It's official — Mary Anne's father and Dawn's mother are getting married! The Baby-sitters think it's so romantic, especially since Mr. Spier and Mrs. Schafer first fell in love when they were in high school.
But nothing can top Mary Anne and Dawn's excitement. They want a huge wedding with beautiful dresses, lots of presents, and a five-layer cake. After all, this isn't just any wedding. Mary Anne and Dawn are going to be baby-sitters, best friends, and sisters, too!
Summary
It's Ms. Schafer's birthday! Dawn, Mary Anne, and Mr. Spier are going to surprise her with dinner at a restaurant. Every thing is perfect and when the cake comes she finds an engagement ring on the cake. They're getting married! But it is not all fun. Dawn and Mary Anne start to fight a lot. And Mary Anne's father did not tell her they're moving to Dawn's house. Also, they do not want a big wedding. It basically ends with Dawn and Mary Anne reaching to grab the bride’s flowers.
Subplot
Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold aren’t getting along, despite having separate identities now. They decide to have separate bedrooms, and they both seem much happier.
Haley Mills movies: Pollyanna, The Parent Trap, That Darn Cat, and The Moon-Spinners
Pippi Longstockings, The Teddy Bears' Christmas, the Witch Next Door, Baby Island, Mrs. Piggly-Wiggly, Dr. Doolittle (books)
Talbots and Laura Ashley (stores)
Continuity and Inconsistencies
Continuity
Inconsistencies
In the first printing, Dawn's name is repeated and Mallory is missing on pages 141-142.
Mary Anne says that Kristy has never missed a BSC meeting. But she missed one in Kristy and the Snobs when Louie was really sick.
In chapter 2, Kristy calls Dawn and Mary Anne for a social call, even though she’s babysitting. It later becomes a club rule that babysitters won’t call friends to socialize while they’re working,
Mary Anne mentions that she wants to wear a pink dress to her dad’s wedding, but she hates the color pink.
Ann M. Martin's Dear Reader Letter
Dear Reader,
I am often asked how I can come up with the ideas for so many Baby-sitters Club stories. Surprisingly, I find that the longer the series continues, the easier it is to come up with ideas. There are so many characters that eventually they begin to suggest their own storylines. For example, Dawn and Jeff move to Stoneybrook in book #4, and Jeff is very unhappy. So by book #13 I felt that Jeff might want to move back to California to live with his father. Also in book #4, Mary Anne and Dawn decide to bring their parents back together. And now, in book #30, they finally get married!
Some storylines that seem right for a character don’t actually work out, though. For example, my editors and I once considered a big story for Mallory—sending her to boarding school. In the end, we decided that wasn’t such a good idea. Readers would miss her too much. Some ideas are better than others!
This is the first time a book ends only to be picked up in the next book.
Richard says that if they all lived in the Spiers’ current house after he and Sharon get married, Mary Anne and Dawn would have to share a room when Jeff visits. This implies the house has three bedrooms (one for Richard, one for Mary Anne, and one for guests).
Sharon's parents are noted to be fairly wealthy.
Sharon celebrates her birthday in this book.
Mary Anne invented a board game that the Arnolds play.
Richard had the engagement ring hidden in the cake. Originally they had talked about getting married and didn't plan on getting new rings.
Logan comes to a BSC meeting.
Jobs arranged but never seen are with the Rodowsky and Perkins family.
Vanessa used to be teased for talking in rhyme so much at home. Mallory got call metal mouth when she got her braces by the triplets.
Sam and Charlie have a friend name Patrick.
The church that Mary Anne and Richard go to has the longest aisle in Stoneybrook. Mary Anne also calls its pretty.
Stacey lives closer to the Arnolds now.
Stacey thought that Marilyn's new room was a little on the dull side.
Claudia helped both Stacey and Mary Anne decorate their rooms when they moved.