When I was a little girl, I was a flower girl in a wedding. That, to me was my day to be a princess. I was in a beautiful dress, everyone was complimenting me, and my job was simply to drop rose petals along the way. Meanwhile, I was totally oblivious to any drama around me. Two years ago, these memories came rushing back when I saw my son running around the Fairmont Hotel in DC waiting for his cue to play his part as the ring bearer at my friend’s wedding. He was just as clueless as I was at his age as to the magnitude of the event we were about to witness.
At my own wedding, I was so stressed by the prospect of having to rely on so many strangers to carry out various key tasks that would make the wedding come together, that the night of my rehearsal dinner, I lost my voice. So in the end, while everyone actually did show up to perform his/her own part in the wedding day, it was I that barely managed to say “I do” the two words formally required to complete the ceremony. After that, I realized that it no longer mattered whether everything was perfect, as long as everyone had some fun.
I have lost count at this point as to how many weddings I have attended, and I rarely remember the flowers, the invitations, the toasts, the food, the bands or even the venues (all major sources of arguments for months leading up to the big day), but I always remember the bright smiles of the brides and grooms as they walk down that aisle together for the first time as husband and wife, or when they have their first dance.
Ultimately, my theory is that it is not a real wedding unless there is some drama. The only ones that will be truly oblivious of this fact will be the children, the rest will just all find it a source of mild entertainment. So, as long as the bride and groom do not lose their voices or tempers at the alter, who cares what else happens?
