When it comes to remembering weddings, most guests will only remember the displays of joy and love shared between the couple as they joined in matrimony. However, it's likely that, behind the scenes, the days and months leading up to the special day, and the special day itself, were filled with a range of emotions, disasters and roller-coasters of highs and lows, all in the hopes of achieving a flawless event. Well, in our experience of being a human, how often does that happen?!

Dr. Suzanne Gelb says that when it comes to planning a wedding, "for many people, it's more stressful -- in terms of the potential impact on your health -- than getting fired from your job!" But it is also widely known that laughter is a stress reliever, and laugh-out-loud wedding moments are memorable for attendees, if not friends and family members who hear about them. So, while reminiscing about the highs and lows of weddings past, don't forget to acknowledge those ha-has along the way, just like these brides do.

We'll start with the wedding story of Susan. After trying to find the perfect wedding venue, she and her fiance decided on a historic landmark house in upstate New York. At the reception, it didn't take her long to notice that her guests were drinking but there weren't any hors d'oeurves going around to help balance out the alcohol. Her curiosity pulled her into the kitchen, where a frantic catering crew informed her that the ovens weren't working. They made several calls, but by the time anyone could fix them, the reception would be over. Some of the cold hors d'oeurves were plated and served instead. Just as Susan thought her entire day would be ruined in everyone's mind, the swing band started to perform and was able to attract a wide range of musical tastes. No one really cared about the food while they were dancing and drinking. The guests ended up going out as quite a large party to a small restaurant down the road, and dinner turned into an afterparty. Susan says some of her friends still talk about how much fun they had because it wasn't the typical formal wedding. This low turned into a HA and then a high!

Now on to a not-so-hot problem: summer heat waves. Two brides, Kathryn and Rose, shared similar misfortunes with their summer weddings. Rose was married in Nashville, and Kathryn was married in New York, both of which typically boast incredibly hot and muggy summer days. Due to the heat, Rose and her groom cut their ceremony down to five minutes and left out their personal vows altogether. The reception was in the evening -- and much cooler -- allowing them to keep the love going strong by sharing their vows and then having everyone join them on the dance floor. Kathryn, on the other hand, didn't cut her ceremony short. Not only were the guests uncomfortable but they also noticed that the groomsmen, who were wearing three-piece suits, had sweat pouring from their foreheads, and that showed in most of the photos. Unfortunately, the reception wasn't much cooler, as it was held in a barn without any airflow or fans. But hey, at least everyone was enjoying their wine and spirits while detoxing from the heat!

Jessica's story is a beautiful display of grief turning into peace. Her mother had early-onset dementia and was unable to attend her Palm Springs wedding because of her deteriorating health. Her mother was at the point where she no longer recognized her family, so she was also unable to partake in the planning that a bride would normally want to share with her mother. On the wedding day, Jessica organized a special meeting in her bridal suite with her closest girlfriends, and they each honored Jessica through sharing a song, poetry, a hug or whatever they felt would best comfort her as she grieved her mother not being able to watch her walk down the aisle. During the ceremony, just as the rabbi was reading a poem that referenced a dove, a dove flew right past Jessica and her groom and perched itself on a tree overlooking the ceremony. The guests were stunned. Jessica is sure that the dove was symbolic of her mother's spirit being there, and it was a magical moment the guests will carry with them forever.

Viewing weddings past, including your own, through the lens of highs, lows and HAs allows you to preserve memories and see how they all worked together to create a perfect day. Because, at the end of the day, through all of the twists and turns, the best memory is witnessing love.