7 New YA Books Featuring Weddings

This post on 7 New YA Books Featuring Weddings and YA Wedding Rom Coms is about teens involved in weddings as bridesmaids, groomsmen, fake plus ones, even wedding crashers. These are Books Like Sixteen Candles!

YA Books Featuring Weddings: YA Wedding Rom Coms

You might be thinking, WHAT? A teen book with a wedding? Are we in the 1800s? But then you remember this: Sixteen Candles, that iconic John Hughes film from 1984. In all the chaos of her older sister’s wedding, Sam Baker’s entire family has forgotten her sixteenth birthday. Sam battles her own insecurities and falls in love.

These YA Books Like Sixteen Candles give the 1980s story a MUCH needed update in terms of representation. OUT with the cringy 80s stereotypes, and IN with 2020s feminism,  LGBTQ couples and much more diversity!

---

When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore (2025)

• Anyone But You meets The Groomsman

Fielder has always thought he’d marry his next door neighbor, Ricky. But Ricky breaks up with Fielder, saying he needs to figure out who he is on his own.

One year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin’s destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, but there’s a twist: his cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister.

Now, Fielder has less than a week to win back Ricky’s heart while also trying not to ruin his cousin’s wedding.

Always Be My Bibi by Priyanka Taslim (2025)

• Sixteen Candles Meets Crazy Rich Asians

Bibi’s father has a rule: no boys until your sister gets married.

Bibi’s sure she’ll be un-kissed forever, but then hersister Halima drops a bombshell: she’s marrying the heir of a princely estate turned tea garden in Bangladesh.

Sohel, the groom’s younger brother is a nightmare. The only thing they can agree on is that their siblings are not a good match. But as the two scheme to break their siblings up, Bibi finds it impossible to stay away from the infuriatingly handsome boy.

Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment by Arushi Avachat (2024)

• Sixteen Candles meets Monsoon Wedding!

Arya’s family is in full wedding planning mode for her sister Alina.

Arya is determined to keep the peace at home and at school, but this season teaches Arya new realities: Alina won’t always be in the bedroom down the hall, Mamma’s sadness isn’t mendable, friendships must evolve, and life doesn’t always work out like her beloved Bollywood movies. But sometimes, the person you least expect (her academic rival Dean Merriweather?) will give you a glimpse of your dream sequence just when you need it most.

Planning Perfect by Haley Neil (2023)

• The Wedding Planner meets Sixteen Candles meets Wedding Every Weekend: an f/f rom com with asexual rep

Felicity Becker loves watching an event come together. So when her mom gets engaged, Felicity sees the wedding as the perfect opportunity to show off her skills.

Can Felicity wrangle her irresponsible mom, juggle her judgmental grandmother, figure out her feelings for her friend Nancy, and plan the perfect wedding? Or will all of her plans come crashing down around her?

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee (2023)  

• Top Chef meets Sixteen Candles meets Love, Simon: an LBGTQ YA rom com

Dylan Tang wants to win a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake-making competition in memory of his mom, and to bring much-needed publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese takeout in Brooklyn.

But he’s super distracted when a guy named Theo convinces Dylan to be his fake date at a family wedding in the Hamptons. With the mooncake contest looming, Dylan can’t risk being sidetracked by rich-people problems.Can Dylan save his family’s business and follow his heart?

Nate Plus One by Kevin van Whye (2022)

• My Fake Boyfriend meets Sixteen Candles – an LGBTQ fake dating rom com!

Nate needs a date to his cousin’s lavish destination wedding. Jai Patel, Nate’s best friend (and secret crush), has his own problems. The lead singer of Jai’s band, Infinite Sorrow, quit weeks before a contest that promised to be their big break.

But Nate rocks Jai’s world when he agrees to sing with the band. In return, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s travel buddy around South Africa, a buffer against his ex, and his plus-one at the wedding.

My Sister’s Big Fat Indian Wedding by Sajni Patel (2022)

• Sixteen Candles meets Pitch Perfect meets Monsoon Wedding

Zurika Damani is a naturally gifted violinist with a particular love for hip hop beats. After being rejected by Juilliard, Zuri’s last hope is a contest judged by a panel of top tier college scouts. The only problem? This coveted competition happens to take place during Zuri’s sister’s extravagant wedding week.

Zuri’s mom is in matchmaking mode with the groom’s South African cousin Naveen—who just happens to be a cocky vocalist set on stealing Zuri’s spotlight at the scouting competition. All Naveen has to do is to wow the judges for a top spot, evade getting caught by her parents, resist Naveen’s charms, and, oh yeah . . . not mess up her sister’s big fat Indian wedding. 

Other Wedding Books to Try:

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Best Wedding romance books!