Giving Perfection ‘the Boot’

I am a bit of a perfectionist. Though I hate to admit it, it’s true. I’ve always been a perfectionist…just ask my family and they can tell you some really embarrassing stories. Actually, on second thought, don’t ask them!

Well, when I started to plan our wedding, I knew that this character trait of mine could present some problems. I have been in the wedding industry long enough to know that there is a simple truth about weddings. No matter how much you plan, there WILL be something that goes wrong. So, early on, I made up my mind to ‘roll with the punches’ and to do my best not to get caught up in the pursuit of perfection. I’m not going to lie to you though, as a perfectionist, I was highly imperfect in this pursuit!

Well, it seems that God has a funny way of making us deal with things even when we don’t want to because three weeks before our wedding, I was faced with a situation that would challenge this very thing.

It was a Sunday evening in mid-March and I was THRILLED because for once, I got to be a guest at a wedding. A sweet friend of mine was getting hitched and I was overjoyed that I was going to have the opportunity to celebrate with her from the other side of the lens. Now if you have followed the blog at all or been a previous client, you know that I dance at every wedding…even those I shoot…and I love it. Well, I was especially pumped because this time I was going to be able to ‘get my groove’ on with both hands free. And that I did. I was groovin’  (yes I’m still using that word) to my little heart’s content when the DJ turned on the ‘Cotton Eye Joe.’ Now, I don’t particularly love this song (after all, poor Joe has cotton eyes…that can’t be fun) but hey, it’s a crowd favorite and one I know well, so of course I linked arms with my friends and began to jam with ole’ Joe. Having already kicked off my heels, I was ready to go. Well, I was having a grand old-time when with about 15 seconds left in the song, I landed just a little wrong on my left foot and felt what you might call…a very abnormal pain. Abnormal meaning just that…it wasn’t normal! I knew instantly that I had hurt myself but with too much pride to make a scene and scream in pain, I gently let go of my friends arms and did my best to hobble off the dance floor (that in and of itself was a feat I’m not sure how I pulled off). Convinced that I had only sprained my ankle, I did my best to downplay the pain and draw as little attention as possible. When I tried to walk out though, I was met by enough pain to send me buckling back into my seat. This of course brought on a scene straight out of a movie and one that almost made the whole thing worth it. My sweet fiance then proceeded to scoop me up and carry me to the car…yep, total damsel in distress moment and I wasn’t complaining!

Well, the next day when I couldn’t put weight on it, I decided to go to the doctor just to be safe even though I was convinced it was just a sprain. When the tech did his x-rays though, I was surprised by a ‘Wooooah…uh oh.,’ from behind the screen and well, I’m no medical expert but I knew that couldn’t be good. Turns out, I had snapped my bone right in half. Yep. 24 days before my own wedding, I was booted up and told that dancing at my wedding would be iffy and my Italian honeymoon was no longer a good option.

You might say that made things a little less than perfect!

As the next three weeks unfolded, I had multiple opportunities to consider how this ‘less than ideal’ situation would affect what was supposed to be the greatest day in my life. My dress had to be re-altered for flats and those super cute heels I had bought were no longer needed. We cancelled our Italian honeymoon. We talked through whether or not I could walk down the aisle. We considered if dancing would be good for me at all. And we, or really more I, shed quite a few tears. As God so often does, though, I learned some very important lessons through a situation that wasn’t exactly what I would have preferred.

Number one, I was forced to see the wedding day as it really was. A day where the real gift was marriage and not getting to dance or wear heels. Second, I learned that the beauty really is in the imperfection because it teaches us not to idolize things that were never meant to be fully satisfying anyway. Our day was so perfectly imperfect and my booted foot allowed me to see that in ways I never would have without it. As it turns out, by God’s grace, I danced at our wedding with no problem and though I didn’t get to wear those cute heels, my cowboy boots made for a fun accessory. Italy will make a wonderful one year anniversary trip and most of all, my eyes were focused on the main thing. Marrying a wonderful man and seeing God work through it!

So, here is to giving perfection ‘the boot’….LITERALLY!

(Sorry if you don’t like x-ray photos! Kind of strange-looking I’ll admit.)