Orangeandblossom.com

I loved weddings before I had ever attended one. I was quite young in the late 1970s when the invitations appeared in the mailbox for my parents - oversized creamy envelopes with calligraphy on the front, Why can't I go? I would ask, fingering the thick paper, incredulous as I envisioned it: a party without kids! I would watch my parents dress up and leave the house as I wondered the rest of the night about this mysterious celebration. I was consumed by dreams of lavish decor, dinner, music, and dancing into the night, even as my babysitter pulled up the covers and turned out the light.