One Last Shot: Sugar Crash

The rain started three days before Elizabeth Murray and Paul Crage’s September ceremony—and didn’t stop. By the time they arrived at their Fairhaven, Massachusetts, reception site, the backyard tent was three inches deep in mud. Undaunted, Elizabeth hiked up her dress, pulled on galoshes, and proceeded to have the time of her life. Guests followed suit: Shoes came off and the dancing didn’t stop until police intervened at 2 a.m. “A family friend slipped and tore her dress, went home, changed into jeans, and came right back,” laughs the bride. The monogrammed, four-tiered cake, unfortunately, didn’t share that verve. “Our planner told us right away it was drooping from the humidity,” says Elizabeth, a registered nurse. “But that seemed insignificant when the place was flooded and chairs were sinking into the ground.” Besides, the newlyweds were having too much fun to stop for dessert. After postponing the cutting ceremony, they ended up slicing the wilted confection late in the evening. Elizabeth swears it still tasted delicious: “One guest even said she thought it was supposed to look like that!”