New Release by Tara Randel



I’m so excited! The Bridal Bouquet is finally available!




Who will catch a lifetime of love?

Winning the annual wedding bouquet design competition may be the closest Kady Lawrence gets to the altar. She has to come in first or risk losing the floral shop that’s been in her family for generations. Her main competition is Jasmine Matthews. But it’s Jasmine’s son who’s caught Kady’s attention.

Enter hunky Dylan Matthews. Kady has no inkling Dylan’s a DEA agent on a case in Cypress Pointe, and Dylan wants to keep it that way…until Kady’s targeted. Determined to keep her safe, Dylan risks a lot more than blowing his cover…he risks losing Kady forever.

I had so much fun writing this book. The characters were so wonderful to create and I loved telling the love story of Kady and Dylan. Granted, it wasn’t easy getting to their happily ever after with the obstacles in the way, but I have to admit, the suspense action throughout the book made the journey more interesting.

I also enjoyed researching all things floral and discovered a few things about wedding traditions we take for granted today.

In ancient weddings, the bride and groom wore a garland around their necks, symbolizing new life, hope and fertility. In those days, the garland was not made from sweet scented flowers, but instead strong-smelling herbs and spices to keep evil spirits away from the newly married couple. The bride and groom also wore wreaths on their heads during the ceremony.

Then came the tradition of the kissing knot. Hung over the heads of the bride and groom while at the reception table, the kissing knot was considered to bring love and good luck to the wedding couple. 

It wasn’t until Queen Victoria married Prince Albert that the herbs and spices were replaced by fresh flowers. The bride now carried a bouquet of beautiful flowers in her hands.

Today, there are so many styles of bouquet for a bride to hold as she walks down the aisle. The bouquet is a very important piece in the wedding floral creations. It may come from the bride’s theme and color scheme, an emotional tie to a certain design and vision or simply personal preference. Here are some of the most common bouquets we see today.

    Cascading

    Nosegay

    Hand-tied

I’ve even seen brides decorate the satin ribbon around the flower stems with seed pearls or pinning a brooch or pin with personal significance or perhaps a family heirloom to the ribbon. If the bride works with a florist who has a creative imagination, the sky is the limit on the type of bouquet she’ll carry on her special day.

I hope you enjoy The Bridal Bouquet. Here’s an excerpt:

The reception was subdued and elegant. Just what the bride dreamed of. Exactly what the wedding planner and Kady delivered.

On her last trip to place the final floral arrangement, Kady made her way around the far wall, heading to the gift table. Only a few steps from her destination, she was suddenly under siege by a half-dozen playing children. She went into football mode, dodging first to the left, then to the right, spinning to avoid a rushing child as she held on tightly to the container. After evading the possible disaster she grinned, impressed by her running-back skills. Who knew she was so light on her feet? 

The path clear now, she hurried on, until she stepped on an abandoned toy left behind by one of the kids. Her ankle turned. Unable to steady herself, she thought for sure she was about to tumble. Bracing herself, she securely locked her arms around the crystal container, holding on for dear life. But instead of going down, strong hands gripped her upper arms and straightened her.

Blowing out a relieved breath, she looked over her shoulder, glimpsing the most unusual pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen. Actually, blue wasn’t entirely correct. A hint of silver turned them an unusual shade of metallic gray. The man’s somber expression matched the concern she read there and his very handsome face garnered all her attention.

“Steady there.” His husky voice spoke close to her ear, sending a waterfall of shivers over her skin.
Rattled, she set down the flowers and took a relieved breath before turning to face her rescuer. 

“Thanks. That could have been a disaster.”

“Then it’s a good thing I happened to be nearby.” A half grin curved his lips.

Kady’s heart thumped in her chest. Talk about good timing. She snuck a peek at him. Yeah, she was going with not spilling the flowers to explain her racing pulse.




I'd love to hear about your own bridal bouquet or a bouquet from a wedding you attended. 
 



Tara Randel is an award-winning, USA TODAY bestselling author of twelve novels. Family values, a bit of mystery and, of course, love and romance, are her favorite themes, because she believes love is the greatest gift of all. Visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at Tara Randel Books


Comments

  1. Congratulations on your new release, Tara!

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  2. Tara, I already told you somewhere that I love this cover. Now find the excerpt making me wish my books would get here. I love the information you dug up about the origin of the bridal bouquet. My favorite is the cascade. The poor brides who had to ward off evil spirits with the noxious necklace of herbs.

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    1. I love doing research, especially about fun things like bouquets!

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  3. I love learning about the garlands and the different types of bouquet. I had and orchid with trailing ribbons on top of my prayer book. It was simple but really pretty. I think we should all be provided with a handsome man to catch us before we fall. I guess that's what marriage is. Congratulations on the book! And that beautiful cover.

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  4. Is it terrible that I don't remember my bouquet? I believe my mother and sister-in-law put it together for me, but I was such a nervous wreck that I clutched it and said "I do" without giving it too much notice. I have pictures of it somewhere!

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  5. Fun and interesting post...and gorgeous cover! Congrats!

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  6. Love all that info, Tara! Can't wait to read this book and I agree...it's a gorgeous cover!! Happy release day/week/month!

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  7. Love, love, love wedding flowers!! I found the most beautiful bouquet in a Victoria Secrets catalog of all places when I was planning my wedding. The florist did an amazing job of recreating it for me! It was full of white roses and other white flowers I don't know the name of ... but it was exactly what I wanted and one of the things I remember most from that day!

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  8. I am so lucky to be your CP, Tara because I get to read your beautiful stories before anyone else! I loved this book so much you inspired me to try my own suspense :) I couldn't imagine a better release date than June 1st as it's the month for weddings and brides <3

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    1. Yes, the timing was great! Thanks for all your CP insight!

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  9. I love flowers! But my wedding bouquet not so much. It was a ball of odd-colored fake flowers (pretty sure it had been used before) that I chose from out of a selection at the "wedding house" where we got married. It was part of our $50 wedding package. I know, I know, it sounds awful. But we eloped and doesn't that have it's own romantic charm? I loved it and wouldn't change a thing. Congratulations, Tara, and thanks for a great post!

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  10. Congratulations, Tara! I can't wait to read this! The flowers are so beautiful.

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  11. Congratulations Tara! Wishing you a ton of sales!

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