Bad Wedding Cake = Good Marriage

In lieu of a financial refund for our less than stellar wedding cake, J and I came to a decision to ask Michele Coulon if she would provide us a free confectionary for my father's 70th birthday next year and she agreed.

So that's that. Wedding cake drama over. Although, I can't lie, a little bitterness still lingered on.

Then I began to run across a number of women who also suffered wedding cake disappointments. It felt good to know I have some sistah's out there, yo!

My favorite of these stories came when I was researching a post for the "What's New" blog I write at InsideWeddings.com. I do a series called "EC: Q and A" where I interview vendors who are members of the magazine's "Editor's Circle." I was working on an article about bridal designer, Claire Pettibone, whose dresses I absolutely adore (unfortunately, they aren't quite made for my body type but that's another blog post).

While doing a bit of research about Miss Pettibone, I came across a 2004 interview in which she described her wedding.  The question was: "Were there any surprises at your wedding?" And here was her response:

CP:   Well, the cake. We definitely had the ugliest wedding cake in history. (Laughs.) I don’t know what exactly happened. The cake was supposed to be a very blush pink with off-white roses all over it. The cake arrived, and it was hot pink with a big white heart. (Laughs.) So either it was not my cake that was delivered, or we had a complete meltdown... You know, there’s so much planning and stress and worry that go into a wedding...you go through all that and on your day you just have to let it all go and enjoy the day. So I did not throw a fit when I saw this ugly cake. I just looked at it and said, “Oh my god, let’s put some flowers in front it, try to hide it, and slice it up before anybody could see it.” (Laughs.) We had a great day. I always tell brides, don’t let anything ruin your day. It’s not about the cake. It’s not about any of that. You’re marrying the man of your dreams and it should be a beautiful day for you and your guests. 


It was like the Universe was talking to me directly. I had to write to Claire and tell her how fortuitous the timing of this was. I briefly explained my situation and thanked her for putting it into perspective. Then I added that maybe receiving a bad wedding cake is like having it rain on your wedding day: perhaps it's a sign of good luck.

A few days later she wrote back. She told me she was approaching her 17th anniversary and that yes, bad cake = good marriage.

So there you go. Who knew bad piping would turn out to be a sign from the heavens?

A few of Mrs. Pettibone's amazing designs.