Wedding Wednesday: What I Learned

Once upon a time, Wedding Wednesday was where I want to beg for your advice about.... earrings, wedding color schemes, my signature color, STDs, invitations... and on and on and on.

But I'm full-up on all your advice, and I've got some of my own to dispense.

Put your big-girl panties on, I've got some real talk here.

Despite my control-freak tenancies - some things just did not go as planned on our wedding day.  Luckily, I don't think I freaked out - like at all.  I feel like my bridesmaids were prepared for me to melt down, and I maybe only melted down a tiny bit.  Haha, I just remembered another snag in the middle of a this sentence. Oops!

So - while planning, I looked for cobalt shoes.  I found several pairs, and I even bought one pair - but they were SO tall.   No go.

So I ordered a custom pair.  And sent a swatch of my bridesmaids dress, which was an almost-iridescent blue.  And the color of the shoes I got?  Was the more muted, non-cobalt color.  WHOMP.

Sixty bucks to send them back to the shoe-maker and have them re-dyed... to a color that I just guessed would be right through my computer screen.  Talk about anxiety!!
 

Beautiful shoes.  Pain in the ass.

Another problem of the day?  Turned out to be my makeup.  I had a beautiful experience with a mall-makeup artist for engagement photos.  I have a good relationship with the lady, and I buy makeup from her often.

So when I arranged for her to do my makeup for the wedding, I didn't anticipate one thing - her NOT BEING AT WORK on my wedding day.


When we walked up to her counter and she wasn't there... that may have been my meltdown point.  We were running on-time and creeping into late territory when my MOH swooped in and got me an appointment at a spa across town.  I don't have a picture to illustrate this moment because I was SO RELIEVED.  

MOH for the win.

And then we have the candy bar.  The long-awaited candy bar.  I'd been stockpiling candy for months in anticipation of a bountiful candy bar.  I'd acquired jars and vases and all kinds of fun stuff.... only to have the reception location volunteer their own jars and vases.

 And in seeing the pictures.... I totally should have stuck to the stuff I acquired.  Not only did the bar look mighty wimpy - but they didn't even open half of my candy.  Not that I complained all through October while I snarfed blue licorice at work.... but still - I bought the candy and can't return it.  Open all the bags!

I don't think it was horrible, and I know my guests chowed down on what was put our - but it was just so ridiculous.  Use the candy, yo!

This next one is relatively minor, but in my mind... everything minor is major.  I really should have had a cake stand.  I had planned to borrow one - and it wouldn't have even been expensive to rent or buy one.  But I thought it wasn't worth stressing over... and I was only 50% wrong.

And last but not least, this is why we don't trust men with anything wedding-related:

Mr. RH's little brothers were in charge of putting our car at the end of the drive for our big sparkler exit.  The thing is - when the sparklers are lit, there's really no chance at a do-over.  So as the sparklers were already lit, I was informed that we had to exit.... NOW.  And as soon as I walked out the door, I ran into our car, NOT a giant mass of well-wishers holding glowing sparklers.

We awkwardly walked around the car where my friends (SMART GIRLS!) were stationed because they knew what was SUPPOSED to be happening - and they knew what was happening (ie our car blocking our exit) was not right.  Smart girls, love them!

So the Big Sparkler Exit was... just fine.  And of course I have wonderful, imperfect memories of it because it was ours.

But damn straight if someone asks me to help with their sparkler exit someday.... I will take this as a giant learning opportunity. 

The whole wedding, actually, was a learning opportunity.  You win some, you lose some.

Luckily, I saved one last pictures post to end on a high note.  We can't end on mistakes only, it's too depressing.