Having navigated your way past hair and wardrobe issues; the missing centerpiece has been found; the cake has taken its position of honor; and all stands in readiness. If the bride was wise enough to give up the romantic but impractical notion of not seeing her soon-to-be husband until the ceremony, she can feel particularly relieved, because the bulk of the formal photos will also already have been taken–so there is nothing to do now but allow the magic to unfold as planned. She stands nervously but excitedly on her father’s arm, awaiting Big Moment Number One–her trip up the aisle, when all attention will focus on her, idly wondering if her deodorant is going to hold out. The next half-hour will be life-changing, and is the very heart of all the festivity surrounding the occasion. She’s in the home stretch.
Everything that’s been planned is under control. The only thing you can’t control now is the truly unforeseen.
It’s for this reason that the second wedding “emergency” box will be medical in nature; it should contain Tylenol (Acetominphen); Ibuprofin; baby aspirin (seriously–if someone is having chest pains, have them chew one–and only one–while waiting for the aid car); Tums or Maalox chewables for the queasy; redness-removal eyedrops such as Visine; Bactine; Band-aids; a tube of Neosporin (for cooking burns); purse-sized packs of Kleenex. If anyone is known on either side of the family to suffer from asthma, remember that emotions and nervousness can trigger an episode, and include an inhaler. If the wedding is outdoors, a couple of Epi-pens or bee-sting kits are irreplaceable if needed. At an outdoor wedding I attended in breathtaking surroundings, the bride’s father considered them lucky to have discovered a wasp’s nest the previous night at Rehearsal, and set about destroying it. Unfortunately, not all of the wasps were home at the time, and they were really angry to find themselves hiveless. At least 8 guests were stung over the course of the wedding day, one with a serious-enough reaction to necessitate calling a medical aid unit; it’s not unrealistic to be prepared.
Perhaps when everyone is assembled for pictures would be a good time to mention the medical box–anybody might get a headache and need it. Be certain that all of the wedding party and both sets of parents know where the box will be; having it on hand will be of no help if it can’t be found when needed. Ask if anybody in the wedding party knows CPR or has First-Aid training, so you’ll know who to turn to first if there’s a problem. Have a clear understanding that any bad fall (especially for someone older, and fragile); chest pains; or trouble breathing means the closest “team” person at hand (1) steps in to help and (2) calls 9-1-1. While it’s likely that the victim may protest that they’ll be fine, it doesn’t get to be their call . Do tell the medical dispatcher that it’s a wedding, and ask that the medics make a discreet entrance. Just as the bridesmaids form a lovely “wall” of beauty at the bride’s side during the ceremony, ask them to be alert and respond to anyone being “down” in the same way–several bridesmaids in long gowns can “casually” form a screen to give an ailing person some privacy. If you are fortunate enough to have “a doctor in the house”–or a nurse–quietly seek their aid. Call as little attention to the situation as possible, both to spare the feelings of the victim, and to keep it from becoming an indelible memory of your wedding. Anybody tasteless enough to try for a photo should be politely shoo’d away.
When the urgency of the moment has passed, if the unfortunate party has left with the aid car, an announcement should be made–stating briefly what happened so the guests aren’t kept in the dark, and concerns can hopefully be alleviated, keeping it light if possible: “. . . Grandma isn’t very happy about missing the party,” etc.
Highly-emotional events can be the trigger for any number of maladies; the odds are that anything serious is not going to happen on your day. But be prepared to slap a Band-aid on your wedding if needed, so you can dance until time to toss your bouquet and bundle your gown into your getaway car–oh, and you might want to grab a few Tylenol for tomorrow morning.
