Bookstore + Dogs + Wedding = Best Thing Ever

This is the story of a happy marriage indeed, Ann Patchett. A rather hilarious misinterpretation of a sentence in a New York Times review of Patchett's nonfiction essay collection This Is The Story Of A Happy Marriage led to the author revealing in a Letter to the Editor that her dog has been a happily married pup since August. Yes, a dog-to-dog wedding, and it gets better — the ceremony took place at Patchett's bookstore Parnassus Books in Nashville. And the whole event was to raise money for the local humane society. Dogs + Books + Wedding = Probably the most important story on the Internet and the best day of the lucky attendees' lives.

I'm sure all of our Save the Date cards just got lost in the mail, don't worry.

The miscommunication stemmed from a sentence in the original New York Times book review that offered details about the author ranging from "her stabilizing second marriage to her beloved dog." Because of the lack of a comma, Patchett just wanted to be clear that no, she is not married to her dog. Sparky, a shelter dog Patchett adopted, is already married to the love of his life, best friend and neighbor Maggie. Patchett's full Letter to the Editor explained everything

The groom wore a Hawaiian shirt because Patchett is the greatest dog owner ever, and the bride wore a pink harness and a matching carnation bouquet. In lieu of rings, they exchanged bone-shaped dog tags that said "Sparky <3s Maggie" and "Maggie <3s Sparky," and I can't type anymore because I'm drowning in adorableness and I'm going to fall over.

Patchett isn't just known as a devoted mother-in-law to Maggie, she's also a hugely decorated author who will accept the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement Nov. 6 to add to her honors. Her 2002 fiction novel Bel Canto won the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction, among many other accolades. This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage is a collection of essays that meditates on life, art, philosophy, and how she came to scale her own personal challenge and find the titular happy marriage.

Image: rodricg/Flickr; Parnassus Books