Ask any bridal-shop worker, and she'll tell you that recent years have seen an uptick in fall weddings. Starry-eyed brides-to-be envision the fiery red, orange and yellow backdrop of their most perfect, beautiful day set in St. Louis' most perfect, beautiful month. But here's an October surprise for you: This month bites. All wretched 31 days of it hurtle us ever closer toward the first frost; the daylight shrinks minute by minute till it's dealt the deathblow of daylight-saving time in the first week of November. Inevitably, the Cardinals will end their post-season run with a heartbreaking, head-scratching implosion, while Rams fans, their team already 1-7, will have pledged their allegiance to another underdog team. When the month began, we were in fall's first throes of sweater weather, and the sharp wind felt foreign and invigorating on our sun-scorched skin. But by its end, we're already sick of leaving home with a coat in tow. Better find something to hold on to: It's going to be a long, dark winter.