Here Comes the (Daughter of the) Bride: Parental Weddings in Two Contemporary Girls’ Series Books

This article examines the way that weddings are portrayed in contemporary series fiction for girls, in particular Ann M. Martin’s The Baby-sitters Club and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s Alice books. It argues that, while weddings in these novels offer the protagonists supporting roles in compelling family dramas, they also provide few opportunities to deviate from a prefabricated script. Inclusion in the family wedding experience is predicated on the tacit acceptance of fairy tale romance and enthusiastic participation in the rituals of consumption, both of which emphasize a constrictive, heteronormative view of life and love