Dear Wedding Essentials Readers:
February brought a trip to California for the wedding of my husband's son, Scott. He and his bride, Bea, exchanged marriage vows in Sacramento on Valentine's Day.
The bride, 38, comes from a large, traditional Mexican-American family, and a number of Mexican rituals were incorporated into the ceremony and reception. I had predicted that one digital camera card would not be adequate for documenting the day. I was correct. Actually, the picture-taking during the rituals got a little crazy. At one point, I gently put my hand on my husband's camera and whispered, “Enough, already.” I was sure the professional photographer could handle the ceremony.
The one family picture I love, however, was captured just as the groom, 40, spotted his bride and tears welled in his eyes.
It was a memorable weekend on many levels. But for as long as weddings have been planned, things can and do go wrong … We dealt with a series of glitches that, looking back, provided priceless bonding experiences and a lifetime of stories for the groom's closeknit family. A couple of examples:
The wedding was five minutes late starting, primarily because I was a pit bull with lipstick, negotiating a “hold” with the wedding coordinator. Family members, traveling without GPS, hadn't yet found the church. And I was adamant that we wait until they did.
I was nice. But firm. “We didn't come from four states to miss this,” I said. Happily, everyone was accounted for by the start of the bridal processional. The lesson: Guests who don't know a city should caravan with those who do.
Our biggest crisis was resolved by designing and assembling the wedding program the night before the ceremony. Through that experience, I missed the rehearsal dinner but gained quality time with a sister-in-law. Kinko's in downtown Sacramento is a swell place to eat Chinese carryout at 9:30 at night.
— Chris Christen, Wedding Essentials Editor
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