it can't all be wedding cake

There's something sad about the couple, standing together on top of all those layers, staring hopefully into an uncertain future, oblivious to the world reflected in the glass of the bakery window. Sad too, that there's a place where you can buy interchangeable brides and grooms, sold separately, of course.

Our wedding wasn't very well planned. I wore the dress my mother had worn at her first wedding, because it was easier than picking out a new one and because, as I told my mother, I had already worn it once before, when the dress had to be let out twice to fit over my mother's growing stomach. I didn't care about the bouquets or the menu and I'm not sure if we had place cards or favors. We didn't have a photographer and I said that the bridesmaids could wear whatever they wanted.

But L and I did spend an afternoon sampling wedding cakes. I told the bakery that I wanted the frosting to be a shade somewhere between ivory and butter and L chose a chocolate-raspberry filling. The bakery didn't like the shape or the color of the flowers I picked, so I had the florist put them on, arranged in a widening spiral.

It was a beautiful cake. But the reception went by so fast and there were so many people saying so many things, that by the time we went to look, the cake was gone. Entirely, completely, absolutely gone and somehow neither of us had had the chance to even taste a slice.

Tell me something about your wedding. Or someone else's wedding.


Edited to add: I love the comments to this post. They're a fascinating mix of touching, sad, and hilarious stories. If you haven't already, you should take a look at them. And, of course, add your own.