Can someone please explain the chocolate fondue fountain phenomenon to me? The sight of all that brown goo flowing just seems so unappetizing. And how good could it taste, with all the vegetable oil you have to add to the chocolate to make it flow properly?

I hear, though, that chocolate fondue fountains continue to be all the rage, particularly at weddings. This, too, baffles me. Your wedding day is (we hope) a once-in-a-lifetime event, a day to celebrate the choice of two unique individuals to cast their lot in life together.

And you want to commemorate this by dunking strawberries into some oily chocolate spilling out of a tiered contraption that, for an extra fee, can be fitted with a sneeze guard?

I don't blame the wedding planners who presumably popularized the chocolate fondue fountain. They're just doing their job, which is to ensure that your special day is just as special as the next client's, and in the same special way.

But if you really want to put your own personal stamp on your wedding day, why delegate every detail to the professionals? Admittedly, some people are happy to leave all the decisions to a seasoned pro, but if you've got a creative streak, your wedding is a perfect opportunity to express the qualities that brought the two of you together in the first place.

I witnessed an electrifying example of this last October at my friend Heidi's wedding. Heidi, a kinetic artist, collaborated with her fiancé Michael, a science teacher, to create the Wed-o-Matic, a pair of revolving wedding cakes powered by a 6,000 volt Jacob’s ladder.

On the top of one three tiered cake stood a Heidi doll; on the other, a Michael Doll (they took Barbie and G.I. Joe, and modified their heads with Fimo clay). As the cakes revolved, the bride and groom touched hands, creating a spark. It was the perfect metaphor for the way Heidi and Michael mesh, with their shared love of gadgetry and knack for inventing things.

Granted, not all of us are artistic geniuses or mechanical wizards, but Heidi and Michael's Wed-o-Matic cake, was, to me, a perfect example of how you can have a truly memorable wedding when you bypass the mass produced trappings and opt for more inspired, personal touches that reflect your own shared sensibility.

And isn't that why you've gathered all your friends and family together in the first place, to celebrate the union of two soul mates? Of course, if it was a fondness for fondue that brought the two of you together, by all means, let the chocolate flow. Just be sure to get the sneeze guard.