Expectations vs. Reality: Nothing is Fool Proof

When we last left off, I expressed my disappointment in how some parts of our wedding were set up. For some reason it had never really crossed my mind that our wedding wouldn't match detail for detail the plans that I had laid out. I guess I figured that with enough written and pictorial instructions that set-up would be fool-proof. Lesson learned: Nothing is ever fool proof.

I'm no longer upset about the failures, but it did take me months to get to this point. Now when I think about our wedding, I think about seeing my husband for the first time and looking out at our guests just before we said our vows. I remember dancing and singing to "Call me Maybe" and climbing to the top of a human pyramid of groomsmen.

Wedding Guest Photo via Instagram

I don't care as much about the failed escort cards and missing decorations; and the anger I felt toward our DOC isn't quite so raw anymore. It helps that our photographer didn't focus as much on the details and instead got some amazing candid shots of us and our guests. And frankly, these are the photos that will be hung on our walls to remember forever.

 But let's move on to the fun stuff, shall we?

Reception Tables:

Expectation:

Reality:

I had high hopes for our tables. They changed design direction about a thousand times leading up to the wedding and were finally solidified when I found these gorgeous Mara Mi napkins at Target. Sadly, it was really windy during set up and there was a fear that the bamboo plates and napkins wouldn't hold even with a shell holding them down so they were placed at the buffet instead. Obviously the weather couldn't be controlled, but our tables ended up looking so bare! And I wish someone had thought to place the shells scattered on the table instead. I spent several weekends scouring our local beach for the perfect shells and picked and cleaned hundreds of them! (Our flowers looked great though!)

Lantern & Table Scheme:

Expectation: 

 Reality: 

The inspiration may be from our indoor rain backup venue, but it translated pretty well to the tent setting. Outside of the tables not being perfect, the only issue I had was that only about a quarter of my lanterns were hung. I had great visions of hundreds of lanterns in our tent, but most of them stayed boxed up due to lack of time during set-up.

At the end of the day, nobody will remember all of the decorating mishaps. Given enough time, I may forget all together too. Just a few months later and I'm already having a hard time getting all riled up about it. The truth is,  if the worst thing that happened on our wedding day was that it wasn't set up exactly the way I wanted it to be, then I think it was a pretty great day. And it really was.

Wedding Guest Photo via Instagram

(All photos by Abigail Scott unless otherwise noted)

Previously on the Rucksack Recaps:

• I have ALL the feelings
• I admit that wedding planning kind of sucks
• We run a million errands
• We practice how it’s gonna go down
• We have a big fat Italian rehearsal dinner
• A little rain won’t get me down!
• The girls get pretty
• The guys do whatever guys do
• I hang out in the hotel bathroom and make a bunch of bouquets
• I get my bride on!
• We exchange kisses and gifts during our first look
• I’m a runaway bride
• The bridal party processes and the ring bearer gets distracted
• I take my final steps as a single lady (and get stuck on a rose bush along the way!)
• We kick off the ceremony with some sweet words from The Princess Bride
• We share our love story and get our hands blessed
• We do!
• We miss cocktail hour for the sake of family photos
• We get everybody to join our first dance
• We frolic on the beach at sunset
• We have a beach-side ’90s dance party
• We eat cake and auction off our single friends
• We end our reception with a romantic private dance
• We brave fire for a sparkler exit
• We pack up all the little details
• I compare my expectations to the reality of our wedding