My sister-in-law got married over the weekend. It was a beautiful wedding, filled with love, laughter, and a bit of family chaos.
We all were asked to be in the wedding; I was a bridesmaid, Josh was an usher, Kiara a flower girl, and Rafi a ringbearer. It's already a lot of work when just one person is in the wedding party. Now add everyone, and you're sure to run into some craziness.
Rafi has ADHD, which means he is impulsive, hyper, and struggles to focus. Kiara on the other hand... I believe she CHOOSES to just not listen and do whatever she wants to do all the time.
Everyone is getting ready for the wedding, and Kiara is so excited to be wearing her dress. She insists she must bring her Furby. Now Rafi wants to bring a toy. Sorry, no toys or we'll lose them. Guess who still bring one? Yup, Kiara. So we get to the venue, we're looking for the grooms suite and the bridal suite. We finally find it. Rafi asks, is this the REAL wedding? Because the night before was the rehearsal dinner. I can see how that's confusing. Yes, it is.
So the girls are in the bridal suite, watching the bride get ready, taking pictures, drinking Martinelli's and Champagne. We hear Furby cooing in the backpack, and people are startled. Sorry! We go out to take pictures, and Kiara is done by the second picture. Come on, we have a couple more! We get a smile out of her. Meanwhile, Rafi is knocking over the large Jenga game and scaring the wedding party half to death.
We get back into the room, waiting for the ceremony to begin, and Rafi throws the magnet from his boutonniere. It shatters into 4 pieces. I'm trying to fix it. The back keeps attaching to itself instead of to the front. Okay, finally got it. Now he's complaining his shoes are too tight.
Now it's time to line up for the ceremony. For some reason, they thought it was a good idea to let the ringbearers hold the actual rings. Rafi is holding the groom's ring. He opens and closes the box, no matter how many times I tell him to stop, redirect, keep it closed. None of it is working. All the sudden, DING! The ring falls on the floor. I snatch it up. The matron of honor comes and asks what happened. We're all good here!
Okay, time to walk. I tell the kids to focus on their tasks: Ring Security and Flower Girl. They do a great job. Josh is dealing with the wheelchair for my mother-in-law and also has to watch the kids. He looks at me with a pained look. Sorry, Josh...
The bride and groom kiss! It's a happy moment, and...Rafi walks right up to them. Josh grabs Rafi to stay in his seat. Rafi is now upset. I'm having to walk down the aisle with my partner, and Rafi is starting to cry. For some reason Josh is wheeling my mother-in-law, and I look around--where's Rafi?
I go back to the ceremony area, and he is sitting there crying. He thought he was supposed to get the rings back from them and walk down again. I console him. We walk back out to the courtyard where they can play games. Appetizers start coming out. Rafi is starving. Kiara is starving. I'm trying to give them food as fast as I can. Rafi is standing at the end of the appetizer table. A line is forming on the other side. I turn to say hello to some people. Next thing I know, Rafi is just eating Swedish meatballs at the end of the table with a toothpick while there's a long line. I tell him he needs to wait in line for more food.
Kiara now is looking for ketchup to go with the chicken and waffles. I tell her there is none. "Can we go back to the hotel now?" she asks. Sorry, we've got way more coming. Rafi is asking to go back to the hotel. We still have to dance! Kiara is walking and somehow trips over her dress and falls backwards, scraping her elbow. We need to grab a band-aid.
Now we are waiting for the grand entrance. We change Rafi's shoes. Kiara is upset about something, crying. The kids are not in the grand entrance. Josh is trying to pull both kids from me, my father-in-law, who was supposed to help him, has gone AWOL. So he's dealing with that, while I wait. Oh, and also, surprise! I am not at the same table as them.
After that, we are all seated, and after the first dance, it's time for food. Kiara hates everything. She eats bread and butter. Rafi likes the chicken but he spits out the beef. "I can't even chew it!" he yells. They keep coming up to me asking when they can go back to the hotel. They keep trying to steal something from the closed dessert bar. After the father-daughter and mother-son dances, they cut the cake. They are taking nice pictures, and Rafi walks right up to them. Everyone tells him to go back to the table. Cue the crying. We explain they need to have a private moment to take pictures. He says he couldn't see.
Finally, it's time to dance. All throughout the dancing, both kids are asking when this will be over, when can we go back to the hotel. One of the other kids brings out a Nintendo Switch at some point, now Rafi is sucked into that the rest of the night. Kiara is dancing, and having to go to the bathroom. The kids are going back and forth from the dessert table. Probably had at least 4-5 desserts each.
Things are starting to go better, everyone is happy. Once it's time to go, Josh goes to get the car. I'm gathering all out stuff (which is A LOT), and I'm telling Kiara to put her shoes on. She doesn't listen. Hurry Kiara! I look and we are the last people in the venue. The staff are cleaning up, and there's a security guard with a cowboy hat just watching us. I tell Kiara to hurry. She's taking her sweet time putting her shoes on. COME ON! Rafi is walking around the venue aimlessly. COME ON! Put your backpacks on, get your waters. I'm carrying everything. Where's Josh?? The car can't be parked that far. We finally get our act together and start to walk out.
Ah...peace at last. Until they begin to fight in the car. Overall, great wedding.
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