“More than spare change, George,” Abigail said, thinking about the night before and her candlelit reflection in the mirror. It had given her confidence. She did a little twirl in her skort and fitted T-shirt. “Enough to look this good.”

From the Desktop of Dearly Beloveds and Betrotheds

Dear B & Bs . . .

In over three decades of professional wedding-going, your Aunt B has only received a handful of calls and cards informing her that the wedding in question has been canceled. As the recipient of this information, I’ve experienced a sort of hollow sadness, a grand celebration jettisoned in favor of staying at home on the couch. But for the (once) happy couple, canceling your wedding must feel like a ton of bricks dropped on your head as you walk past a construction site: all at once painful, unforeseen, and humiliating.

That said, it really can be for the best. My goal today is to give you some practical guidelines for the immediate future in the wake of a cancellation. After you take care of business, the emotional aftermath is up to you.