Now this is an assumption: I guess most of us judge weddings by their very glitzy nature, the decoration, variety of food and entertainment. So, the bigger the occasion, the better it will be? Ok, not quite.
Last month I attended a family wedding within the local area where I live. The morning ceremony went very well and around 2pm all the guests started making their way to the location where the reception was to be held.
As we were from the Bride’s side, it was our role to ensure all guests were looked after in the reception area, drinks made available while the main hall was being setup. Only one problem, the caterers and hall decorators hadn’t turned up yet as they were stuck on the London M25 motorway due to an early morning car pile up.
Picture the situation, 300 -strong hungry guests, no food, reception hall not ready, nowhere to sit
So we kept rolling on the drinks, keeping everyone smiling while not letting on what had occurred. At 3pm the caterers and hall decorators arrive, with a mammoth task of decorating 30 large round tables from the ground up and the area where the bride and groom are going to be seated.
Then comes the Master Plan > Close family members and friends are asked to make their way to the main reception hall and together, we take off our jackets, roll up our sleeves and starting helping with decorating and setting up the hall. So, we got uncles, aunts, friends, sisters, brothers and kids. I guess the best sight of all was the groom’s family, all tucking in. Soon the DJ realises what’s going and next thing you know, we have Eye of the Tiger blasting on the speakers, every single person (about 40 of us) picks up their game. Running, sliding, adjusting the cutlery, throwing chair covers across the hall, blowing up the balloons, getting menu cards on the table, you name it, start to finish.
40 minutes later, the hall is ready, as we all finish, a loud round of applause rings itself around the hall, wow, that was a real buzz, a great sense of achievement, team work at it’s best, everyone tucking in.
When the hall was fully populated with guests eating, drinking and simply enjoying themselves, there was a sense of pride amongst us, hell we could open up our own Wedding SOS company here.
I’ve been to weddings where I’ve come, sat, ate, admired and gone back home. This wedding experience was different, I participated when it mattered and together with friends and family we brought a smile back on the faces of the lucky bride and groom.
So here’s to the SOS team, you know who you are.
