I just heard a piece on the radio from three different couples who had to cancel their wedding ceremonies due to the current lock down, so decided it might be quite timely to post these two stories back to back. They were written for ‘Shattered’ and ‘Pitch’.
The reality slowly dawned on her that the wedding would have to be cancelled.
First, a third of her international guests were grounded, unable to fly in. Then, the 100 people at one gathering rule fell way short of their 250 invitees. Now the lock down was putting an end to everything that she had been dreaming of since she was a little girl.
She reflected with horror at the hours spent on meticulous planning. Colours, themes, tasting menus, sifting through photographers’ portfolios for the one who could best capture her day, dress fittings… every last detail had been put into place.
Shattered, devastated, she wept and howled.
“As I see it,” observed her fiancé, “all you ever actually wanted was a wedding and not a marriage. I see that now. So, this might be the best time to tell you that I don’t even want to reschedule. It’s over.”
And the Groom’s point of view…
The pitch of her voice reached a crescendo as hysteria over the wedding mounted.
First, international friends began cancelling forcing them to make daily adjustments to the numbers. Then they were restricted to 100 people only, so they culled the guest list further, Jeanne insisting everyone was invited for a reason. There was nothing superfluous about a single detail, she shouted.
Now the wedding could not go ahead at all. She screeched about her carefully selected menu, paired with boutique wines, about the photographer whose skill with lighting was legendary and who was going to make her look like the most beautiful bride ever.
It had all spiralled horribly out of control with Jeanne fulfilling her own every whim.
And then there was the dress…
The dress was the pièce de résistance. He hadn’t seen it, but knew it was the price tag that would bring tears to his eyes when he saw her at the altar, not her shining radiance.
“As I see it,” he observed, “all you ever actually wanted was a wedding and not a marriage. I see that now. So, this might be the best time to tell you that I don’t even want to reschedule. It’s over.”
