Lessons Learned

Back when I used to work at Ford, when we would finish a project we would document "Lessons Learned" as a way of hopefully saving ourselves from making the same mistakes in the future.  It was great in theory, but I never actually checked the recorded lessons and therefore never learned anything.  Oh well.

My cousin's wedding was Saturday and it was a lovely event!  Even with the torrential rain that morning and some family drama, she kept a smile on her face and focused on the joy of the day and everything went perfectly as far as I can tell.

Things I learned though...  

I learned that I definitely want to make sure that our DJ is on the same page as us.  I want to make sure he knows what songs to play when (Entrance, First Dance, etc.) before the actual day because poor Cousin was answering those questions about 5 minutes before we actually made our entrance.

Also, I didn't care for the music the DJ played.  Perhaps this is what my cousin & her man wanted but it was older 90s Top 40 Songs (This is How We Do It, etc.) and it felt like the dance floor was empty a lot.  Another thing that bothered me about him was that I specifically requested a song and he never played it while I was there!  If the dance floor is empty, but you have a song request, you should play it!  You're guaranteed at least one person dancing!

I learned how important a timeline is.  After the ceremony the bridal party sat around for about 20 mins or more waiting for the string quartet to finish and it was BORING.  I stole a bottle of wine from the bar & some glasses so we could celebrate, but we were stuck in this tiny room together.  Plus, none of us knew why we were sitting there.

I feel like I should note that I'm totally a Type-A, need to have a plan or I'll die, kind of person.  Some people (Cousin included) may be absolutely fine with the way things were handled. In fact, knowing her, she probably could have cared less.

I learned that Addy (who is 2) is unreliable.  I knew this already but seeing her at this wedding only confirmed that I shouldn't count on her walking nicely down the aisle or sitting quietly while C & I exchange vows.  At least I can prepare myself now for her interruptions.

I also learned that one brother in question will be attending my wedding after all!  I wish I were happier about it but they just kept using money as an excuse like they hadn't just spent a ton on their own celebration.  And my other brother is putting a damper on it as he's still a question mark.  

One other thing I learned: many things will go wrong at the wedding.  Some I'll notice and some I won't.  But I'll be there, with the love of my life and our daughter and that's all that will matter.  I'll hear him say those wonderful words that join us forever (again) and I know that nothing can put a damper on that.