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Like so many brides before me, I used to be obsessed with having the elusive ‘perfect’ wedding day.
Being a control freak by nature, I assumed that if my preparation was impeccable, nothing could go wrong. I booked venues 18 months in advance, 99 per cent of my vendors were recommended by people I knew and the notes app on my iPhone quickly became full of lists as I tried to ensure that not a single detail was missed.
In an attempt to comfort me in my pre-wedding panic, well-meaning loved ones assured me that although something would probably go wrong on my wedding day, I’d be too loved-up to notice. They lied. I noticed every little thing that went wrong on my wedding day and you better believe they annoyed me.
To my surprise, instead of having a total freakout, I just kept smiling my best Kate Middleton-esque bridal smile and got on with it. (Watch: Brides share their one wedding regret. Post continues after video.)
It all started when the wrong wedding car arrived to pick-up my bridal party and I. Instead of a stretch limo that would also have room for my husband-to-be and groomsmen after the ceremony, a smaller car which only just fit the ladies showed-up.
Desperate to not break the tradition of not speaking to the groom before the ceremony, I made my matron of honour call my fiancé and organise for their car to hang around and transport the groomsmen after the ceremony, first crisis adverted.
As luck would have it, there was magically no traffic that day and we arrived 10 minutes early. My fiancé and groomsmen were still having photos outside the church. Irrationally terrified that my groom would catch a glimpse of me and our marriage would be cursed, I asked the driver to drive around the block a few times while I sat in the brace position. I was straight from the pages of a bridal magazine. Not.
The ceremony was absolutely lovely despite the church’s temperamental sound system. On our wedding video, our vows are intercepted with loud, crashing static and sudden silence as the microphone cuts out. Very romantic.
Not even I thought that we would need to bring a fancy-looking pen to sign the marriage certificate with. The best the church could provide was one of those multi-coloured Bic pens. As you can imagine, this high-end form of stationery is an excellent addition to our photos of that special moment.
By the time we accepted congratulatory hugs from our 250 guests (it was a big European wedding), our photoshoot time became limited. We only had time to go to two locations and I don’t have a single photo where every member of my bridal party is looking at the camera (considering there were 14 of us, I guess that's understandable.)
I really don't think our limo driver was a professional. He had no idea how to get into the reception venue and asked if he could drop us off across the road. I politely told him there was no way and we drove around in circles until he found the entrance.(Post continues after gallery.)
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During a moment of crazy wedding reception dancing, I fell over. During the chicken dance no less. I landed on my bum and bounced right-up again. It's even on our wedding video. I’m sure all the Disney princesses had a similar moment on their wedding days, right? Moments after cutting the beautiful wedding cake, the cake topper fell to the ground and the little ceramic bride’s head fell off! Naturally, I was very disturbed.
A good friend, who also made the cake, managed to glue her head back on with some spare icing. A new limo driver picked us up at the end of the night and I can only describe him as a loud bogan. His brashness as he lets us into the car makes me cringe every time I watch our wedding video.
Although these less-than-perfect wedding day memories do flash through my mind from time to time, I don't obsess about them the way I thought I would because they honestly just don't make the highlights reel.
The memories that I hold dear are absolutely perfect and I couldn't have planned for them. Like the moment my precious grandmother told me she had no words for how beautiful I was and the overwhelming feeling of love as I walked down the aisle with my wonderful mother and everyone I care about was smiling at me.
Not to mention that my husband and I managed to wing an awesome first dance after only one lounge room rehearsal. Endorphins are a wonderful thing!
Most of all, I remember the feeling of relief when, after all the months of planning and stressing, our wedding day was done and dusted. I know that some brides mourn not having a wedding to plan anymore, but not me.
I was thrilled to be able to put all the stress behind me and just enjoy some quality time with my husband. The nap I had on the plane to our honeymoon was some of the best sleep I’ve ever had in my life.
The thing I didn’t realise during the mayhem of trying to plan the perfect wedding is that when it comes down to it, your wedding day is just another day, albeit a very special one. When things go wrong, you just get over it and so does everyone else. I wish I could go back in time and tell this to my stressed-out-bride-to-be self, but she’d just scream at me anyway. And possibly slam a door in my face.
Although some things didn’t go quite to plan on my 'imperfect' wedding day, it was just perfect to me.
Did anything go wrong at a wedding you've been to?