The thing about weddings is … they’re AMAZING! Even the un-amazing parts are amazing. (It makes sense, just don’t think about it too long.) They are amazing because they are about love, and, as the unknown quote says, “Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.” Weddings are about promises made, and promises intended to be kept. They are a declaration and an invitation into two lives that are evolving into one. They are beautiful, and I never tire of them. This weekend one of my closest college friends got married and it was one of the best nights I’ve had at such an event. But regardless of the bride, the groom, or the venue … I’ve found that (in my opinion at least) the top fives remain the same!
Top 5 Sweetest Moments of a Wedding
*The way the groom looks when he sees his bride for the first time
*The simultaneous holding on and letting go moment during the daddy/daughter and mother/son dances
*Seeing married couples remember their own exchange of vows
*The public declarations of brotherly/sisterly affection for the world to recognize during speeches
*The sweeping gaze of the bride and groom during their first dance as one
Top 5 Traditions Worth Keeping
*Old, New, Borrowed, Blue (people get so creative)
*Pachabel’s Cannon in D (no better bride march song)
*Receiving lines (it’s so beautiful to see all the types of people who come)
*Cutting of the cake (if they didn’t, half of us wouldn’t even notice where the cake was and it costs WAY too much not to appreciate)
*Blessing (God needs to be remembered on the biggest-blessing-of-your-life day”
Top 5 Best Lines of the Day
- “You may now kiss the bride”
- “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
- “We are gathered here today to celebrate the love of …”
- “We would like to remember those who are with us in spirit”
- “As long as you both shall live”
Top 5 Songs NO ONE Wants to Hear at a Wedding But We All Hear Them and Dance Anyway
- YMCA (puke)
- Celebrate Good Times (COME ON!!!!)
- The Chicken Dance (Who in their right mind ever thought it was a good idea to dance like a fowl? That’s what I’d like to know.)
- Shout (Let’s not and say we did!)
- American Pie (I don’t like pie on a plate, or in a song.)
Top 5 Things That Happen When Wedding Guests Don’t Realize How Much They’ve Been “Celebrating”
- They get louder … and louder … and louder, until they speak to you like they’ve been at a concert and are temporarily not only inebriated, but deaf
- They speak more freely (and tell you life stories that should never have been lived, let alone shared aloud)
- They dance with more (false) confidence
- They get friendlier with brand new acquaintances, inviting them to dance like they were best-college pals
- They “enjoy” every song, perhaps too much, singing every word like they were the ones that wrote it
Top 5 Things Everyone Hates to do But Does at a Wedding
- Wears uncomfortable shoes
- Chooses clothing to match their significant other
- Eats salad before dinner (although some ARE really tasty)
- Introduces themselves repeatedly, answering and asking the four redundant questions one must ask when meeting someone new (how you know the couple, what they do for a living, where they live, and if they’re enjoying themselves)
- Dances to one of the top five worst songs in recorded history
Top 5 Moments You Wish You Could Capture in a Jar
- When the flower girl dances with her daddy, and you see his eyes glisten with the knowing that someday, it’ll be her turn
- When the groom takes the bride’s hand under the table, and looks at her with new found wonder at truly being “his”
- When the mother of the bride watches her daughter dancing, and is caught in the memory of her own wedding day
- When the bride dances with her grandfather, and you know it may the the last time he leads a woman on the dance floor
- When the night is over, and the bride has her head on the groom’s shoulder in contented exhaustion, a small smile on her face as she commits every detail to replay later in her mind
Top 5 Moments From My Own Wedding
- The groom
- When my mom flew in my favorite flower, Lillies of the Valley, to put in my bouquet since they were out of season
- Dancing to “Goodnight My Angel” with my daddy
- Being surrounded by all the family and friends who taught us what love really is, and how to experience it
- When my new husband took down my hair, one bobby pin at a time
Considering how I feel about weddings, you’d understand that I would LOVE to hear your top five! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE post and share your top five “about weddings” or about your own.
#weddingsarethebest!!
Elle
this quotable life 