It's Not a Wedding Ceremony Without the Heimlich!

As you all probably know, I got married last weekend and as much as I would love to say that the ceremony was flawless, I would be lying if I did. But the element of surprise is what makes most weddings stand out and those little moments that go 'wrong' can actually be the most memorable of them all. Like at my sister's wedding, just as my dad gave Grace away, JJ's niece walked right up to her and said, "Grace, you look so beautiful!" It was one of the most special moments of the day. And although my little moment that went 'wrong' was nothing like that, it was extremely memorable to anyone that may have witnessed it....(hopefully the videographer got something).

My adorable two year old nephew Saigen was my ring bearer and since it is so hard for any two year old to follow directions, we made a deal with him that if he walked down the aisle with the ring box and gave the rings to the Best Man, Ray, he would get a treat. So once he handed over those coveted rings, Ray gave him a piece of candy. And while Amber usually doesn't condone hard candies for two year olds, she knew that he would take one lick of that peppermint, consider it too spicy for his taste and spit it out. She quickly assisted in the unwrapping of the candy and sent him over to hang with the guys as she took her place with the girls as my Matron of Honor. Well, apparently this particular hard candy was lime flavored and actually tasty to Saigen and he swallowed it immediately. Mind you, I was apparently so wrapped up in the ceremony that I never saw any of this but here is how it allegedly went down...

Saigen swallowed the candy whole, Amber saw his eyes get big, realized that he was choking and ran over to him. She picked him up (bouquet still in hand) gave him the Heimlich Maneuver, grabbed the candy off the ground and threw it like she was trying to throw someone out at second base and ran back in her place just as the ceremony began. I saw nothing and Saigen was quickly scooped up by one of Anthony's groomsmen and was as cool as a cucumber for the entire ceremony......Luckily there were a few photos to document this event and hopefully Saigen will laugh at this in about ten years.