Thursday Thoughts: The Wedding from Hell

It’s amazing how things happen in your life and it takes years to finally open up and talk about it. New Year’s Day will always be a holiday I will never forget. Believe it or not, it was a wedding anniversary; many years ago when I was young and foolish. Talk about the wedding from hell. Not sure whether to take the big step or not, I did it. I had the wedding most girls’ dream of. Over 300 invitations sent, the white stretch limo ride, the big white bridal dress, all my family and close friends in church, big reception, live band, DJ, and catered sit down dinner. It was definitely a night to remember.

I remember the band playing our wedding song. “You are the love of my life” by Sammy Kershaw. Not my choice, but what my husband at the time wanted. As we danced in wedding bliss and the song lead into another, we traded dance partners. My daddy was so happy for me; so proud to giveaway his only daughter and my mom happy to have another son added to the family. As the four of us danced, a woman not dressed in formal attire storms in from the entrance. It happened so fast but I remember her facial expression and how fast she was walking. You could tell she was angry and on a mission. As soon as she approached my husband, she tapped him on the shoulder and began to yell at him while waving her hands at him with all kinds of gestures and then swung at him. His face was full of shock and you could tell he froze for a bit and had no clue what to do. He just stood there and took it.

A few of my family members ran up to the dance floor to help out with what was going on. They were trying to protect me and by the time they got there, the uninvited guest had been escorted out. I was humiliated; shocked myself and had no idea what was going on. So I did what any other young bride would do; I went to cry my eyes out in the restroom. While I was in there, the police were trying to calm the chaos down, and the wedding party was still going on. I don’t remember who all was in there with me, but quite a few friends and family members were trying to find out what happened. My dad walks in, makes everyone leave, and has me clean up and fix myself to go out and face all my guests. That is exactly what I did; I freshened up, walked out with my head up high, and went back to my wedding party as if nothing happened. It was hard, but lots of champagne helped me get through the night.

What a night; as if wedding jitters weren’t enough, I find out that my husband’s girlfriend decided to make an appearance to our wedding. Though it wasn’t funny at the time, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  As much as this story sounds like something that belongs on the Jerry Springer show, it happened and it happened to me. Just like any other heartache, time heals all. It was time for me to share this; to get it off my chest and to let others that have had weddings from hell know they are not alone.