A lot of couples made things official on New Years. To you I say: Congrats! I also present you with a warning. Weddings are one day, marriages are lifelong. The road to marriage was one I was not prepared for emotionally. I felt horrible about myself right up until about a week after my wedding even though things came to a head two days ahead of the big event. I can easily admit that the days right before my wedding were the most stressful of my entire adult life.
About 48 hours before the ceremony, there was a huge storm. A tree knocked a telephone pole onto our house. Power lines were down and we couldn’t get inside for the night. Power was out all over town. We spent the night not sleeping on my aunt’s couch.
The following day, power had not been restored and we had to rescue all the food from the powerless church. Everything had to be prepared at my mother’s house. My husband to be spent most of the day making sure our house wasn’t too heavily damaged.
Later that evening, power came back and my family and I rushed to get the decorating finished for the wedding the next day. I couldn’t see how everything was going to get finished on time and I cried most of the night.
At some point, my fiancé was kidnapped by his groomsmen for a surprise bachelor party and I didn’t see him again until the next morning. There was still a lot to be done and they just took off. I was furious beyond words and practically hysterical. I haven’t been that angry with him before or since and I remember being dangerously close to calling the whole thing off.
Next day, my husband and I bought a small tree to be planted during the ceremony. A crepe myrtle. We got to the church just in time for the photographer to call and say that he was lost. He was almost too late for the wedding. He got there about 30 minutes before showtime. There was a mad rush to get pregame photos and I still felt like nothing good would come from any of this.
The ceremony starts and I notice that our tree isn’t where it should be. After some harsh whispering, my cousin comes running with the tree. It must have been at least thirty pounds of plant and soil he was carrying. Funny now, but it wasn’t amusing at the time.
Later, the photographer wants to take pics of the husband and I. We leave the reception and people get antsy. My mother decides to feed them early and lots of them eat and run. By the time my husband and I get back, about two-thirds of our guests are gone. People are starting to clean up the reception hall and we barely have any food left for us. I was a wreck.
I know everyone has a wedding day story, but I think mine is a doozy. This is an abbreviated version because of time and memory and it still makes me anxious to think about.
Also, if you are planning a wedding, don’t. Do yourself a favor and hire someone to handle things for you. Your experience will be much more pleasant that way.
