I’ve been to a lot of weddings. Sometimes I’ve been in the audience, other times I’ve been an extra as a member of the wedding party, and once I was even in the supporting role (that’s high as guys can go — the bride is unquestionably the star). On the fun scale of social events, weddings are typically the polar opposite of funerals. But it’s funny to me how something that is supposed to be such a joyous and happy event often involves a big ol’ cloud of stress.
Maybe it’s due to the inordinate amount of time spent preparing for one day — that’s a lot of pressure. Maybe all the money invested entitles people to expect perfection. Or maybe one of the mothers involved had a sister who was killed by a tornado-tossed house. Whatever the case may be, stress and Adultitis are often uninvited guests at weddings.
To which I say, lighten the frick up, people.
Yes, everyone wants the wedding day to go well. But most of the time, things don’t go perfectly. Sometimes humidity makes the bride’s hair wig out. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes the roast beef is cold. Sometimes instead of walking down the aisle, the ring bearer goes running for the hills. Sometimes Uncle Rico doesn’t behave himself on the dance floor and gets slapped with another restraining order. And sometimes the priest ends his sermon with this little gem: “Let’s hope these two don’t end up a statistic.” (Yes, that really happened — I was there.)
In weddings, as in life, things out of our control go haywire. But what we can control is how we react to them. It’s important to keep a little perspective. A wedding is one day. A marriage is forever. Unless a meteor falls on the church and kills the majority of people in attendance and — *gasp* — ruins the cake, almost everything that can go wrong on a wedding day is pretty minor. Besides, the crazy things that happen end up being the most treasured stories told for years to come.
Check out this video of a rather unique opening procession from a wedding. It single-handedly exorcized all Adultitis from the entire day. (Hat tip to Eliz and Phil for the link.)
Call me a sappy nerd or hopeless romantic if you must, but I actually tear up a little bit when I watch it — I think it’s THAT refreshingly awesome. Now, not surprisingly, this video exploded and went viral. (Over 20 million views to date.) Why? Because it’s so gosh darn remarkable. To call it unusual would be an understatement. You NEVER see this sort of thing.
Which is entirely too bad.
So maybe you’re planning a wedding. Or maybe you have some other important day coming up. I invite you to think about what you could do to add something fun, unexpected, and authentic. Imagine coming up with an idea that elevates the event to something truly memorable. One completely Adultitis-free.
Now that’s what I call perfect.
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I was honored to be a part of the “decorating committee” for Kim and Jason’s wedding…..what fun we had with white organza, strings of white lights, streamers, balloons and rolling wall partions…..nothing fancy-schmancy, just a bunch of college friends enjoying the opportunity to celebrate with and honor K&J!! One of my treasured memories…..blessed to have our friendship! :)
Yep, that was a pretty Adultitis-free day as well, wasn’t it? :)
This wedding video was incredible, thanks for sharing it! I passed it along to some others to enjoy!