This week I’ve been thinking of two of my very special friends who are getting married this year. One actually ties the knot tomorrow…
It got me thinking about the day I said “I do” (only a short 10 years ago). My husband and I were so young then (23 and 24 years old, respectively).
Everything that leads up to the wedding day, seems to be a daze. The magical moment of getting engaged and slipping that sparkling ring onto your finger, the planning that starts pretty soon after saying ‘yes, to the moment you walk down the aisle with eyes only for the man of your dreams. Absolute perfection…
Or is it…?
I remember SO many things going wrong on my wedding day. I actually have photos of a few that I will share with you…
1. Our Photographer got lost, arrived late, and so we have no pre-wedding photos of getting dressed, putting on make-up, all those girly girl and mommy moments… None, Nada, Zip… (Hence no photo for that one)
2. The driver of the classic car (a 1963 Mercedes Benz, my husband is insisting that I share that detail) we were driving thought it was funny to drive around the block, over and over again, telling me it was FASHIONABLE to be late… If I had a photo of him, it would probably have a huge X mark over his face – HEADSHOT!
3. My bouquet was SO heavy all I really wanted to do was throw it to all the single ladies sitting in the pews waiting for me to say “I Do” …
4. As we walked up to sign the registry my newlywed husband stood on my veil and almost ripped out half my hair, now that would have made for some awesome photo’s ya think? :) As you can see my mother is trying to CALMLY stick it back in… Nah it didn’t work.
5. On the way to our photoshoot, we were taken to the wrong beach point, which was actually known as a red-light district… Appropriate hmmm… Again no photo’s of my family and bridal party with champagne overlooking the ocean. (But we did get a few nice shots, I will admit.)
6. When I walked into the reception hall I noticed, to my utter disgust, that the event organizer had covered the main table in a lace cloth that we implicitly told them not to… I disliked it, Immensely! I just wanted to cry…
7. One of my favorite things about our wedding decor was our cake… It was different, and I loved it! However, it was dropped just prior to the reception. (By a sweet sweet young lady – who also happens to be getting married in the not too distant future. I always giggle when I think about the infamous ‘cake drop’. She was devastated… Much more than I was actually.) It tasted heavenly! As you can see, the middle cake kinda took on the resemblance to the Leaning Tower of Pisa… Oh wait, I can see the nasty lace in this photo too… Damn, never saw that before… What was with these organizers and their obsession with lace?
By the end of all this, I was a little heart sore that my DREAM DAY, wasn’t so “perfect”… And my OCD (which has magically disappeared since having kids) kicked in… I remember my NEW husband lent over and said: “Today is only one day in our forever” – yes you can… aaaah… Yip, I know I landed a good one… The BEST one, in fact!
That moment has always stuck with me… Yes, the wedding day is absolutely important and incredibly special, we want it to be magical and perfect. After all; it is the beginning of our forever. But it is exactly that… A day. Just one day in many many more to come.
Marriage is hard work. There are days when we think, ‘what on earth are we doing?’ When, to be honest, we actually don’t like our spouse and I’m sure they feel the same way (sometimes!). Add kids to the mix… Oh goodness. There are good times that take your breath away, and imprint on your soul love like no other. We all have those moments. But there are also times that are so hard and difficult that it could be easier to just walk away. (I know that in some instances it is necessary to walk away) But the reality is, we made a choice… Love is a choice! We wake up each and every day choosing to love our partner. For better or worse.
Marriage is being able to see the worst in one another and still love and forgive, nurture and grow together. It is a lifelong commitment to cherish and invest in the relationship and promise we make on our wedding day.
A strong marriage rarely has 2 strong people at the same time. It is when a husband and wife take turns being strong for each other, that marriages grow stronger and love grows deeper. It is when two imperfect people learn to accept and love each other, despite their differences. And sometimes it requires one to fall in love over and over again. So, enjoy the good times, treasure the special times, and forgive in the hard times.
Omg. Scott writes on his hand all the time. Lol!
Haha! Aren’t we lucky gals ?
If the wedding had gone without a hitch… what would we have to talk about? We are glad for your lives, especially the life you have created together. The only thing seen in these pictures is love reflected. The kitchen for our reception burned a month before our wedding and my Mom was refusing to attend yet… that was the beginning of the best part of my life.
It’s always one great adventure – marriage! ?
I can’t believe you brought up “the cake incident” noooooo hahaha for the record it wasn’t dropped – breaks were slammed and poor, innocent soul in the back seat who was buckled in was fine. Sadly the cake was not buckled in….??
Haha!! I just had too ? It is such a great, funny and special memory ?
What a great post. We have so many regrets about our wedding day, not actually getting married but all the stuff around it and the money it cost. I will be advising our daughters to just do something simple and cheap because, as you say, it’s the marriage that counts, not the wedding. Thanks for linking up to #FridayFabulous
Absolutely!! We can get so taken in by the day and sometimes I think it could start the marriage off on the wrong foot!
Such wise words from your hubby…just one day. It can be incredibly frustrating and stressful though when you’ve spent so much time planning when things don’t go according to plan. I skipped all of that and hubby and I eloped. It, too, was just a day…the fun starts after when you begin building a life together. Thanks for sharing this! #bigpinklink
Agreed! Eloping is so romantic !! ❤️
What a lovely post. I think everyone thinks the day has to be perfect but that’s unrealistic. My Mother made a photo album for Father of their wedding day and at the end put the quote: ‘Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be’ and that was totally true because then I came along ;) x #bigpinklink
Totally agree! The best is yet to come ? x
Your husband whispered some very wise words-such a beautiful sentiment! And your conclusion is something we should all remember-that the day is the start of your lives together, and there will be many, many more perfect days to come! I do love a wedding post! And you look so beautiful, and you do look like you had the best time! The flowers look gorgeous, even if you did want to chuck them at the first opportunity! I can’t believe the catalogue of errors you had-it’s like a wedding from a sitcom!!!!! I don’t actually recall anything going wrong on my wedding day…! Apart from my choice of bridesmaids, I’d take that beck in an instant (it’s a very long and sad tale…) But apart from that (oh, I did accidentally give the photographer a full frontal, I thought he’d gone to the church!) everything went really well! Thanks so much for sharing with #bigpinklink!
Thank you for your kind comment!! The bridesmaid situation is always a difficult one. However I am sure the photographer had a WONDERFUL time ?