Our nightmare wedding...

So the day started off wonderfully, my house full of ten bridesmaids full of laughter and encouragement.  My daughter then gives me a three-page handwritten note written in the middle of the night on her last night in our home, pouring out her love and appreciation for all we've done for her, how we've loved her and trained her.  I cried for a half an hour, as did she, and then most of the bridesmaids also.  It is such a blessing to know that all those years you prayed and cried and trained and taught were truly "heard" and that your child realizes your sacrifice and knows how blessed they are for it.

We packed up and headed to the wedding site with ten bridesmaids gowns, two wedding gowns (one for reception), but somehow all of us walked right past my gown hanging by the door to be picked up.  Guess when we realize it?  45 minutes before "showtime!"  Panic sets in, as you might imagine - my sister, the saint that she is, literally takes the shirt off of her back and finds me some flowing black pants (is this story ringing a bell, someone else having to sacrifice so I can be presentable???)  The big problem is, my sister is about 30 pounds lighter than me, shorter - the gesture was wonderful, but the picture of me in her clothes, not so much!  A man from our church comes to my rescue and stops by our house to get the dress - it arrives on location at the exact time the wedding it to start - victory! 

Until.....the girls zip me up, and horrifically, as if programmed by old you-know-who himself, the zipper stays closed at the top of the dress and splits totally down the back!  Now I'm in the dress, stuck by the zipper at the top that will not move and the gaping hole all the rest of the way down!  My daughter hasn't gone Bridezilla yet, but I can feel it coming - long story short, the bridesmaids whip out the orange thread we had for their dresses, stitch me up all they could (on a brown dress) and finish off the closure with a gold chair tie wrapped around my waist.  We are 20 minutes late to start the wedding, all my fault!  Wow.  And if only the story ended there...

We had a highly-recommended and overpaid disc jocket from Huntington.  The ceremony starts - Tal is beautiful and I didn't split open coming down the aisle - woohoo!  Then the trouble begins...there was a heavy wind, but something worse than that began working on the sound system, and it began to screech and wail and whoosh and crackle - loudly!  The DJ does NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING.  Tyler, my son who runs sound also, tried to make some adjustments and get the guy to realize we're in serious trouble here!  Nothing, nothing, nothing.  He leaves this sound system on the ENTIRE ceremony doing this!  It was totally ruined - you couldn't hear a word.  They had a song to sing to each other and couldn't even do it.  He later said he thought it was interference with the other wireless mics from the videographers (which was supposed to have been checked in advance if he hadn't flown in last minute - I'm thinking Angie's List constantly).  He offered $100.00 off his bill - and really, isn't losing your ENTIRE wedding ceremony with the most beautiful vows and scriptures, etc. more like PRICELESS and not worth any amount of "refund?"

The wind was blowing so wildly that it literally ripped the veil right off her head – you could see it starting to go, and she adjusted it a bit, and then with one big swoop, off it came, just floating away in the sky like a balloon that had been let go with a time capsule in it. 

The disc jockey continued his issues when the reception started, totally ignoring the song list Tal had spent hours compiling, just playing whatever his heart desired, throwing in a few of her songs here and there.  I could go on and on about all the little things that went wrong, but I have learned in all of my life, when I praise, praise, praise, I am wonderfully blessed and more peaceful!  So, I praise God for a day with no rain, I praise God I am in good health, as well as my entire family!  I praise God for the family and friends that celebrated this day with us who love us enough to walk through the pain of unfortunate circumstances and still hang around!  I praise God for ten amazing young women who support and encourage my daughter and stand by her side!  I praise God for my sister who is willing to give me the shirt off her back!  I praise God that my mother is not only able to be there for her last grandchild's wedding, but is the youngest 72-year-old you'll ever know!  I praise God that my daughter has found her soulmate, the one He created for her!  I praise God that through the thick and the thin, He is with us, helping us to keep that smile on our face when all is not just as we dreamed it would be. 
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For those of you who were there with us, thank you for loving our child, thank you for giving her your support and encouragement - but just a warning:  If you want to pull off a big event with no hitch, it might be best not to invite me...I think I might be a fashion disaster just lurking right around the corner!