• Take a few days to decide if this is truly what both of you want. Weddings are stressful and can take a toll on even the most even-keeled individuals. No need to cancel everything if this is simply a glitch in the fabric of your future. Yes, I am giving you permission to have cold feet, call it off, change your mind, and call it back on.
• Remember that calling off a wedding is easier and cheaper than divorce. Harsh, but true. If this is really the end of the road for your relationship, then end it now. There is nothing noble about going through with a wedding if you know the marriage is doomed. Even your mother’s scorn is easier to endure than a divorce attorney’s wrath.
• Behave like grown-ups. If it’s a no-go, you need to work together to call off the vendors, the guests, your relatives, and your wedding party. So, as hard as it might be to be civil, given the circumstances, you need to be civil for a few more days.
• Resist the need to overexplain. Ninety-eight percent of the people in your life don’t need all the dirty details, even if they are dying to know them, but they need a shred of information. Use a simple explainer: We’ve decided that marriage is not the right path for us. Thank you for your support as we move forward separately.
• Repurpose those vendors! Want to save the deposit and do something to celebrate (or at least ease the pain) of your newly single life? Keep the photographer and do a shoot with you and your dog living the good life. (Yes, I did suggest a photo shoot with your dog because even Aunt B loves dogs.) Take that honeymoon with your two best friends, who would love to go on a cruise down the Danube, thank you for asking. Throw yourself a dance party with that booked deejay and some cheap wine and beer. Don’t keep your wedding date, of course. But do put those deposits to work.
• Nobody wants tainted wedding gifts back, so don’t sweat this task. Return the gifts you can. Donate the engraved items to Habitat for Humanity. Or save a few to smash in the privacy of your own backyard.
• Take time to grieve. I’m sorry that your wedding plans didn’t come to fruition. The loss of an engagement is a true loss. You will need a moment, and I hope that you can find some solace in the fact that you did a very brave thing.

Big Kiss (even without the Wedding Bliss),

Your Aunt B

Part Two
Fall

Chapter 27
The One that Got Away

The Mother of the Bride