Love Buzz

The Tackiest Wedding Announcement Ever?

By lemondrop. Posted on Dec 26th 2010.

Back of car with just married sign on it

A tale of infidelity flaunted in the pages of The New York Times

I confess: I'm an avid reader of the New York Times wedding announcements. I'm one of those people who religiously scans the Vows section every Sunday. I even watch the videos online. lemondrop: Nerdy Couple To Wed in Zero Gravity

There's no better escape from my own banal reality than to read optimistic tales of romance that make me feel like we can all find a summa cum laude Harvard grad (who happens be descended from Thomas Jefferson) in our local bar.

Whatever your level of interest in Vows, they're an institution. Enough so that there was a bit of an uproar lately when many of us opened up our Sunday papers to find a tale of infidelity leading the announcements.

This past week's headliners, Carol Anne Riddell and John Partilla, have caused a huge backlash, with hundreds of angry comments and an enormous amount of media attention. lemondrop: 5 Things To Leave Out Of Your Wedding Toast

In brief: Former TV reporter Riddell, 44 and ad exec Partilla, 46, were married to other people when they met at their kids' Upper West Side school. The two couples became friends as a foursome, went out to dinner and on vacation together ... until Riddell and Partilla "fell in love." While they vehemently deny any infidelity of a physical nature took place while married, they eventually left their spouses and then proudly boasted about it to the Times (some especially loved the "joyless onlookers" in the photo).

Look, I know that lots of marriages end because of infidelity and that, oftentimes, new marriages result. What I don't get is why the paper or the couple would parade this tale as a headline story of triumph and bravery. lemondrop: Bride Sues Over Racy Photos Posted Online