Nostalgia can have many different meanings. First you might think the obvious, oh how good I looked in my dress, the flowers and how fresh they smelled, how everyone you know in the world is sitting in one room to watch a promise made between you and your husband. It can also take a more negative tone in which you compare all others to your own as everyone has their own ideas, feelings and expectations.
Excitement can be explained with my favorite part of any wedding...the site of the groom looking at the bride walking down the aisle. Its amazing after all that time of planning for attire, flowers, venues, menus, rings, honeymoon that it comes down to approximately twenty minutes (even in a true catholic wedding) to where the biggest promise is made ever. My wedding only was six months of planning. My cousins' was almost eight months. My best friends was also six months. The latest wedding, my sister in-law, a lengthy ten months. And yet with every wedding all the grooms have about the same facial expression: J-O-Y! There is not other word for it...it can mean a billion things to one person, but all they are feeling is happiness. Finally relief is in order because of all of that planning has resulted in a wonderful experience that most people remember for a lifetime. Can you imagine planning for something like that for so long and it really only takes about twenty minutes? Twenty minutes is how long it takes me to get to work now...and it was the same amount of time it took to tell my husband that I would love him forever and do anything for him. Pretty amazing when you compare it to something so everyday and ordinary... Now this relief can hit at any time...For the bride its usually as we walk down the aisle because there isn't much left for us to argue for, stress about or control. For the parents of the bride and groom that relief is probably felt after the reception and with the realization that everything has been paid for and a good time was had by all. For the maid of honor...the person who has done just about anything that bride has asked, countless opinion questions, advice, recommendations, hours of listening to venting about how this or that isn't working, not calling back, etc. I feel like I was in essence planning this wedding too. I was there for almost every decision. Anything that didn't work or was too much money I was there to help find a new way. I am in no way complaining about this major responsibility - for the most part things went smoothly, but what I am frustrated about is that I helped with all that work and didn't get a honeymoon out of it. What did I get? I got a free ticket to come back home and do all the laundry. I got another free ticket to go to work for the whole week after that crazy wedding weekend.
And you know is so fantastic about those free tickets - I wouldn't turn them in for anything - I love being married - I love that we've already been through the 'newlyweds' phase and we are in a great place = 5 years this Oct. 30th. It really has flown by.
No comments:
Post a Comment