When life hands you lemons, make lemon merengue pie. Or lemon soufflé. Or lemon cookies. After months of sheltering in place and acclimating to this new normal, baking has become a big thing. My husband looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy, covered in flour as he proudly bakes his own bread.

I’m not writing this blog to promote baking, though. This musing has been cooking in my mind for months, but I now have a personal reason for dishing these thoughts. (Erik, my amazing webmaster, will do cartwheels that I’ve finally written something for him to post.)

Here’s the thing. The Pillsbury Doughboy’s nephew (one of many) and his lovely fiancée have joined the ranks of un-wedded refugees. Their October 24 venue sadly didn’t survive shutdown. They not only lost their venue, they also lost their deposit. Dan & Swetha simmered a few weeks to concoct a Plan B and yesterday we got a Save The Date email announcing a virtual live stream wedding with details to follow. They chose to not expose family and friends to danger, apologized for any inconvenience and plan to have a big reception when it’s safe. These smart young people are taking a giant lemon and squeezing it for all it’s worth.

Thanks to Zoom and other video apps, there’s no reason NOT to celebrate! Love Isn’t Canceled. It’s inspiring to see so many couples adapting to the times and moving on with their lives as a committed couple. My own 2004 wedding was a hurricane disaster, but we scrambled to make the best of it, and the few who managed to attend said it was the best wedding ever. It’s important to understand that if things don’t go as planned, what matters are the vows a couple pledges to each other. Streaming will allow many guests to witness those vows, and it’s up to the guests to let their love and support shine through to support the newlyweds.

Paul and I will dress up for their virtual wedding. We’ll place flowers around our Zoom screen with bon vivant bridal enthusiasm. We’ll toast them with champagne. We’ll eat a special dinner at home in their honor. And I’m going to bake a lemon wedding cake for the event that I might share with The Pillsbury Doughboy!

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