‘The Wedding Cottage’: Erin Krakow on Dancing, Slow Burn Romance & Her Hallmark Bucket List

While planning a wedding for another couple, Erin Krakow‘s character in her latest Hallmark movie may very well find love herself.

In The Wedding Cottage, Krakow stars as Vanessa, who holds a contest offering a couple an all-expense paid ceremony to launch her new book, Tying the Knot — A Wedding Guide. The winners (Drew Henderson and Matreya Scarrwener) choose The Wedding Cottage, but there’s one problem: It’s been closed for years, and Evan (Brendan Penny), who inherited it from his grandmother, doesn’t intend to reopen. Vanessa, determined to restore the cottage, charms Evan, and along the way … they just might find out how much the cottage means to them.

Krakow previews her film, premiering April 15.

What drew you to this story and the character of Vanessa? Because you’ve done quite a few of these Hallmark movies.

Erin Krakow: It was not a hard decision for me. If I can make it work in my schedule, I’m always happy to do whatever movie Hallmark offers me. But this, in particular, was such a fun story with another very driven, tenacious female lead who is just trying to go after her dreams and maybe find love in the process. Is that too much for a girl to ask? So yeah, that was appealing. I also thought that there was some unexpected humor in this, and I was obviously thrilled to get to work with Brendan and reunite with Terry Ingram [after 2016’s Finding Father Christmas], who directed the project. So it had a lot going for it. I was really excited to be a part of it.

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How is Vanessa’s life going when we first meet her? I feel like professionally, it’s pretty good, but personally….

Yes, correct. [Laughs] So, professionally, things are going well. The book sales, I think, are not as great as she’d like them to be, but she’s launching this book. She’s got a website. She’s planned over 230 weddings. She wants to launch this thing internationally. She’s got a real drive to help people in the wedding landscape, and she’s doing really well. Personally, though, she doesn’t have much of a life outside of work, and her dating history is not the greatest. She’s struggling to find that work-life balance as so many are. But over the course of the movie, we see that she figures it out. Sometimes you just have to ask for a little help.

Then she meets Evan, and of course, it’s not exactly a meet-cute.

Vanessa promises this young couple that they can get married wherever they want — they’re the contest winners — and they choose this darling Wedding Cottage, only she finds out that the thing has really fallen under disrepair and hasn’t been in use as a wedding cottage in some time. So, she goes to check it out in person and sees how much of a mess it is. When she arrives, and she’s snooping around, she meets the owner, who happens to be handsome and brooding and all the things that you want out of a Hallmark man. [Laughs] Anyway, they’re like oil and water at first because she needs his permission to fix up The Wedding Cottage, and he is just trying to live a quiet life and work on his art — he’s an artist, of course — and she is a thorn in his side. But she’s persistent and offers to bring him coffee every day, and eventually, he acquiesces.

What starts to bring them together? When do they start connecting?

It’s a slow burn. I don’t think it’s one thing necessarily, but it seems like they’re both empathetic people who care about helping others. And I think there’s a developing flirtation between them, so they’re wanting to spend more time together. It’s through the process of making this dream come true for the young couple that they start to see each other in a new light. That’s my feeling.

It also helps that there’s a chance for them to dance together…

That’s a good point. When they’re suddenly in each other’s arms swaying to a romantic song, if there’s any chemistry at all, it’s just going to grow in a moment like that.

What can they learn from each other?

We see them really grow. Evan is re-inspired artistically, you could say. He’s kind of found his muse in Vanessa. He goes from making art about the concrete jungle and how cold that can be to something that’s more organic and warm, and romantic. So he learns from his experience with Vanessa about his art. And I think Vanessa learns that things don’t have to be perfect to be good.

David Strongman/Hallmark Media

What’s going to make people fall in love with their relationship?

They challenge each other. They rib each other a bit. It is friendly and a little silly at times, but I think that there’s a real deep connection and understanding there as well. I think that there’s — at least I’m told there’s a nice chemistry. When you enjoy working with a person as much as Brendan and I enjoyed working together, I think that that is going to resonate on screen.

What was your favorite scene to film?

It’s one of the later scenes, and I don’t know how to answer this without spoiling it because it’s toward the end of the movie. Evan makes an unexpected appearance that leads to another dance between them. … There’s [also] a leaf blower scene that was a lot of fun to film. That was really fun and funny.

You’ve done quite a few Hallmark movies. You have When Calls the Heart. What’s still on your Hallmark bucket list?

I feel like I’m really living it out with every project that they offer me. I’m so grateful for the characters I’ve had the pleasure of playing and that I’ve been able to executive produce on When Calls. It’d be an interesting new challenge to direct something for Hallmark maybe one day and maybe write something someday. I don’t know. I would be curious to know what others would want to see from me if maybe there’s a different kind of character they’d be curious to see me play. But I don’t know that there’s anything that’s screaming at me right now. I’m feeling very happy and grateful with what I’ve been given.

The Wedding Cottage, Movie Premiere, Saturday, April 15, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel