My husband and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in July. I didn't sleep a wink the night before the wedding, because I was anxious about everything that could go wrong. However, it all went off without a "hitch."
The only major issue occurred right before the wedding, when we realized that my husband's ring wasn't attached to the ring bearer's pillow. I was a traditionalist, and I felt that if there is a ring bearer, he really should bear the ring. Plus, he was a bit older than is typical (8) and his flower girl sister was 6 -- they were neighbors I had babysat since birth and I was very attached to them (so it wasn't just a "courtesy pick"). It wasn't his fault...the ribbon and pin were still attached, so the adult who "attached" it must not have done a good job. Anyway, everyone was seated and we were ready to start, and unbeknownst to the guests and our parents, the wedding party was running around the rest of church trying to find the ring! The ring bearer's dad had actually pulled his own band off and we were going to use that instead, when someone found it in the parlor, where we'd taken many of the pictures. Whew! I attached the ring to the pillow myself, and away we went!
During the service, the ring bearer and flower girl kept moving closer and closer to us, so they could get a better view. My MOH sister was trying to quietly signal them them to stay in place, but it didn't work. They ended up standing right in front of us throughout most of the ceremony, and you can see the flower girl scratching her bottom during the video. We all got a laugh watching that! I actually found this to be charming...most of the time the kids are bored, but they were really into it!
It was probably a good thing they stood in front of us, because we needed them for camouflage. During the service, my husband's face was sweating PROFUSELY. We were facing each other during our vows, and I was trying to subtly back away so he wouldn't drip face sweat on my silk ballgown-style dress! Ewwww...I was shooting him dirty looks during the vows, as if he could control the sweating. We had a good laugh with the minister afterward. Seriously, though, it was gross.
We had a very nice country club reception, and there was supposed to be a shrimp sauce over the chicken, but the kitchen forgot to plate the meal with the sauce, so they brought it out in gravy boats. Nowadays, people would probably assume that was intentional, to accommodate those with food sensitivities, but I don't think we were that enlightened back then.
I had a morning wedding and afternoon reception, because I liked the British idea of wedding timing, with morning suits and the "wedding breakfast" luncheon (influenced by the televised royal weddings in the 1980s). There was another reception scheduled for the evening, and their baker delivered their cake and set it up while we still had a half hour left. It was really tacky to bring it into the ballroom while we were still there. Plus, it was ugly...white with bright blue frosting trim. It really bugged my dad, who was the country club president at the time -- he had some words with the club manager about that later.
Although that still annoys me, I have a bit more empathy now. The bottom tier of my sister's wedding cake collapsed during delivery, and her baker had to quickly go home, re-bake, and rapidly cool the replacement. The baker was really worried it wouldn't work. None of us were any the wiser, but after she told us the story afterward, I had a little more understanding of how tricky wedding cakes are and how vulnerable they are while being moved. I'm still mad that cake showed up during my reception, but I do understand why it couldn't be stored in another room and moved. Kind of.
I attended the weddings of my ring bearer and flower girl within the past couple years. My parents attended both weddings and were recognized as the "longest married couple" both times. They just celebrated their 60th anniversary in December.
Hybrid Mode
