Roger (wedding planner): We all know what Tolstoy wrote about happy families being alike but unhappy families being unhappy in their own fashion. I am not Russian and I am not a novelist, and a hundred and fifty years from now, no one will be quoting me-but that’s not going to keep me from saying what I think. What I think is that every family is happy in their own fashion, and every family is unhappy in their own fashion. Every family is both functional and dysfunctional. The Carmichaels and the Grahams weren’t my easiest clients, nor were they my most difficult-not by a long shot. But they stood out. The first time Jenna and Margot came into my office and told me that they had lost their mother but she had left a Notebook behind, I thought, Now this is going to be interesting. And it was.
The thing Beth Carmichael wanted for her daughter more than anything was a beautiful day. I have to say, I have worked on over a hundred and seventy-five weddings-some in the driving rain and wind, some in a fug of unbearable heat and humidity, one in a blizzard (in April!)-and they have all, every single one of them, been beautiful days.
But especially this one.
Jenna Carmichael Graham (newlywed): Weddings are a big deal. You might think I would have realized this before yesterday, but I didn’t. It was only as I stood on the altar of the church with Stuart and my family and Stuart’s brothers and my best friends and Reverend Marlowe, and I looked out at all the faces of the people I loved who loved me back and wished the best for me, that I understood. Love is scary! Taking a vow to love someone through sickness and health, for richer for poorer, forsaking all others, until death do us part, is the most terrifying experience a person can have. Why pretend any differently?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Everyone loves a wedding!
Phyllis Frielich was unbelievable in her willingness to go over every possible detail of the Carmichael-Graham nuptials with me. She was filled with wonderful, creative ideas, and the bridal bouquet is her vision, along with many other details.
The Boston wedding planner Michelle Ciccarella and her cohorts Jackie Parker and Michelle Reid were the ones who got my gears moving, back in the fall of 2011. Thank you, ladies! Four Seasons forever!
Deborah Briggs Bennett, who is a friend so close she’s family, gave me the lowdown on the world of executive placement. I could never have written this book without her help. She also provided the inspiration for the section titled “The Registry, Part II: The Dining Room” and the answer to the timeless question “Does the twelfth Tiffany dessert fork matter?”
Renaissance man Andrew M. Porter, Esq., was my go-to guy on the profession of Douglas Carmichael and John Edgar Desvesnes III, as well as serving as my Civil War expert.
I will again crib the words of Anne Sexton to describe my editor at Little, Brown, Reagan Arthur: “Pure genius at work.” There’s really nothing else I can say. Reagan is always, always right-and I have seven books to prove it. The ways in which she made this book better are too numerous to name.
The other wizards and goddesses at Little, Brown who have made me the happiest author in America are: Michael Pietsch, Heather Fain, Terry Adams, Michelle Aielli, Marlena Bittner, Justin Levine, Sarah Murphy, and the most magnificent David Young.
My agenting team of Michael Carlisle and David Forrer at Inkwell Management are truly and forever my champions and my darlings.
Sarah Cutler, you were a dream; thank God I found you.
In memoriam to my first “biggest fan,” Nora Jaksic, mother of the gallant and divine Jimmy Jaksic. Nora will always live in my heart as the ultimate Blue Bistro fan.
As ever, I want to acknowledge my family, my friends, and my fellow football/basketball/baseball mothers. You all know who you are and how you make my life rich, interesting, and worthwhile. You tolerate me screaming from the sidelines and the bleachers-and for this I can’t thank you enough.
This novel is for my grandparents Clarence and Ruth Huling, who would have been married for seventy years on June 19, 2013. This book was meant to be published in honor of their anniversary. My grandfather Clarence W. Huling Jr. died before he could see this book published. And so, to my grandmother Ruth Francis Huling, I would like to say this: Thank you, Gramma, for showing me what love is supposed to look like. You allow me to believe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ELIN HILDERBRAND has lived on Nantucket for twenty years. She runs every morning, delivers her children to their sporting events, and occasionally frequents the front row at the Chicken Box. Beautiful Day is her twelfth novel.
