“Jingle Bell Bride” Recap & Review

Are you an Instagram influencer about to marry @musclecityhotdude99 for likes and #ad money? A celebrity chef tying the knot with your sweetie? Or, possibly, a fussy one-named popstar wanting an elaborate celebration of love to be plastered over every website and tabloid? Well, you need to call Jessica Perez (Julie Gonzalo)! Not only is she a wedding planner to the stars, but she is

• stressed
• missing Christmas with her family
• (did I mention stressed and missing Christmas with her family?).

One of Jessica’s clients, the apparently global (but not Alaska famous) popstar RENEE, is changing her flower order up last minute. No, she doesn’t need volcano flowers, but one of the rarest flowers of them all: Jingle Bells. This flower (I’ve poorly googled it and still can’t tell if it is real) is out of season, but oh!! A spark of hope! There are some available from a tiny town in our 49th state from a little place called Holden Farms. 

So, with 2 weeks until the wedding and a London promotion on the line, Jessica flies to Tapeesa, Alaska only to have her vending machine cookies stolen.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Now it is time to meet Matt (Ronnie Rowe Jr.), a man who helps out his Aunt Mary at Holden Farms. Yes, that Holden Farms. The Jingle Bell Flower Holden Farms. The man that holds the answer to Jessica’s problems. He is

• single 😉
• the mentioned cookie thief
• Jessica’s chauffeur from the Tapeesa Airport.

Matt is also an animal lover and a very responsible driver—he abides by Moose Crossing signs.  Except, this moose stop leads to disaster! A stuck truck! A missed flight! A bed filled by Jessica at his Aunt Mary’s guest room because not only is there no room at the inn…there is no inn!

Looks like Jessica will be in Tapeesa a little longer than she had planned. 

After a charming afternoon of picking up a Christmas tree with Matt, learning more than she ever knew she needed about the Jingle Bell Flower Festival, and her cell phone dying while getting mildly scolded by her boss, Jessica is very unprepared and very cold. 

Because she’s a wedding planner and has a detailed planner, I assumed that Jessica is one prepared puppy, but (let me yell for a second) she didn’t travel with a CELL PHONE CHARGER or an EMERGENCY CHANGE OF CLOTHES or EMERGENCY PAJAMAS?! I, one of the most unorganized people in the world, have

1. A blanket in my car
2. Bandaids in my purse
3. Hand sanitizer on me always (even before it was cool, might I add).

(Maybe I should be a wedding planner. Those are the qualifications, right?)

ANYWHO the next morning, she goes to get on the plane aaaaaaaaaand it is under repairs. And guess what? The new part needed won’t be there for 3 (three) days. Jessica’s going to have to be a guest at Holden Farms a wee bit longer.

Matt takes Jessica shopping for some proper clothes at the Tapeesa General Store because her coat and shoes are so very inadequate for the Alaska cold. And look, I’ve probably seen one hundred Hallmark movies and realistic clothing choices rarely bother me because I am not watching these movies for realism, BUT let me gripe for a moment: there are people walking casually around Tapeesa with giant smiles on their faces without gloves or hats on! Shouldn’t I be fearing for their fingers?!!!!!!!!! Their ears?!!!!! And might I gripe again that everyone is wearing coats and shoes like the ones Jessica arrived in but just had to replace with proper Alaska clothing??????????

I’m thinking Matt’s just trying to bring some money into Tapeesa’s nonexistent tourist economy. Smart. I will respect that. You know they don’t really get tourists, because there are zero hotels. Okay, I’m over my gripe. Gripe over. (I honestly don’t know if I have ever typed or said “gripe” before today????)

Let me do some bullet points, because if you know me, I love them.

• There are some kids putting on a play dressed as old-timey goldminers with fake mustaches and it gave me a vivid flashback of the Gilmore Girls episode where the elementary school put on Fiddler on the Roof and a 30-something Kirk played Tevye. 
• Jessica is chosen as the Jingle Bell Princess! Which, thankfully, is a thing! There’s even a tiara!
• They’ve got to change the location of a dance to the nicest dump I’ve ever seen and Jessica takes over.

Should I even mention Rebecca? The backstabbing, homemade candy cane making, client stealing turd? Now that I’ve said that, I probably should do a little more mentioning. She works at Novak Events with Jessica and it looks like she wants to grab the London promotion from our leading lady. Away from the woman who flew to Alaska to chaperone a flower order. Stay away from popstar RENEE, Becca! Stay away!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Also Matt and Jessica are getting to know each other. ❤ Jessica doesn’t make enough time for herself and wishes she could make time for her family. Matt used to live in NYC, but left after his divorce. He moved back to Tapeesa to live with his Aunt after her husband passed.

Also-also Matt is killing it as a Hallmark lead! Want some examples? Oh, I’ve got them:

• He takes Jessica to see the Northern Lights!
• He lifts her up onto the tailgate and sits cozily next to her.
• He dresses up IN A SUIT to model a Jingle Bell Flower boutonniere for RENEE.

Dance time! Jessica is crowned as the Jingle Bell Princess. She helps hand out flowers that have something to do with blessings, which is a very sweet tradition that I forgot the details of, and I apologize. This year, if I’m going to get more than one recap done I’m going to have to miss a few details and even characters and B plots.

But, good grief is love in the air! The (previously unmentioned) pilot finds the (previously unmentioned) mayor under the mistletoe. The (previously unmentioned) Christmas tree farmer dances with Aunt Mary. Jessica and Matt slow dance to a confusingly romantic (and kind of sexy?) banjo rendition of Silent Night.

But romantic sexy banjo dance ruined! Jessica finds out her boss is taking her off of RENEE’s wedding and is replacing her with Rebecca the Terrible because flying out the next morning is unacceptable. Ugh. Jessica is legitimately mad and lightning bolts come out of her mouth instead of the usual Hallmark marshmallow and peppermint scented anger. I loved it. 

Matt is sad Jessica is so sad and convinces the mayor to convince the pilot to fly the plane out tonight. Maybe her job will be saved! They hug a sweet hug and Jessica tells Matt to “look her up if he’s ever in New York.” 😉

We’re at the last 5 minute rush!

• Jessica makes it back in time! Everyone is shocked!
• She turns down the London promotion to live near her family!
• The Jingle Bell flower bouquet is delivered to the bride!
• Matt comes to New York!
• He got his professor job back!
• Whoops, I forgot to mention he’s a professor who has been working on his dissertation!
• They kiss!
• They walk off into a sunset (that’s not setting at 4 pm)!
• The End!

---

I rate Jingle Bell Bride Moose Tracks Ice Cream which is a 4/5 on my scale of Moose! A solid start to #CountdowntoChristmas 2020!

The Scale

1. A killer moose
2. Joey Gladstone’s Bullwinkle impression
3. Bullwinkle
4. Moose Tracks ice cream
5. A non-killer moose

---

---

Oh, what a sweet, fun, movie! 

Guys. I am shocked that I wrote another recap. I honestly thought I was done with Hallmark Channel. I decided I could no longer support their movies after their removal of the Zola ad, their continuous diversity problem, and their vague response to Black Lives Matter. But, the unimaginable happened! They’ve actually made changes?!?!?!?! And I honestly believe they will keep making positive moves forward.

So, might I let out a quick celebratory yell? THERE IS AN INTERRACIAL COUPLE IN THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES, THE LEAD COUPLE!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Also, great news to anyone who hates event planning Hallmark movies like I do: for a movie that has quite a bit of event planning talk, it didn’t feel like an event planning movie. Very good.

Even though Jessica needed to get back home to do her job, this movie wasn’t stressful. The character was allowed to relax and enjoy Christmas in Tapeesa which allowed me to relax and enjoy Christmas in Tapeesa. Popstar RENEE didn’t turn out to be much of a bridezilla, and I am so thankful. 

Julie Gonzalo is lovely and funny, as usual. And Ronnie Rowe Jr.! Make him a Hallmark regular, please.

Anyway, I am tired. I yelled too much about coats and hats. In conclusion: watch Jingle Bell Bride. It’s worth it.

---

Let me know in the comments if you liked Jingle Bell Bride as much as I did! You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram @thehallremark. ❤