WOOSH!!

I was so full of joy for my little sister on the day of her wedding. It was a beautiful day for such a memorable occasion. She had prepared for this day for such a long time, dreaming of it since she was a little girl. Katy worked very hard to make sure every detail was personal and perfect. Little did she know when she woke up that morning, how her sister would almost ruin it for her. Accidentally of course!

Hannah getting her hair done

The day started off like any other day. Jane, Hannah and I woke up, took our showers,visited with my parents, then left to go get our hair done right before lunch. Hannah had a very special hair appointment to make , as she was to be the Maid of Honor. She was incredibly excited and up for the task! I was exhausted. I had slept on the couch the night before because i didn't want Gracie to wake Jane up in the middle of the night. Silly, I know.

Katy and Hannah ,The Maid of Honor

The day seemed to fly by, as we had lunch at the hair salon and had our hair done. Once our hair was beautiful ,we ran a few other errands and made our way to the church. We were to be there at 4:00 to get dressed and prepare for pictures. Gracie napped until we got to the church and woke up about 15 minute after getting there.

Gracie taking her nap

This was a fun, but crazy time because I had to get myself ready, but also get little Gracie into her White dress. Needless to say, I was a little concerned about the damage my preciously, rambunctious, toddler could do to her beautiful white gown. There were Chick fil-A chicken nuggets and barbecue sauce in the dressing room for all of us to snack on along with a multitude of make- up bags for to her to get her little fingers into. So, I guess you could say that I was a little bit scatterbrained. Understandably so, I think.

Gracie singing into my make-up brush

Gracie putting on make-up

Craziness in the dressing room


Gracie's white dress

Once we were all beautified, all of the wedding party and family went into the Chapel to take pictures. This is the time that were were handed our flowers to keep up with. The were gorgeous flowers, in colors Gracie went crazy over. She loved them and wanted to pick them apart and eat them. She was also very excited to be awake, ( she woke up from a small cat nap as we arrived at the church), and have so many people to run back and forth to. Mommy had to run back and forth as well. I was a tired mommy be this time and was already ready for this event to be over. Luckily, Joey had just arrived in town, so he was able to help me corral our child as much as he could.

The Flowers

Gracie trying pull the flowers apart to eat them

It must be noted that Joey is often busy talking to friends and family about their ailments, and it is hard for him to step away when I need him. It is much easier for him to watch me out of the corner of his eye, pull my hair out as I run to the back of the church to grab Gracie before she knock over that oh so important Camera equipment. It would be absurd for him to try to excuse himself politely.

The Bridesmaids at picture time

While we were having our pictures taken, the wedding coordinator comes to me carrying a platinum wedding band encrusted with a row of diamonds across the top. It glistened in the sunlight as she walked in front of the windows. She said, "Sarah, you will be responsible for the groom's wedding band, keep it on your thumb until the pastor asks for the rings". I instantly tried to politely refuse this task. I did not need to be responsible for anything else other than me and Gracie. I was already having a hard time keeping up with just her. And with my luck over the past few days, I just wasn't willing to risk it.

Several other bridesmaids offered to take responsibility for the ring, but she insisted that I do it. She jammed the ring onto my thumb and said, "keep up with this! Don't lose it! Surely you can keep up with something for two hours."

"Fine. I will keep up with it."

I have to say that I was not feeling very confident about my new task. It took another hour and a half to finish up with pictures, then we returned to the dressing room to wait for guest to arrive and be seated.

Katy and my mom

While we waited in the dressing room, Katy was "banished" to the Bride's Room to spend time with my parents, pray,and collect her thoughts before the wedding started. I took this time to reapply some lip gloss and eat some chicken nuggets. Then I decided I should brush my teeth before I walk down the isle with chicken in my teeth. So, several of us girls went to the bathroom. While brushing my teeth, I decided I should "use the facilities" before the wedding started. I was in a hurry! The wedding party was lining up to start get the wedding started.

Katy wore boots under her dress

I was finishing up, and pulled up my panties. As I did so, the ring slipped off of my thumb!! Yes, it did! I will admit it, I said a few bad words as I didn't want to stick my hand into the dirty water to retrieve Dustin's wedding band. I bent forward to put my hand into the toilet and I heard a loud WOOSH, as the the very special ring that Katy picked out for the love of her life, flushed down the toilet and went sailing into the pipes below.

What do you do when you flush the ring down the toilet at your sisters wedding? You sob!! I Sobbed and Blubbered! Then I panicked! OMG! I have to tell her. The wedding was to start in five minutes. I had to tell her! I wanted to flush my own head down the toilet! I couldn't so sobbed into the wheelchair access rail on the wall of my stall. Bridesmaids kept running in to see what was wrong with me, and if it was a joke. It wasn't!

We only had a few minutes until the wedding was scheduled to start, so I went to find Dustin! He always knows what to do, he was a Paramedic and Firefighter at one point. They are trained to respond well in traumatic situations. At least he would be there to provide CPR, when Katy beat me to a pulp after she found out what I had done. She never would, I seem to let my imagination run when I am in a panicked situation.

Dustin, The Groom

Of course, he did have a solution as to what to do. Although, several people offered to let us borrow their ring for the ceremony;he knew Katy wouldn't be satisfied with someone else's ring. So he sent Eric, Holly's Husband, on a wild goose chase to find a ring that Katy had bought him on a for Christmas a few years ago. Luckily, Eric didn't do as he was told. Instead, he and a friend of his drove a million miles an hour to the nearest mall and purchased a new ring. Then he drove just as fast to bring the ring to the church. Yay!! Eric saved the day.
While Eric went to find a ring, Someone broke the news to Katy that I flushed the ring down the toilet. She laughed!! The wedding coordinator explained to her that we could just borrow a ring for the ceremony. She refused!! She wanted to give Dustin his own ring. She then spoke to me and reassured me that she was totally happy and okay. Not mad at me in the least!! I kept sobbing!! I couldn't stop! She hugged me and I went back to the dressing room to fix my running make- up.

On the way to the dressing room, I tried to stop crying and take a deep breath. I was feeling better until the wedding coordinator caught me. She backed me up to the wall. Not aggressively, but in an "I'm in charge" kinda way. The ring had arrived while I was in the Bride's Room. While holding hostage on the wall and glaring, the wedding coordinator said, "Sarah! This day is not about you! Katy may be at at you for about five years, but I promise, she will eventually get over it! Now, dry up those tears, go wash your face and reapply your make-up. Get it together!" So I did.

The Bownds

The wedding party lined up and the wedding started. It was amazing! I was so proud of my sister! She truly has grown up to be such a compassionate and forgiving person. Lucky for me!