By Ashlie Miller
They say that rain on your wedding day is a good luck sign for a solid marriage. If that is the case, what does it mean when there is a large power outage during your wedding? That will be a follow-up question years from now for the bride and groom of the wedding my husband attended last weekend.
It was an overcast day, but as we approached Mooresville, it was clear that rain would put a damper on the plans. I checked the wedding website, theknot.com, to see if there were alternate plans for the outdoor wedding on the greens of the golf course. Nothing was listed. Well, this could be interesting, I thought.
Things were not looking up as we approached nonworking traffic lights, the closer we came to the venue. Very interesting, I thought. We pulled into the world-class golf club and walked with an umbrella over our heads in the slight drizzle to wait with no specific direction under the awnings of a building. Suddenly, “Okay, it’s happening, let’s go!” a photographer announced. Still unsure of where we were going, we walked towards an outdoor area, watching employees wipe down seats with pool towels. The fans and paper parasols intended for a hot late summer evening were only as much help as shielding from the slight drizzle. There was at last enough of a reprieve that a condensed – but still legal – wedding ceremony commenced. After the I do’s and a kiss, the happy couple bounded up the aisle, followed by a large ribbon of lightning across the horizon. Yet, no one bolted up the aisle. With joyful decorum, the wedding party exited up the aisle.
I do not know how many of us were concerned over the reception menu as we waited for the wedding party. There were hors d’oeuvres, and people gathered to chat. One only noticed that it was dimly lit because there was still plenty of clouded daylight. We sat down at a table with candles that were now valued more for their functionality than their ambiance; the chandeliers only glistening thanks to these humble lights below. Caesar salad before me, glancing at the menu (filet mignon and chicken), I wondered how they were going to pull that off. Answer: They couldn’t. After the ceremonial dances, the father of the bride announced, “Things haven’t gone as planned, aren’t going as planned, and won’t go as planned.” With a smile, he hinted that he would know what’s for dinner at the same time we would. I began to hear whispers of “Chick-fil-a.”
Surely enough, the servers brought CFA nuggets and what my refined French fry palate determined to be Wendy’s French fries (do any others stay so crispy upon delivery?). A server elegantly brought out Heinz ketchup packets in a silver creamer. There was no overly apologizing for what was not being offered, but service with excellence. No one would have known it was the club’s first time dealing with such a crisis on a wedding day.
Who was really there for the food anyway? We delighted in conversation and seeing the happy bride and groom celebrating this long-awaited day.
What a metaphor for marriage: Life hasn’t gone as planned, isn’t going as planned, won’t go as planned. But that’s okay. We can serve each other with excellence and care, and joy can be in making it through it together, with a smile and a dance…and maybe some chicken nuggets and crispy fries.
