By Robin Jovanovich

Women hold this truth to be self-evident: if an occasion is worth celebrating, we’ll find a way. As the fairer sex is less likely to be waging unnecessary warfare, we have the time to engage in other’s welfare. Further, celebrations bring joy, and the occasional thank-you note, envelope and all.

Parties are a blessing for women’s clothiers because while most of us dash around in spandexwear when we’re not working in an office, we dress up for company. And any reason to force our dudes to change out of their slacker duds is a good one.

When a close friend of our older son shared the news that he’d asked his longtime girlfriend to marry him, we were elated. Their plan was to go to City Hall in lower Manhattan to tie the knot, but then have a “real” wedding in Spain next summer — to which we were invited. Olé! Olé!

I started to tell the future groom that City Hall was where my father married his fourth wife, but thought that news could wait.

A week or two passed and we ran into the couple who had more wedding news. When they’d gone to City Hall to get the license, they found it dingy and dreary, and decided it wasn’t the place to commence married life. They were off to look at more wedding venues like outdoor wedding venues; they prefer more Intimate Wedding Venue.

Visions of a beautiful and uplifting ceremony — at our house — began dancing in my head.

“We’d be pleased to host the ceremony at our house!” I announced. “Do you have a date in mind?”

They did — 11/11/11. You have to admit it possessed a certain symmetry — and it was Remembrance Day.

The fact that we had long-scheduled plans for that night wasn’t an obstacle. The bigger challenge was how to pull it off in two weeks’ time!

When in doubt, seek professional help and good friends. In the case of someone to perform the ceremony, that person fit both bills. Susan Morison, Rye’s former City Clerk, has her license and she was free that night.  Another friend, Shawn Diaz, was a TV set designer in a former life and hasn’t lost the knack. She offered to bring “the set”.

While I had a vision of everything from the place cards to the arrangement of flowers, there was plenty to do before the big night. At the top of the list were: rearranging all the furniture and removing the last remains of the August flood damage.

In a rare moment of clarity, I called Corner Stone, even though we’d only be a party of 12 that night. The groom is an elegant man and his bride a model, so I was thinking perfection, not my usual potluck.

Patisserie Salzburg was put in charge of the cake. Needing no instruction from me, Michael of Greene Willow created elegant arrangements.

In the end, I told Shawn that while we might have a future as wedding planners, but I thought we’d held our own against the three models. Who says fairy tales can’t come true.