Heck, I'd marry this woman!

Maggie says:
Is it an unexciting weekend or what... I have a full-on girl crush for a woman I know only through the info-tainment venue of MSNBC.

MSNBC.com: Bride holds charity event after fiance cheats

The story's not a new one. Woman finds out Man is cheating and tries to figure out a plan in the context of an upcoming 180-person wedding and thousands of dollars already spent on the thing.

What's a woman to do?

• Choice A: Save Face. Some women might go along with the charade of the "perfect" relationship... especially if they have a "perfect" wedding planned that they care about more than the actual partnership. No need to admit to all the dark corners when there's a nice bright white dress to put on and a cake to cut! Any guesses as to how this marriage will turn out?

• Choice B: Lose It. Not all women can be so stoic in the face of an impending crisis. Some brides might cut and run - literally, fleeing their state for Albuquerque and pretending they'd been abducted and sexually assaulted by a "Hispanic male." Oh, wait - that's just an option if you're scared about the wedding in general, not a reaction to a cheating fiance. Right.

• Choice C: Stand Tall. This is the notion that Vermont women Kyle Paxman so well embodies. Six weeks before the wedding, she finds out her partner is a cheat. She immediately calls off the wedding and the relationship, but was stuck with nonrefundable hotel rooms and the reception area. According to the article, Paxman and her mom "...turned the reception into a benefit for the Vermont Children’s Aid Society and CARE USA, an international relief organization that aims to combat poverty by empowering women." Paxman's response? “I’m really just trying to turn it around and make something positive out of it.” You go, girl!

And as an aside - so I don't come across as completely jaded and unromantic, which people who know me know I'm totally not anyway - I'd like to give a shout-out to three dear friends who are all getting married within weeks of each other. (And yes, my gung-ho friend-of-the-bride self is traveling back east for all three weddings.) I spent last weekend in Buffalo, NY for Tracy's wedding, will be in Virginia next weekend for Allie's wedding, and then will be a Boston bridesmaid for Nancy just after that. Tracy, Allie, and Nancy are getting married for all the right reasons, and that's always amazing to be a part of.

And to Tracy, who looked Hurricane Ernesto in the eye last weekend and told him to bring on freezing rain and howling wind for her shores-of-Lake-Erie wedding: you kick ass, you power bride, you!