The Wedding Dress

A wedding groom goes missing on his wedding day and he is never to be seen again for some 30 years and no one seems to care anymore. That is until our antiques dealer/amateur sleuth Jennifer Shannon (Lori Loughlin) visits an estate sale and finds the brides wedding dress with some blood in one of the bride's dress pockets.

So the mystery begins with enough suspects to record a new Guinness Book record for the amount of people who can be stuffed into a Volkswagen car. So where was the missing bridegroom stuffed? Not in that Volkswagen that is for sure.

Jennifer's also dealing with two family matters. Her daughter's boyfriend is looking at a distance relationship and if it can survive their young love, and Jennifer's own marriage is near to another anniversary date but her workaholic husband seems to be distracted with his business to realize their wedding anniversary is just around the corner with no plan in site to celebrate their (not so?) memorable wedding date.

One of the suspects is the still very attractive 64 year old Cheryl Ladd (Charlie's Angels TV 1977-1981) who plays the stood up at the altar and wealthy bride Helen Whitney Carter, that fateful day some 30 years prior. Although the writing of this made for TV movie seems to take the long way around to find out what really happened to our missing bride groom the real mystery would be how sloppy the absent police department would have had to be if this story was even vaguely possible.

Mrs. Shullivan and I both liked the film and especially the recovery ending even though the story was quite winding and a bit troublesome to think that the police department could not have achieved what our amateur sleuth Jennifer Shannon accomplished all on her own with just her good looks and wholesome charm.

I give this chapter of the Garage Sale Mystery series a more than decent 7 out of 10. Just remember that this mystery film is not developed with a blockbuster Hollywood budget so manage your expectations and like Mrs. Shullivan and I, you will not be disappointed.

I have watched all of the Garage Sale Mystery films so far and although I liked them all, this one was my favorite by far. I must have seen something these other reviewers didn't, but I really enjoyed watching The Wedding Dress. Lori Loughlin was great as Jennifer Shannon, and there was nothing cold or cruel about her, imo. And, I did not find her smile distracting, I thought it was nice. Also, I thought the secondary plot between her daughter and the boyfriend was a very welcome addition to the story. Yes, the ending was predictable, but come on, its Hallmark! All in all, a very enjoyable film, that IS worth watching. My grade: B+.

This is the fourth film in Hallmark's Garage Sale Mystery series and I think the series is finally hitting it's stride. I still miss both the original actors who played the husband and the daughter...especially the daughter, having trouble warming up to Eva Bourne in that role. Also...they rolled back the time on the daughter, she is now a junior in college again, no mention of the detective boyfriend from the first film or law school, but she has a current boyfriend who is also a junior in college...and they are serious. She seems to be floundering a bit and working in her mom's shop. I do like Steve Bacic, the actor who plays the husband currently, he is a great actor and I particularly liked him in the end of this film.

No appearance by their son in this episode who is at a camp of some kind. The domestic conflict is all about Jennifer and Jason's anniversary, which she thinks he has forgotten...and the mystery revolves around a designer wedding dress that Jennifer and Dani pick up at an estate sale. It ends up being connected to a decades old missing person cold case. Of course, once Jennifer's interest is peaked there is no stopping her!

"The police have a saying...no body, no crime."-Detective Frank Lynwood

I appreciated that in this case there were no malevolent characters...that was kind of refreshing. Jennifer has made friends with the local medical examiner Tramell...who loves his puns almost as much as Jennifer and is still good friends with Frank, aka Detective Lynwood. Frank, on his lunch breaks, is helpful but not encouraging of Jennifer's extracurricular sleuthing in this case of a debutant wedding where the groom goes missing after the vows and pictures, but before the reception!

It was wonderful to see Cheryl Ladd, who is as gorgeous and elegant as ever, in her role as the abandoned bride Helen Whitney Carter.

"You know what happens in these big houses at 4pm? Tea! It almost makes paying the property taxes worthwhile."-Helen

I like the mature characters and the family dynamic in this cosy mystery series. Happily married and mentally healthy core. I like the best friend Dani being quirky, new age-y, vintage clothes wearing, healthful eating oriented and still searching for her special someone...and just answers to life. She seems a good fit for the show and for an antique shop, making a wonderful foil for Jennifer. But the thing I like the most about the series is the antiques! I love seeing slag lamps in the backgrounds of the scenes and hearing about them selling a Bakelite backgammon set. This makes the series really work for me.

This was a decent mystery and an excellent cosy mystery...fans will not be disappointed. This is a strong recommendation from me.

(P. S. I totally agree that digital is like fast food and the old tube radios and receivers are fine dining! Excellent analogy.)

This mystery had me guessing until the end. It was sad but the truth all came out in a beautiful way.

Jennifer finds an old but expensive wedding dress in a box of clothes purchased at an estate sale. She finds a blood stain on a pocket and investigation turns up Helen Carter, the bride, together with the story that the groom disappeared between the wedding and the reception after the wedding. Jennifer doggedly pursues the mystery and, using Luminol, determines that there were still blood stains inside a closet in the storage room of the church. The killer is soon unveiled...

A little farfetched in how Jenn tracks the wedding dress to a bride ( Cheryl Ladd) but a fairly diverting mystery, which doesn't always tread a typical mystery path. It's entertaining, as in most Garage Sale Mystery.