Laughter, cheering and overflowing joy consumes the audience as they gaze upon the couple completely encompassed in their infatuation for one another. Church bells ring, and white doves carry a message of everlasting promises as the newly-married pair makes their way into the next chapter of life.

Of course, before every happy ending comes the struggles of the story. Every climax and rising action carries the restless panic of creating the ceremony of a person’s lifetime–their wedding. Although every aspect must be meticulously selected months in advance, certain tasks seem to be more important than the smaller details.

With my older sister and her friends’ newfound sense of adulthood, I hear firsthand all the trouble and tasks which go into the design of a respectable and entertaining wedding. Thus, with my new knowledge on the subject of these celebrations, I created a list with the most common problems seen both on TV and in real life.

The plans for this important occasion begin with the two most crucial parts of a wedding: the date and location. No amount of flowers, cake or dresses can fix a misunderstood date or location. In fact, the time and place creates the whole tone of the wedding, because the couple should be able to look back upon the occasion and reminisce during the season they chose or picture the scenery they stood among on their special day. Nobody wants to have the perfect wedding planned only to find their dream location was already booked by another couple long ago.

After the location and time comes decorations. Floral arrangements are a must, as the language of love is not French or Italian, but rather blossoming arrays of color. Each flower represents its own emotion and tells a different story. The rose, for example, is a beautiful symbol unmistakable in its representation of love and longing. However, the flower is simplistic despite its beauty, leading brides to choose other arrangements including tulips and lilies in a variety of colors.

A color scheme is the next critical factor, as the colors of a wedding spread from plants adorning the tables and walls to the bridesmaid dresses to any other decorations lying across the location. Naturally, most tend to choose more accepted wedding colors such as white, gold, pink, silver and other bright, gentle colors. 

White is a critical factor of a wedding as it brings about the thoughts of a cake and the bride’s dress. Cakes, although not the most practical food choice when wearing fancy clothing, is traditional and lightens the mood of the event. The cake is decorated with sugar flowers and frosting pearls occasionally showcasing a bride and groom placed gently upon the top of the pastry.

Whether intricate or simple, the designs of the cake can beautifully contrast or compliment the bride’s dress. The choice of dress can be extravagant and complex or straightforward. Either way, the gown is a special aspect of a wedding as it will be the dress shown in pictures for years to come. Hours of combing through racks of dresses does not always lead to the perfect dress; sometimes it is necessary to look deeper. However, the garment can later be given to a future child or kept for memories.

Despite all the work, one portion of a good wedding does not rely on the couple’s input. The most crucial aspect which could make or break the wedding is the guests. The distaste of a family member of their relative’s partner is constantly shown in movies and TV shows. Support and caring goes a long way when experiencing a tense portion of your life and the love of a family member to balance out the stress can help ease the transition to married life.

Overall, it does not matter how much money is put into the perfect flowers and colors, or the dresses and cake. Marriage in this time period and society is about love.  A wedding will not be disappointing if the couple loves each other and has the support of their loved ones. A perfect wedding does not come from the hours spent tasting cakes and trying on clothes but rather, the people in it.