We’re doing a segment on today’s show that is about wedding anniversary horror stories. What went wrong on your “special day”? Because let’s be honest. Sometimes all the planning is of no use to the world. Sometimes things just happen. Fortunately, I can look back on almost 22 years and fondly remember our wedding day. I can’t remember anything that went wrong that day. I’m sure if you ask Holly she could probably come up with something. But there was one awkward situation that occurred that day and it is my only regret on the wedding day.
My only regret happened at the wedding reception. Our reception was at the Wyndham Ramada in Cedar Rapids. I used to be the Clarion Hotel, and in 1999 it may have been called something else. But in the late 1990s it was one of the most popular places for your wedding reception. You have several large ballrooms to choose from. We choose the one where the pool has been turned into a glowing fountain. It was perfect.
I also remember talking about prices in 1999. The increasingly popular discussion about the price per plate. And of course, once you made up your mind, you had to check your guest list to see if the numbers were working. Holly and I certainly didn’t choose the most expensive meal ever, but when you add that and the cost of alcohol it can get expensive quickly. So we knew we had to take a few people off our guest list. In 1999 I had just started working full time on the KHAK morning show. And while I was doing a bit of other roles at the station and the company, I was just getting to know everyone who worked there. So I didn’t put out a blanket wedding invitation. We chose those closest to us and invited them.
Flash forward to reception. Speeches were being made from the main table and we were about to go out to eat. I looked at the ballroom entrance and saw someone who worked for the station that we hadn’t invited to the wedding parties walk towards the main table. What would he say He walked up to me, shook my hand, and gave me a card. Then he went out. I remember feeling overwhelmed and shaken. What just happened Was he so upset about not being invited that he had to show up anyway?
When I look back 22 years later, I think that maybe I could have done things differently. Maybe I should have invited this person and a guest. How much would it cost us? Forty or fifty dollars more? The strangest part was that I worked with this person for a few more years. Neither of us has ever addressed the situation to the other. Not even. But in retrospect, he was obviously hurt by not being invited, and that was never my intention.
So there you have it. I regretted my only wedding anniversary. Be careful who you remove from the guest list. You could show up anyway.
