How a Baseball Game Didn't Ruin a Wedding

Not every situation that doesn't go perfectly during a wedding totally ruins the wedding; It can actually turn out to be humorous in the future. But sharing important details (as well as having wedding professionals who are on their game) can prevent some of those small hiccups. Consider this story:

Several years ago, I attended my cousin's wedding in a suburb of Philadelphia. As the reception progressed, the dance floor was full so the DJ read the crowd well and decided it was a good time to play one of those "circle up" songs - a song where everyone kind of comes together in a big circle and sings/dances together. So the DJ puts on the song "New York, New York". This is a commonly used song for this situation and normally would be a perfect choice.

Except -

My cousin, the bride, and her entire, large, Italian, Philly-based family are all die-hard Philadelphia Phillies fans. Also, this wedding was taking place less than a month after the Phillies had just lost the World Series - - to the New York Yankees. Now, one thing everyone knows about Philly sports fans is that it is not wise to mock their teams, or rub salt in their wounds. So when the first strains of "New York, New York" started, the Philly fans reacted as expected of Philly fans - they started booing the DJ.

I was quickly appointed the only one in the room who spoke DJ, and was sent running to try and fix things. The DJ was visibly agitated and sweating as he was scrambling to change the song.

I asked him, "Do you know what's happening?" He replied "No - What's wrong with this song? What's going on?" "The bride and her whole family are Phillies fans." "So?" <eye roll> "The Phillies just lost the World Series to the Yankees." "I don't follow baseball!" (Ok - another note about Philly sports teams - When they do something good like making it to a playoff, it is a BIG deal and you'd have to be living under a rock to not know about it - and this was a Philly DJ.) Trying not to roll my eyes again, I told the DJ, "Ok, the only way you can fix this is by playing either "Philadelphia Freedom" or "High Hopes". (Phillies-friendly songs) The DJ looked me in the eye with a look of pure panic and exclaimed, "I don't have either of those songs!" At that point, I put up my hands and said "Sorry, you're on your own." and walked away.

The crowd actually settled down as soon as the song changed, and the whole incident was quickly forgotten. Very few people even remember that it even happened. We all had a great time, and it remains one of the family's most fun weddings.

So as far as planning a wedding, there are two things that were learned from this:

1. Details are important. Even if you don't think the details are important, or if you don't want details like your favorite sports teams featured during your wedding, it is best to let your wedding professionals know about any quirky little things about your personality that can either be used to enhance your wedding or should be avoided.

2. If things don't go absolutely perfectly the entire day, it doesn't mean the wedding is ruined. Did my cousin demand the DJ refund her money because he played one wrong song? No. It was a silly little episode that didn't bring the day crashing to a horrible end and today, we look back and laugh about it.

Overall what was most important and most memorable was that we all had fun, the couple was (and still is) happy, and it was a great family celebration.