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"PANIC-PROOF YOUR WEDDING"

by Rev. Thomas Lawrence

"IF ANYTHING CAN GO WRONG, IT WILL." That's known as Murphy's Law, and it can affect anything we engage in. When it comes to planning your wedding ceremony, you want to be sure that everything will be ready and secure for your special day.

One important consideration in preparing for your wedding day are potential problem which may arise with one or more of your family or guests. Whatever the size of your guest list, challenges may present themselves. Some of your guests may have special needs, such as difficulty in moving around. Especially with outdoor weddings, some guests may have trouble traversing the terrain. That's when it's important to consider having a specially-selected "proxy" person to tend to the needs of your guests - just as you would - but you can't, because you're in the wedding! On your special day, you should not have the additional responsibility of having to care for any of your guests if something unfortunate should happen to one of them. Just think of the kind of negative experience you could have, and the memories you'd be left with, if you had to attend to your guests.

Your only responsibilities on your wedding day are to show up, be dressed, be able to walk, talk and breathe, and have been fed! (Be mindful of your blood sugar, especially when you're under stress.) Don't make the mistake of giving yourself responsibility for any last-minutes decorations or preparations. These things are best to delegate to a specially-selected friend or family member (other than a a parent or grandparent, or anyone participating in the wedding), whom I call your "confidante." To this person you will confide necessary information about any of your guests with special needs or issues that you already know about - for example, the hyperactive child who tends to act out, or the friend who became "tipsy" at the last formal occasion he attended. You and your "confidante" can discuss the best ways of handling potentially disruptive guests and assisting those with special physical needs.

By doing this, you can rest assured that anything that "goes down" with any of your guests will be taken care of by your "confidante," just as you would -- but won't be able to - because you're in the wedding! In addition, your "confidante" can play a crucial part in the last few minutes before the ceremony begins. He or she may be the "signal person" to cue the musicians or DJ to begin the processional, or when an important guest has arrived, so that you and the other wedding participants can really experience and enjoy the emotional and spiritual dimension of this wonderful rite of passage.

The use of a "confidante" can go a long way toward making your special day really special - but not because of Murphy's Law! You can make your wedding "panic-proof" with this one important step.

Learn more about Rev. Lawrence at revthomaslawrence.com