‘Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.’ – Vince Lombardi (1913-1970) US football coach.
It seems only fair that, having lathered myself into a pitch of excited anticipation for the family wedding on the 16th of this month, I should update you on that significant day.
Like almost all weddings – except perhaps those spontaneous ones in Vegas, or those that send the participants scurrying across the English border to Gretna Green – the number of work hours that went into planning and executing this event would be hard to quantify. There were multiple meetings, discussions, lists, offers of help, negotiations, blind alleys, redirections, fittings, WhatsApp groups, messages written/deleted/corrected/sent/resent etc which would make corporate CEOs and COOs quake in their collective brogues or Louboutins.
Invitation design and distribution, location for both service and reception, hire of chairs/tables/ linen/crockery/glassware/cutlery, gathering of foliage/ candles/fairy lights, selection, fitting and alteration of dresses, playlists, photographer, videographer, DJ, sound equipment, balloons, table decorations, flowers, order of service, champagne, all needed attention. The logistics of who needed to be where when for a two-venue event was eye-watering before it even came to where the hire car needed to be, how the honeymoon cases would get to the right place (taking into account that post-honeymoon the couple would be leaving imminently for the USA until June 2026) etc etc.
I am a big fan of lists, as you know, and am immensely grateful that I was not required to make multiples of those since the bride and groom took on the vast majority of organising and supervising what they wanted in the four month period between getting engaged and getting married. A spectacular community effort by their extraordinary group of friends helped oil the wheels and pull off a truly wonderful day.
There were so many moving parts to all of this that the possibilities of things going wrong increased exponentially as more details screamed for attention: table plans, seating plans, car parking requirements…
On ‘The Day’, everything went fantastically well; it was a truly wonderful celebratory occasion. The only thing which could have improved it in any way, apart from the miraculous arrival of one daughter and son-in-law who, sadly, simply couldn’t make it, was the weather. The sun tried to push through the clouds, but failed to do so which made it much more comfortable for the chaps in suits, and a little less so for those of us in short sleeves.
All of which goes to show us once again that there are a) forces at work which are considerably bigger than ourselves and over which we have no control, and b) that although perfection is usually out of reach, whether by an inch or a mile, some days still come pretty close.
Congratulations to the new Mr & Mrs Sanders now safely arrived and regrouping in western California!
[All images from Pixabay. Thanks to: Gerd Altmann, Nayan Kumar, PIRO, Andreas and FlitsArt]
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