Wedding

This past weekend was my cousin's wedding and the event, along with the year of planning leading up to it, was filled with it's own soundtrack.

Over the past year, my cousin has had her Veruca Salt moments, you know, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: "don't care how, I want it now!" But as far as bridezillas go, she honestly wasn't that bad. In fact, the day of, as we were getting our hair and makeup done, she was relaxed and calm. We did a little sing along to "Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Married," among other songs on Pandora, and she was all smiles.

During the ceremony, we learned that one of the many reasons my cousin loves her husband is because he sings to her every day. Specifically, "You are my Sunshine" and Jason Mraz's "Lucky." I give two thumbs up to their soundtrack of love and know that it will only grow over time.

Once the ceremony ended, the bride and groom were not quite done, as they still had to get through their first dance, choreographed by yours truly. Teaching two people with two left feet how to dance, and dance together, was a challenge, but the three of us rose to the occasion. Two days of dance boot camp and a month and a half of practicing paid off; they were beautiful! Michael Buble should bring them on tour to dance to "Everything" when he performs it; that lift-spin combo is a crowd-wower every time, I'm just saying.

Not only were the bride and groom impressive, but so was the maid of honor. She shocked everyone when she rapped half of her speech to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song! It was a great story "all about how, Stacey ended up in a wedding gown." She earned a well-deserved standing ovation and rose the bar for the rest of the family at future weddings.

And so the night went on. We did a little Hora and danced to "Hava Nagila," and partied to top hits of today and some top hits of yesteryear. The DJ was great and there was a live saxophonist and bongo drummer to bring the music to life.

However, we almost had a musical crisis at the wedding when the DJ stopped the music for us to eat dinner... right in the middle of "Shout"! If there's one rule at a wedding, it's you don't cut Shout. But thankfully, we were fully prepared for such a moment and we continued the song on our own. We got a little bit softer now, then a little bit louder now, then my sister led the crowd in responsive "hey ey ey ey's." The cousin-and-friends crew banded together and saved the day!

We continued to "Gangnam Style" the night away and just like that, a year in the making, the wedding was over. It was a gorgeous affair and one more thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Mazel Tov to my cousin and her husband!