The shape of things to come

At the end of all that planning, everything should come together perfectly -but rarely does

For everyone who says that all a marriage requires is two young people in love, here’s what it takes: Meetings with families, negotiations on dates, parlays about rituals. It means endless cups of tea and some drinks, assurances, doubt, anxiety, laughter and happiness. It also involves figuring out dates concerning relatives who can only come on a certain day and friends who can’t. It means caterers, menus and points of view about whose vote will carry weight. Scotch or malt, wine or champagne? Who’ll order the liquor licence, who’ll take charge of the food?

When our son decided to get hitched,