Sometimes a mishap is simply a mishap, easily fixed and forgotten. Other times mishap is mayhem in the making, especially when it happens on what is meant to be the most perfect day of your life, the day you'd dreamed about since you were a little girl, the day that will mark the first day of the rest of your life.

The little blunders in life can seem like giant blunders in the midst of the havoc they create but when the smoke settles and the dust clears things are often not nearly as bad as they seemed in the moment. We had a bit of a mishap on our wedding day, nothing but our love turned out the way we thought it would . . .

We stood on the shores of a quiet ocean with soft breezes playfully pulling on my dress and mussing my hair. The warm beach sand beneath our bare feet felt soft as silk as we looked into each other's eyes and promised forever. He looked regal in his dress uniform, medals twinkling in the fading sun. We sealed our love with a kiss as the sun dipped below the horizon marking the end of the first day we would spend as husband and wife.

When I close my eyes and remember how I dreamed our wedding would be, this was how I dreamt it. The sun did set beautifully on the day wed, the rest . . . never actually happened. It was supposed to. It was my dream but planned perfection is never as perfect as you plan it to be. The day ended as it was meant to, we did walk hand in hand into the future as husband and wife, my wedding day woes ended in happily ever after.

We met when I was fifteen; he was my first love, my only love and my last love. It took many years and two children before we attempted to say our vows. We left the children with my parents and set off on an adventure we'd waited far too long to embark upon. We traveled far from our wintry home to marry on a warm and sunny beach in Florida.

My grandmother helped me pick a beautiful dress. It looked as though it were crafted of delicious, silken cream and soft, billowy curtains of cloud. My husband was to wear his military finest; he was so very handsome when he donned his uniform. My best friend lived in Florida with her baby girl; she offered her tiny apartment as her gift to us. We were glad to have somewhere cozy and I must admit inexpensive, to stay.

Our first day there we drove around seeing the sights and taking in the sun. We gazed upon the beach where we would soon wed. It was an amazing moment in time, surreal and long awaited. We hardly rested at all that

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