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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Why I Did Not Want a Wedding Dress That I Actually Loved

by Chautona Havig · 1 Comment

Melissa Wardwell's Blended Lives released last week, and boy! Is it a great book with not one but TWO weddings in the offing! EEEP! via @chautonahavig

While other girls dreamed of their wedding dresses, I schemed to find a way to get Nancy Drew’s wardrobe. So when the time for me to come up with a wedding dress, I had no idea. I knew what I didn’t want but not what I did.  The funny thing is, I ended up with a dress that I LOVED but didn’t want.  The dress I wanted was an ivory, tea-length, Jessica McClintock. $120.  Perfection in my book.

That idea was shot down the moment I saw another dress and loved it.  I didn’t WANT it.  The thing was fussier than I usually prefer and it was most definitely more formal than what I was going for. No matter how much I fought for the ivory dress, someone else (NOT my mother… Mom was 100% not involved in the wedding process) shot it back down.

I did what any broke girl did. I put that sucker on lay-a-way to shut her up and started skipping more meals to pay for it.

Yay. Me.

Our wedding was to take place on February 18th.  On December… oh, 28th?  Ish? My husband broke my jaw in a car accident.  That dress that fit perfectly?  Yeah.  The poor seamstress who had to do the fitting had to wait until the week before the wedding to do the final stuff because I kept dropping inches left and right.  She also ruined the skirt by shortening it in a way that made the three tiers unbalanced, but we won’t talk about that.  Not bitter… not at all… (just kidding).

The wires came off my teeth a week before the wedding, but the damage had been done. I kept losing pound after pound, inch after inch, even into our honeymoon! And on the day of my wedding… I looked like a cloud of fluffy white. And anytime I turned without extreme care, my photographer would say, “Get back in your dress.”

Because that dress would stay put while I turned inside.  So embarrassing.

Putting this out there for the curious and for a bit of “HA! I was right!” Had I purchased THE DRESS I WANTED… that wardrobe malfunction wouldn’t have happened, and I would not have needed the dress altered at all.  Just sayin’.

Did my recent anniversary spark this trip down bridal nightmare memory lane? Nope. There’s a reason I decided to tell you…

Blended Lives Melissa Wardwell

Note: Links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you

Why I Did Not Want a Wedding Dress That I Actually Loved

And it isn’t for catharsis or anything (although I won’t refuse a good wallow when it is beneficial!)

Melissa Wardwell’s fourth book in the Independence Islands Series, her Sparrow Island book, released last Tuesday! The authors were asked to tell about the moment that they knew their dress was “the one.”  I just happened to be the gal whose “the one” really should have been “the one” for so many reasons but “The One” wasn’t the one at all.  #BecauseMe.

Blended Lives by Melissa WardwellBlended Lives Melissa Wardwell

Wedding bells are ringing on the islands, but more than romance is in the air.

Seth Mikels experienced a fulfilling marriage with his wife until her sudden death left him alone to raise their two daughters. As they approach their teens, it’s obvious that they need a woman’s influence. He’s not looking for love, but he could use the partnership of a wife. Between his handyman business and playing Mr. Mom, time is fading fast.

Sarah Reid has spent the last four years caught in the middle of one island drama after another. Following the most recent fiasco, she hopes to find refuge on Sparrow Island with her two little boys. Climbing bills and a dwindling bank account leave her no choice but to sell out and move to the mainland. Enter Seth’s handyman skills and an unexpected romance.

With Beth and Scott planning their own Merriweather wedding (complete with a Momzilla), will wedding bells ring out on Sparrow, too?

Read the next Sparrow Island novel in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

More from the other authors….

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the other posts from the authors, learn their wedding dress stories, and enter their giveaways:
Melissa Wardwell: February 22
Kari Trumbo: February 23
Rachel Skatvold: February 24
Tabitha Bouldin: February 25
Carolyn Miller: February 26
Chautona Havig: February 27
Sandy Barela: February 28

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Comments

  1. Colleen says

    February 28, 2022 at 9:55 am

    So – I think we need a picture here! 🙂

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 581: A Chat with Bethany Crigger
byChautona Havig

YA Christian fiction set in Israel? Come on, that screams, “Sign me up!” Listen in as Bethany Crigger and I chat about her book, Sunshine for Yofi.

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Love this different setting in particular. Seeing Jewish culture and a Christian set in it and seeing everything. through that lens? Yeah. This is unique, fresh, and still relatable.

Sunshine for Yofi by Bethany Crigger

After Yofi bombs her big opportunity to share her music, she spirals into a pit of self-doubt. Who is she if she doesn’t have what it takes to play in front of other people? Didn’t God put music inside her to speak to others through it?

Giving up isn’t an option, but Yofi’s nerves promise one thing: failure. So she does the only thing she knows to do. She cries out to God.

His answer is puzzling—a verse containing lilies, paired alongside a new friendship with Ori—the boy who sees what Yofi is painfully blind to. But even if Ori’s got her perfectly pegged, both the lilies and the captivating boy remain a mystery to Yofi.

With her curiously intuitive cat by her side, Yofi weaves herself into the beautiful community of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). But just as her playing improves, Yofi’s world flips upside down. Nothing is coincidental; it’s all a part of the plan.

But whose plan? Is the burning in Yofi’s heart to play and share her music God’s leading, or is it merely her own selfish desire heading her straight for the deepest pitfall of all?

Sunshine for Yofi is a uniquely crafted and heartfelt novel by Bethany Crigger. This wholesome coming-of-age story is a breath of fresh air, awakening the sleeping soul to dreams of hope long buried. If you enjoy clean, faith-filled themes, you’ll pine for this story of perseverance, friendship, love, generosity, and community attuned to God.

Learn more on Bethany’s WEBSITE and follow on GoodReads.

Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at:

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  • and more!
Episode 581: A Chat with Bethany Crigger
Episode 581: A Chat with Bethany Crigger
September 14, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 580: A Chat with R. T. Ward
September 12, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 579: A Chat with Lauren Smyth
September 9, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 578: A Chat with Carolyn Bourke
September 7, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 577: A Chat with Denise M. Colby
September 5, 2026
Chautona Havig
Episode 576: A Chat with Ann Swindell
August 31, 2026
Chautona Havig
A Chat with Dante Lupinetti
August 29, 2026
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Episode 574: A Chat with Laura DeNooyer
August 24, 2026
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Episode 573: A Chat with Cheryl Weber
August 22, 2026
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Episode 572: A Chat with Kari Trumbo
August 19, 2026
Chautona Havig
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Avelino Carrillo is home from the Pacific Theater and wounded in more ways than one. Determined to earn back his family's vineyard, despite the underhanded machinations of a local "land baron," his new life home is everything he could've hoped for and nothing like he expected. It's heartache and joy, love and acceptance, and rejection and disdain. As he shares his family's stories with the people living in his family home, he's even more determined to succeed than ever. If not for himself and his family, then for the young woman who has stolen his heart.
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When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his firs When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his first year out of prison, he hadn't counted on prayer-singing, guitar-playing nurse Kelsey. Oh, and he hadn't counted on a matchmaking florist (not to mention said florist's obsession with daisies!). When a floral fiasco says all the right things to the right woman at the wrong time, Reid has to decide if his decision was God-directed or if romance was part of His plans all along.
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A family legacy so deeply rooted in the soil of Ca A family legacy so deeply rooted in the soil of California's Napa Valley that it stretches back a hundred years.
Avelino Carrillo is home from the Pacific Theater and wounded in more ways than one. Determined to earn back his family's vineyard, despite the underhanded machinations of a local "land baron," his new life home is everything he could've hoped for and nothing like he expected. It's heartache and joy, love and acceptance, and rejection and disdain. As he shares his family's stories with the people living in his family home, he's even more determined to succeed than ever. If not for himself and his family, then for the young woman who has stolen his heart.
Deepest Roots of the Heart is available on Kindle, "free" through Kindle Unlimited, and also as an audiobook narrated by the fabulous Thom Rivera @thomriveraofficial. His ability to flip between accents is astounding.
When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his firs When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his first year out of prison, he hadn't counted on prayer-singing, guitar-playing nurse Kelsey. Oh, and he hadn't counted on a matchmaking florist (not to mention said florist's obsession with daisies!). When a floral fiasco says all the right things to the right woman at the wrong time, Reid has to decide if his decision was God-directed or if romance was part of His plans all along.
Available FREE from 9/12-9/16/2026. Always "Free" on Kindle Unlimited.
https://amzn.to/4yslLfs #affiliatelink
#Christfic
#ContemporaryChristianRomance
#SmallTownRomance
#KindleFree
#KindleUnlimited
A family legacy so deeply rooted in the soil of Ca A family legacy so deeply rooted in the soil of California's Napa Valley that it stretches back a hundred years.
Avelino Carrillo is home from the Pacific Theater and wounded in more ways than one. Determined to earn back his family's vineyard, despite the underhanded machinations of a local "land baron," his new life home is everything he could've hoped for and nothing like he expected. It's heartache and joy, love and acceptance, and rejection and disdain. As he shares his family's stories with the people living in his family home, he's even more determined to succeed than ever. If not for himself and his family, then for the young woman who has stolen his heart.
Deepest Roots of the Heart is available on Kindle, "free" through Kindle Unlimited, and also as an audiobook narrated by the fabulous Thom Rivera @thomriveraofficial. His ability to flip between accents is astounding.
When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his firs When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his first year out of prison, he hadn't counted on prayer-singing, guitar-playing nurse Kelsey. Oh, and he hadn't counted on a matchmaking florist (not to mention said florist's obsession with daisies!). When a floral fiasco says all the right things to the right woman at the wrong time, Reid has to decide if his decision was God-directed or if romance was part of His plans all along.
Available FREE from 9/12-9/16/2026. Always "Free" on Kindle Unlimited.
https://amzn.to/4yslLfs #affiliatelink
#Christfic
#ContemporaryChristianRomance
#SmallTownRomance
#KindleFree
#KindleUnlimited
When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his firs When Reid decided on "no girlfriends" for his first year out of prison, he hadn't counted on prayer-singing, guitar-playing nurse Kelsey. Oh, and he hadn't counted on a matchmaking florist (not to mention said florist's obsession with daisies!). When a floral fiasco says all the right things to the right woman at the wrong time, Reid has to decide if his decision was God-directed or if romance was part of His plans all along.
Available FREE from 9/12-9/16/2026. Always "Free" on Kindle Unlimited.
https://amzn.to/4yslLfs #affiliatelink
#Christfic
#ContemporaryChristianRomance
#SmallTownRomance
#KindleFree
#KindleUnlimited
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