This puzzle is not a heavily themed variety cryptic, but a wedding, to me, is not entirely dissimilar. Both are labors of love that you share with the world, saying “look how much time and care and attention and love I am displaying here.” There are a million details that you hope lead up to a beautiful and joyous whole. And every piece has to be considered as both itself and how it fits. There are too many decisions to make, and at some point you have to let go and say “I hope you liked it”.
Our wedding was earlier this month of May and during the cocktail hour this puzzle was one small piece of it, given to guests at the cocktail reception (targeted at those who might not know many other people there). One of the smaller touches that, like everything else, was crafted to be what we wanted. This puzzle is ours and about us a bit, but yes, there is still “fill” (a term that I happily introduced to more than a few people who were like “wait, did one of you work for the [9 down] at some point?).
(This one was aimed at being a NYT Monday level, as I am nothing if not an ambassador to my hobbies. Also, we took a month off of streaming, but we’re back baby, we’re so back.)
Link to puzzle on Amuselabs: The Wedding Crossword
Easy to print PDF downloadable below, if that’s your preference (Black & White version below the Grid Art version).
Josh Solves 