Tara’s Takes
This last weekend, the kids and I attended a wedding in Sartell. Haley, the oldest daughter of our good friends Alex and Tracy, was getting married to her fiancé Brandon. Tracy and I went to rival high schools but connected in college as her husband Alex and I were the same major and lived in the same apartment building. Therefore, if you dated Alex, even though you were a Lake Benton Bobcat, you were allowed into the friend group.
Honestly, my friendship with Tracy and Alex is one of my biggest blessings. It’s one of those friendships that has stood the test of time. We graduated college over 20 years ago, and we still vacation together, celebrate birthdays, show up when one of us needs the other. They are part of my chosen family. Our kids are like siblings.
Many years ago, I was Haley’s confirmation sponsor. It was a special honor. And now, years later, I had the privilege of officiating Haley and Brandon’s wedding. Being on the other side of the couple during a wedding is a truly unique experience. Knowing the bride like I do makes it even better.
One thing you should know is Tracy is the definition of a Type A personality. I don’t know anyone more organized than she is. When we go on vacation together each year, I actually just have her text me her packing list and grocery list a week before we leave and I use that for our family. The difference is, she has had that list completed for at least three weeks.
Haley, on the other hand, is more go-with-the-flow. Yes, things will get completed but she’s not going to stress out about them for weeks ahead of time.
Life happens, things get figured out.
This sounds like a good match, until you add the stress of a wedding day. But when Tracy was escorted down the aisle by Brandon and gave him that hug. Or When Alex escorted Haley and joined the two together, with tears in all their eyes, the chaos of the day melted away.
When we look back at the wedding day, or the photos, we will see all the happy moments. We will laugh at the things that didn’t go as planned that no one knew about. We’ll really laugh at the things that everyone knew about.
This special day included the groom’s ring being dropped during the ceremony, bouncing and landing in the mud next to the outdoor patio the ceremony was on. A couple wipes on my dress and the ring ceremony continued.
Of course, while cool and cloudy in the morning, by the time the ceremony ended and the couple was taking their big group family photos, it was super hot and humid.
Combine that with the weight of a wedding dress and the stress that has been going through her all day, and Haley decided that taking an unscheduled nap, right there on the ground, was a good idea. Luckily, she was fine. A couple fans, a little time in the air conditioning and plenty of water and we were back on schedule.
Of course, that humid weather brought in some rain and storms Saturday night. Isn’t rain on your wedding day lucky? This rain also brought a power outage to the venue a half hour before the dance was to end.
During the chaos of the wedding day and that evening in the hotel, we joked that we couldn’t make this stuff up. It felt like something you’d see in a movie. However, the photos were great. The day was fantastic. The couple was happy and in love and had just committed the rest of their lives together.
That was all that mattered. Yes, we will laugh about this. And while every wedding day is a day to remember, theirs may have topped the wedding cake.
Tracy area
