Four Weddings and a Funeral: A Story of Love and Fate
The Romantic Journey of Charles and Carrie
This book follows the adventures of a group of friends through the eyes of Charles, an elegant but faux pas-prone English man. He is obsessed with Carrie, an attractive American woman whom he repeatedly meets at weddings and a funeral.
The First Wedding: August and Laura
Charles and his collection of single friends worry that they will never get married. At the wedding, Charles meets Carrie for the first time. She teases him by pretending that since they have slept together, they must get married, but she is joking and returns to America.
The Second Wedding: Bernard and Lydia
Bernard and Lydia, a couple who met at the previous wedding, decide to marry. During lunch, Charles finds himself seated at a table with many ex-girlfriends and speaks with Henrietta, with whom he had a difficult past relationship.
The Scottish Wedding and the Funeral
During the interim, Charles receives an invitation to Carrie's wedding in Scotland. While shopping for a gift in London, he accidentally bumps into her and ends up helping her select her wedding dress. He later confesses his love, stating that if her marriage is unsuccessful, he would like to be with her.
The Third Wedding: Carrie and Hamish
At a Scottish castle, Charles is depressed. As he watches the couple dance, he reveals his feelings to a friend who has loved him since they first met. Suddenly, Matthew's lover, Gareth, dies of a heart attack. At the funeral, Charles discusses whether finding "the one" is a waste of time.
The Final Wedding and Resolution
The fourth wedding is that of Charles, who has decided to marry Henrietta out of desperation. However, Carrie arrives to reveal that she and Hamish have separated, and the wedding is cancelled.
A New Beginning
At the end, Carrie visits Charles to apologize. Charles realizes he does not want to marry Henrietta, but he does want Carrie as his partner. The couple vows that they will never marry, and they are happily pictured with their baby boy in the final pages.