# Chapter 4: A Wedding on a Whim – Can a Married-at-First-Sight Gamble Save Save The Date?
Hello everyone, it’s me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 4 of *Married at First Swipe* – and oh, what a chapter it is! We’ve got money troubles, a struggling business, a friend who’s quietly sacrificing everything, and a truly outrageous idea that just might save it all. But at what cost? Grab your coffee, settle in, and let’s dive deep into a morning that changes everything.
The chapter opens on a freezing Manchester morning – so cold that even inside the summerhouse office, Hannah wonders aloud why anyone would ever choose to live in the north-west of England when they could be basking in sun-drenched beaches elsewhere. But it isn’t the weather that’s making the atmosphere tense. It’s Jess. Hannah barely gives her friend a chance to close the door before firing off the question that’s been burning on her lips since yesterday: "How did it go? What did the bank say?"
Jess dodges the question with a small, unconvincing smile. She’s brought croissants – the plain ones, rejected by her twins because they aren't chocolate – and she insists on coffee first. There’s something fragile in her. Hannah can sense it. But she lets herself be distracted, joking about the gym making her hungry, and happily taking the first bite of flaky pastry as Jess settles down at their little meeting table, fiddling with a biro. And then comes the confession Hannah would never expect.
"Okay, so, I don’t want you to worry, but I need to be honest with you about the financials."
And just like that, the bubble of normal morning chatter pops. Hannah forces herself to hold back her instinctive fear and nods, stuffing more croissant into her mouth for emotional support. Jess pulls out the dreaded folder – Hannah privately calls it the "plastic wallet of doom" – and spreads spreadsheets across the table. Hannah’s eyes glaze over at the numbers, but one document makes her snap back to focus: the count of paying users, and the annual revenue.
The number is shockingly small. Barely more than Hannah’s salary.
"That isn’t much more than my salary," Hannah says, staring. "But what about yours?"
Jess shifts, uncomfortable. "Well, I haven’t really been paying myself one for the last twelve months or so."
Hannah is absolutely appalled. The confession spills out: Jess has been quietly draining her own savings, her redundancy money from her old marketing job, pulling equity out of their house, and leaning on Tom’s modest art income, all to keep Save The Date alive. She took a bank loan to get the company off the ground and has been subsidizing the dream ever since. Hannah looks at her friend with a mixture of admiration, horror, and dawning understanding. If the app doesn’t get more paying users, the bank will pull the loan, the business will fail, Jess won’t be able to pay Hannah’s salary – and the family might even lose their house.
Hannah blinks. "Fuck."
"Yep. That about sums it up."
The weight of the truth settles like a stone between them. But there’s a sliver of hope: the finance gurus say if they can double their paying users within the next six months and keep growing them steadily after that, they can dig themselves out. Hannah locks onto that. She rolls up her sleeves and begins to brainstorm with all the energy she can muster. Because she knows something Jess doesn’t – she has an idea. The crazy idea.
"You know a Saturday, or a million years ago, when I said about my idea..." Hannah starts, but Jess is already groaning. "No, Han, I’m not pimping you out to save my dating app."
Ah, so this idea has come up before. What is it? Before Hannah can explain, the office door bursts open and Tom strides in, announcing he’s brought real filter coffee and muffins. A welcome interruption – he quickly realizes he’s barged into an intense conversation, but Hannah and Jess insist he stay. He’s quickly relieved of the baked goods and soon Jess brings him up to speed: the bank meeting, the awful numbers, the desperate need to double subscribers.
"Well, not *nothing*," Hannah says, eyes brightening. And finally, she unveils her scheme.
Remember Andy and Pippa? The couple who sent bottles of gin to announce their engagement after meeting on Save The Date? They are living proof the app works. Hannah’s plan is simple: to sell the idea of happily ever after so hard that people will flock to subscribe. And what could sell it harder than trusting your own product so completely that you’d marry a total stranger matched by the app, on your very first date?
"You've got to be joking," Tom says, chewing his lip.
"I'm not!" Hannah insists. She sees her own loneliness as the perfect marketing tool. She’s a thirty-something woman, not in a relationship, and the perfect "worst case scenario" to prove that even she can find someone. They’d plant stories in the press, generate buzz, and let everyone fall in love with the romance of it all. "The app goes crazy, more people subscribe, the pool gets bigger, more people find matches, and bingo – we have a self-perpetuating circle!"
Tom’s jaw is somewhere near the floor. Jess is shaking her head. But then Jess, who has been so resistant, surprises everyone by adding the key ingredient: "What if we put out a call for men to sign up?" It’s a genius addition. They need more male members on the app anyway, and this would get him in the door. But she misphrases it as "beef up our male members," and instantly Hannah and Tom dissolve into giggles like two ten-year-olds. Jess scolds them, but there's a glimmer of laughter in her eyes too.
Once they’ve sobered up, Hannah surges forward with plan after plan: adding a special offer for new members, focused Facebook ads targeting late-twenties and thirties singles, using Andy and Pippa as testimonials, sharing their engagement picture on social media, and even putting out a press release to the media. After all, the world is so full of doom and gloom, why not share a happy story? Tom’s nodding. Jess, though, stays painfully quiet.
"I’m just not sure," she finally murmurs.
And this is the emotional heart of the chapter. Hannah pleads with her best friend, not just about the business – but about herself. She’s tired of first dates with "boring Barrys and moron Matts." She’s homesick for adventure and has been missing the thrill of life. And when she looks at Jess and Tom, at their beautiful twins and their solid, enduring love, she knows she wants a piece of that. "Is it so wrong to want a bit of that?" she asks, her honesty cutting deep.
Jess finally cracks. She looks at her husband, and her face softens into a smile. She agrees – reluctantly, but she agrees – to let Hannah try. The room fills with sudden joy. They’re hugging, laughing, cheering like they’ve won the lottery. Tom has to go – he has a call with a client – but before he leaves, Jess makes them all promise: no amount of money can buy happiness. If any of them feels things spiraling out of control, especially Hannah, they’ll pull the plug. Friendship comes first, always. Hannah agrees wholeheartedly. She wants to do this, she wants to help, and she wants to still be friends at the end of it. "I’ll definitely let you know if you start pissing me off."
And just like that, Hannah is promised to a mystery husband. Jess reluctantly adds "Find Hannah the man of her dreams" to her to-do list, and immediately saddles Hannah with the dreaded certificate updates for the month as her price. Hannah groans and smiles, knowing this is a trade she’ll take a million times over.
That evening, while waiting for her baked potato in the microwave, Hannah ignores a pile of WhatsApp messages from Matt – yet another man from her past, full of messy excuses and complications. But she can’t resist scrolling through. Seeing his excuses, she feels a new sense of freedom. She decides a response is only fair, considering he’s already seen her read them. With a smile, she types out a message telling him she doesn't need to hear about the state of his current relationship, and that, by the way—she has just agreed to get married herself. Good luck with the girlfriend he’s been moaning about.
She puts down the phone, grinning like a demented woman. Preoccupied, she begins to hum. It’s only later she realizes the tune she’s humming is "Here Comes the Bride."
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**Reader’s Impressions & Star Rating**
What an absolute whirlwind this chapter is! I felt my stomach drop right alongside Hannah’s when Jess revealed the depths of her financial struggle – this quiet, desperate friend who has thrown everything into her dream and risks losing it all. And yet, the chapter is perfectly balanced with humor, heart, and the beautiful chaotic energy of these two friends who are in it together. Hannah’s idea is by turns reckless, romantic, and deeply relatable, and I absolutely love how the story refuses to let it be a joke – it’s real, it’s frightening, and it carries real consequences. The moment Jess finally gives in, all four of them hugging and laughing, felt like pure magic. It’s sweet, funny, and leaves me wanting more! I give this chapter a strong ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ **Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars**.
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**Next Chapter Prediction**
Now that the madcap plan is official, I predict Chapter 5 will explode with action! Jess is likely to start hunting for the perfect husband for Hannah, while the press call-out sends waves of chaos through their lives – and their inboxes. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to meet a handful of quirky, unsuitable candidates before one intriguing man emerges from the crowd, hiding secrets that could change everything. Will Hannah be matched with the one? Or is there a mysterious twist in store before they even make it to the altar? One thing’s for sure – a fairytale this complicated is destined to have some unexpected thorns!
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