Tuesday, December 11, 2012

A Most Stressful Event - Marlene, 72

A girl's wedding is supposed to be a very happy and exciting time in her life.  I was thrilled to be marrying my prince charming and was eagerly awaiting our special day.  The planning was a little difficult as my family lived out of town and I was working full time in Pittsburgh.  However, everything seemed to be going according to plan.

Two weeks before the wedding day, my fiancé fell and shattered his upper arm.  The surgeon set his arm and applied a thick cast with a rope around his neck and a 20-pound weight hanging from the cast.  He was immobilized on bed rest in the hospital and was not released until two days before the wedding.

In the meantime, my mother called to inform me that my brother had broken his leg and a cast was applied from his ankle to his knee.  She proceeded to tell me that she broke her toe and was having a problem finding a comfortable pair of shoes to go with her wedding outfit.

I had ordered my gown in ivory and was called to the store for the final fitting.  To my horror, I realized that the train color was white.  This was two weeks before the wedding!  They assured me that they would do their best to take care of the mistake.  (It arrived in time).

My aunt insisted on making my veil.  I told her that I wanted it affixed to an ivory satin pillbox hat á là Jackie Kennedy style.  She carried through with my wishes.  However, there were so many pleats around the sides of the hat that it resembled a Pepsi bottle cap.  Oh well, I can't hurt her feelings because she was so proud of her job.  Maybe nobody will notice.

While my fiancé was in the hospital, I visited him every day and continued to work full time.  As a result of all of the stress, I had lost ten pounds, and it was too late for any alterations.  Maybe nobody will notice.

My father was not particularly fond of my fiancé, but I think he really did not want me to get married.  I had to do a lot of convincing to get him to wear the formal morning coat that all of the ushers were wearing.  AS he walked me down the aisle, he kept saying that the car was out front and we could turn around and leave.  I was hoping nobody would notice.

Our wedding day was a challenge for my fiancé to get dressed with that awful cast and weight but was managed with the help of his brothers.  The ceremony went well except when the priest had to stop the mass when my husband became faint and a chair was brought for him.  I know everyone noticed and was holding his breath.

The luncheon reception was very nice and quiet.  I had to endure the remarks about having to twist his arm to get him to marry me.

We had to postpone our honeymoon for several months until the arm healed.  Finally we made it to Bermuda for a week.  The honeymoon was wonderful until the hurricane hit the island, and it was a very scary situation.  But that's another story.

 My wedding and the two weeks preceding it were the most stressful time of my life.  However, everything worked out well in the end.  At this time, we have been celebrating a very happy marriage for forty-eight years and hope for many more.

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