focus is on Wedding Planner Ellie Moon. Determined to make a success of her fledgling business, Ellie has rented out her beautiful and treasured cottage to handsome newcomer, mechanic Jago. Moving in with her sister, Rose, Ellie hopes to save enough money to give her business a strong foundation.
The story focuses on Ellie’s plans for the wedding of Charlie and Daniel, but the arrangements have unforeseen effects on many members of the local area. As Ellie searches for a suitable venue, she discovers that Jago may be able to offer her more support than simply paying his rent and that there are parts of Porthgolow that she has yet to uncover.
Originally released as a four-book series, I thought that this story was a breath of fresh air. I loved Ellie and her blossoming friendship with the handsome Jago, which had me turning the pages to see if they would ever act on the obvious chemistry between them.
This is a full ensemble piece with some wonderful characters who each add a glorious layer to the overall story. A firm favourite would have to be Arthur, Jago’s grumpy father who struggles to find a common ground with his son. There are various locations mentioned in the story, but Ellie’s cottage garden piqued my imagination, and I could almost smell the fragrant blooms with each visit.
There’s a lot happening as the plans for the wedding head to fruition, from a flooded barn to Millicent the friendly pig, there’s plenty to keep your attention and escort you to the big day itself.
I loved this book and will look out for more from this author.