People in the wedding business are privy to the kinds of personal, fairy-tale moments that make romantic comedies a top seller every time.
“I had one guy who wanted to know where he could put the ring on the branches of the Christmas tree,” Tina Jansen, owner of The Wedding Shoppe, in Danville, recalled. “He wanted to propose while they were decorating.”
Jansen found a perfect, whimsical solution in wee little ring bearer’s ring bags, shaped like a miniature wedding gown and tuxedo, and the happy young man headed off with a fun, unique way to start the next phase of his life.
Sometimes, however, the worst mishaps lead to the most magical moments. Athena Berkheiser, professional bridal consultant at Tuxes-N-Tunes, in Mifflinburg and Watsontown, recalled a wedding where, just after the ceremony, rain began to fall — every bride’s fear.
But, “the neatest thing happened,” she said. “Not long after the bride and groom got to the reception, a rainbow came out.”
If the rainbow following rain can be seen as joy following sorrow, Jansen was blessed to see another, more poignant kind of rainbow. She recalled spending a lot of time helping one young bride prepare for her wedding while the bride’s mother battled a severe illness. Sadly, six weeks before the wedding, the beloved mother died. Years later, Jansen was helping a delightful older woman plan her wedding.
“I asked her who her groom was, and it turns out, it was that bride’s father,” Jansen said, beaming at the happy surprise of it.
And at one of Athena Berkheiser’s most fondly remembered weddings, the bride twisted her ankle at the rehearsal dinner, requiring a cast and crutches, and a light rain fell throughout the ceremony — held in an outdoor garden.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster, yes? But the bridesmaids decorated the silver crutches with white flowers, and the wedding went off as planned.
“She didn’t let it get her down,” Berkheiser said, adding that the groom cried at the sight of his smiling bride making her way down the aisle.
The couple’s wedding photos show guests sitting in pretty white garden chairs, holding colorful umbrellas. And, “The groom picked her up and carried her down the aisle after the wedding, and also into the reception,” Berkheiser said, smiling at the romantic moment, and adding, in spite of the misfortunes of the event, “I liked the magic of that one.”
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Wedding planners share their fairy-tale moments
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