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" Spoiler alerts ahead, if that&amp;#x27;s not abundantly clear. So now that perpetually single Penny has a ring on her finger, of COURSE I was expecting a big blowout wedding celebration. And so was Penny. Pete, her finance, however, has other plans. Specifically, the two of them on beach with the just sounds of the ocean and their heartbeats. But Penny persists. &amp;quot;I really want a wedding. I always have. And as I got older I started to think that might not happen, and I think some other people thought that, too. I&amp;#x27;m making it out of single-dom, and I want witnesses to that. If a Penny gets married in a forest, does anyone hear it?&amp;quot; I get where Penny&amp;#x27;s coming from. Despite what you see on Save the Date day in and day out (engagement rings! wedding dresses! wedding dresses! engagement rings!) I get what REALLY matters for a wedding: the bride, the groom, the person doing the marrying&amp;amp;#8212;and not much else. But for me (and for Penny) a wedding is bigger than two people. Mine was a little bit for my parents, who have given me SO MUCH, and who would have been crushed not to be there on my wedding day, especially since my kid sister probably isn&amp;#x27;t the marrying type, so I was their one big chance. I also wanted our closest friends, who introduced us, to witness our union. (I&amp;#x27;m guessing Petra, my MoH, would&amp;#x27;ve been pissed if I were all, &amp;quot;Thanks for the match-making! I&amp;#x27;ll take it from here!&amp;quot;) Plus, aside from your funeral, your wedding is the ONE chance I can think of to have every single person you love together, celebrating with you. I get that some couples aren&amp;#x27;t close with their families, others hate being the center of attention, and others just don&amp;#x27;t want to spend a buttload of money on one day. I think all of those are valid reasons for eloping&amp;amp;#8212;but I think my reasons for wanting a bigger wedding are just as valid. And I think Penny&amp;#x27;s reason&amp;amp;#8212;wanting to CELEBRATE finding someone when she was really, really worried that she wouldn&amp;#x27;t&amp;amp;#8212;is valid, too. I think some people consider exchanging vows on a beach (or in a courthouse or whatever) in front of their immediate family members and a few close friends eloping, while others would get married alone on a beach but throw a big party when they got back and call that an elopement. I think I could have easily done the former but probably not the latter. But just the bride and groom on a beach and no celebration would have been near-impossible for me. Among the other aforementioned reasons, I just could NOT let down my parents like that. It would have been a tough conversation if Rory had wanted a just-the-two-of-us elopement&amp;amp;#8212;but it turns out he wanted a much BIGGER wedding than I did. Would you be okay if your groom wanted a just-the-two-of-you elopement and you couldn&amp;#x27;t invite a SINGLE other person? Or would that be hard for you? On a lighter note: CHICKEN WING WEDDING CAKE!!! As Petra so poetically put it, &amp;quot;Now that&amp;#x27;s a groom&amp;#x27;s cake I would actually endorse.&amp;quot; Photos: Courtesy of ABC."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2013/01/abouthappy-endings-would-you-e>