'The Wedding Planners' Episode 5 Review: A high-end country wedding sees some drama and a secret is revealed
Spoilers for 'The Wedding Planners' Season 1 Episode 5 'Sweet Home Wedding'
This episode showcases the wedding of a couple who are struggling with a power dynamic in the family background. It is a quite realistic view of how some couples in the real world deal with conflicting backgrounds. In this week's episode, we have an investment banker and corporate lawyer's high-end, black-tie wedding.
Amber (Rebecca Dalton), a country brought up bride-to-be, is set to wed William (Marcus Rosner), who was brought up in a city. The wedding is scheduled to take place at the Harrington Royal Hotel. The family of the groom has ties with the Harringtons and has known them for years. Paige (Kimberly-Sue Murray), who has set up an incredible event, is excited for a wedding that could bring in a sea of potential future clients and James, the gown whisperer, has given his heart to the bride's vintage gown, restoring it to perfection. There's nothing that could go wrong with a perfectly planned wedding until you involve a little bit of family drama. As the couple comes to Hartbridge to meet with the Clarksons, Amber's cousin Nav makes it to the town as well.
Nav, who is quite close to Amber, points out something that no bride wants to hear — the wedding seems to be lacking a spark that screams Amber's true self. He says that instead, it's an event that's set to impress a higher society.
Amber, who was raised in a small town, is reminded by her family that she should be proud of her small-town heritage and embrace it. Nav's arrival causes a little more than a stir up with his vivacious attitude and truth bombs. He has no qualms letting Amber know that the wedding lacks her individuality and that the Amber he knows is nowhere in this wedding.
With the help of her cousin, Nav, and expert wedding planners Paige, Hannah (Madeline Leon) and James (Michael Seater) in tow, Amber manages to accept her upbringing as well as that of her partner. We can't tell you everything was smooth sailing though, because with power comes ego and with ego comes attitude — cue in protective parents, and you have a slight disaster.
Running a family business comes with its own set of dramas and the Clarkson siblings get a visit from their father. Yes, the same one that didn't show up at their mother's funeral. If you have watched the previous episodes, you would have caught on the fact that Jimmy (Rob Stewart) seems to have a nonchalant attitude when it comes to being there for his children. In the previous episode, we saw Paige leave an emotional message for her father, telling him that she, her sister and her brother could really use a visit from their dad. And so, here we are, Jimmy is in Hartbridge, calling for a family dinner.
James is not as easily impressed or convinced like his sisters and rejects his father's apologies for not showing up at their mother Marguerite's (Michelle Nolden) funeral. Paige's husband Dan (Mark Ghanimé), who has experience with drifting family, tries to bring some perspective with James' need to be his father's rival. His advice? Break the vicious and toxic cycle.
This was an interesting episode. While the wedding may have been the highlight as it should be, we were taken deeper into the Clarkson family politics. Also, we are living for James' sarcastic comments. We dove further into the relationship that Jimmy and Marguerite shared and the time where she told him about her cancer and how she was planning her funeral as the treatments weren't working. It was Marguerite who didn't want Jimmy at the funeral. She feared that her children needed to grieve in peace and his celebrity status would make things a lot difficult.
Hannah, on the other hand, introduces her beau — pastry extraordinaire and caterer Christopher (Olivier Renaud) — to their father. After enough teasing, the duo finally go on a date and that gave us butterflies. However, the date does not go as planned, thanks to a drunk William.
'The Wedding Planners' airs Fridays at 8 pm ET/PT on Citytv.