If your ring bearer for your wedding is 5 years old and is a very active boy, don’t tie the actual wedding rings onto the pillow he will be carrying down the aisle. Use cheap, fake, copies. Have the best man keep the real rings.
Why do I bring this up? Well, today is my parents’ 51st wedding anniversary, and it got me thinking about my wedding day, and about several things that happened, including the power going out as I was trying to put on my makeup. I was putting on my very full wedding gown in my tiny bedroom, as the power went out; while trying to keep the bedroom door shut to keep the 2 cats out, as my 5-year-old nephew kept coming into my bedroom, thus opening the door. As I got to the wedding chapel, the programs that I had slaved and sweated over (created and printed by me) were sitting on a table by the church door, still in the zip-lock bag, where my father had dumped them, as all our guests were seated inside the chapel, with no programs in hand.
This was all preceded by a rushed morning where I got to spend about 15-20 minutes at the wedding day breakfast, barely eating a thing before we ladies went off to have our hair done. My hair dresser, of course, had chosen that day to renew her wedding vows; so as she was fielding questions on the phone and dealing with family members coming into the shop asking about the keg and other arrangements for her special day, I felt anything but relaxed and pampered.
After our wedding service, where the organist was unable to play due to the power being out- the minister had the congregation sing us in and a lone (high school) trumpet player played us out- we were chauffeured by boat, by my father, from the chapel’s dock into the main harbor. Dad was so concerned about getting to the reception on time, that we arrived at the dock in the harbor a good 10 minutes before the photographer, so she never got photos of us arriving and walking up the dock. Do you know how stupid it feels, all decked out in your wedding dress, walking around waiting for a minivan car to take you and the bridal party to the reception venue?
Back to the ring bearer. It was during the reception, that I found out that while I had been walking to the chapel, my nephew was running around outside the chapel, holding the ring pillow, with the actual rings on it, and at one point the two wedding bands went flying. One was quickly found, and the second took a bit of looking. (The chapel is on the ocean shore, so the ring could have been in rock crevices or lost in-between the wood slats of various steps.) I am sure that if I had known, before the ceremony, about the ring being missing, I would have likely passed out. Thankfully, it was found before the ceremony began.
Unfortunately, that was not the end of the unpleasantries of the day; but other than the groom’s champagne glass stem breaking and dumping the contents into his lap, nothing else went awry at the lovely, crowded intimate, unseasonably hot reception.
Life Is A Journey... Not A Guided Tour 
I so totally know what some of that feels like! We left the reception by boat, down the river. His family had a history of practical jokes, so we were on guard – and good thing! BIL had wrapped a wire hanger around the drive shaft of his car! So in his tux, he crawled under the car to undo it. And lots of the decorations, all made by hand (favors – crocheted and starched little baskets – I was insane!), got tossed. I’m glad I got a do-over, much more relaxed – though it was annoying that the boat going up the sound was so loud during our vows! Funny I hadn’t realized both weddings included water before. So if you could plan another wedding, how different would it be?
Hmm. Good question. I would have the wedding that I originally envisioned: much smaller. Perhaps more casual, and with my SIL as my maid of honor. A lot of the day was very good, but my original vision included just the two of us, our immediate families, and our best friends- period. Although, I was thrilled to be able to see cousins and other family that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. I guess I just wanted my groom to feel comfortable and have a fun day celebrating with the people closest to us.