A wedding is supposed to be one of the happiest days of your life. But it can also be a breeding ground for Adultitis. This sinister foe downright salivates at events involving formal wear, the merging of families, and an expectation that everything is supposed to go perfectly.

Is it possible to Adultitis-proof your wedding?

Yes.

But it requires a mindset that decides you’re going to have fun no matter what the caterer messes up or your mother-in-law does.

It also helps to incorporate some ideas that send the message to you and your guests that Adultitis is not invited. I’ve been collecting some of my favorite best Adultitis-free invites, favors, photo-ops and more on a Pinterest board.

What are YOUR favorite ideas for Adultitis-proofing a wedding?

Seriously, they can get downright c r a z y.

Which is why we thought it was a wonderful idea to have such a person (a bride to be, not a crazy person) review our new book, There’s An Adult In My Soup. Enter Becky Speer, aka Becky Mochaface, whose big day is quickly approaching. Would she actually find some value in it, or toss it aside like a wedding DJ with nothing but Chicken Dance CDs?

Fortunately, we passed with flying colors! Here’s an excerpt from her review, awesomely titled, Avoiding the Dreaded Title of Bridezilla by Following the Recipes for the Life of My Dreams:

Since reading this book, I’ve noticed how many times I want to answer “How are you?” with “Busy.” It’s not really an answer. We’re all busy. And it doesn’t even describe how I’m feeling at that particular moment. Now, I take a deep breath and answer with an enthusiastic, “I’m fantastic!” Because I am. There’s so much in my life to be thankful for. And all of them make my life fantastic.

There’s An Adult in My Soup is a great book for reminding you to stop and be in the moment. To enjoy life. And find what will bring you joy.

Plus it’d make a great present for just about anyone for this holiday season.

Whew. That rocks harder than an 80s metal band. We are quite pleased to have passed this test, and couldn’t agree more about her whole “this would make a great present” thing. Brides to be are really smart.

Thanks for the nice review, Becky, and have a awesome wedding day!

Meanwhile, have YOU had a chance to read the book? We want to hear what you thought about it, whether you’re engaged, married, or purple. Write your own review over at Amazon.com and we will be forever grateful!

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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