Perfection's Overrated!

When I was younger and learning to needlepoint on a small netted canvas with a pattern of a flower, I was judicious about making sure my yellow stitches matched up with the yellow petal painted on the fabric. If my yellow yarn ventured outside of the petal's lines, I quickly undid the stitch. My grandmother, who was teaching me, encouraged me not to worry if I didn't follow the pattern exactly. Any mistakes I made, she said, would make my needlepoint truly my own. I think about that story often as we plan our wedding. A perfect wedding is depicted in the movies and in the wedding magazines. But with so many details juggling in the air, perfection seems unattainable. And honestly, mistakes can be underrated. Like the mistaken stitches on the needlepoint, little problems can make a special day unique. At my Bat Mitzvah, Washington, D.C. was hit with a massive snow storm. Whiteness covered the city for a week. Flights were cancelled. Roads were impassible. Guests were unable to attend. Chairs sat empty. The band couldn't play, so we brought in a boom box (I think that's what they were called then) and my 17-year old friend with good taste in music filled in as DJ. In some ways, it would have been better without the snow, with the band and missing guests. But it's more memorable, more unique this way.