Finding Unexpected Love on Hallmark Channel’s Bridal Wave

This Saturday the Hallmark Channel will debut yet another of their new movies called Bridal Wave that will see the return of actress Arielle Kebbel and actor Andrew Walker, who starred in the 2012 Hallmark Channel holiday film A Bride for Christmas.

This time around, Kebbel and Walker will play (respectively) Georgie Dwyer and Luke Griggs, a nurse for a meticulous plastic surgeon and an ex-architect who quit his job to pursue a simpler life.

Georgie is engaged to marry Dr. Phillip Hamilton (David Haydn-Jones), who she has worked with in his downtown Seattle office for the past four years; and their wedding is only a few days away. It is clear from the outset that Georgie is getting cold feet and while she and Phillip appear to love each – they’ve never had a fight in the four years that “they have been together” – they don’t seem to have that thing that most couples have: that special story of what brought them together.

The same cannot be said for Georgie and Luke, who inadvertently meet at a small convenience store next to the ferry that will be taking Georgie and her family to a beautiful resort on a small island for her wedding and where Luke just so happens to live. As they both grab for the only remaining bottle of aspirin – George is stressed out over her wedding and her controlling mother Emma (Colleen Wheeler) and Luke is disgruntled from a less than satisfactory meeting with his former intern who now is in control of the high-end architectural firm that he left years ago.

Cue the chemistry and sparks, but Georgie is determined to not let her family – especially her mother – down; and she has to make a great impression on her less than receptive mother-in-law-to-be Felice Hamiltion (Charlie’s Angels beauty Jaclyn Smith, who looks stunning, I might add). To say that Felice is less than approving of Phillip’s choice in a mate – or her family for that matter, which includes dad Judd (Daryl Shuttleworth), sister Melissa (Anna Van Hooft) and Melissa’s loving husband Mike (Matty Finochio), is an understatement: she is cold and critical of them all.

In fact, she presents a Vera Wang wedding dress to Georgie in front of Georgie’s entire family in place of the less-than-flattering (in her eyes at least) dress that Georgie was going to wear; never mind that it was Georgie’s grandmother’s dress.

In the tradition of all Hallmark Channel movies, the film plays out with the typical tropes of Georgie ducking out on Felice (hiding out from the person you least want to be around), is “rescued” by Luke who takes her to a quiet spot on the island to leave the hand-made wooden bench he built (putting the lead couple who isn’t a couple together in an interesting setting) and having Luke’s truck break down so they have to walk for miles to get back to the resort (giving the couple who isn’t a couple time to bond and learn about each other).

I won’t spoil the ending because Bridal Wave is worth watching and with Kebbel and Walker as the leads their charm and appeal makes viewing this new Hallmark Channel movie all the more enjoyable. Needless to say, there is a happy ending for all, even for Felice, and some very funny moments throughout.

Bridal Wave will debut on the Hallmark Channel this Saturday, January 17 at 9/8c.