FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE
Husband-to-be shouldered stress of wedding day
By Angela Yamashita
I recently celebrated my first anniversary with a man that I thought existed only in my dreams. I had always felt that the man I wanted to marry had to be handsome, funny, caring and loving, and a person who believed communication is the key.
Keeping my beliefs, I finally found that man in Eric MacDougall Yamashita.
He showed me that I truly am the most important person to him. How, you may ask? He took on the enormous task of planning our whole wedding day, with the help of our friends Paul Tamaoka and Edy Gawiran. I never got stressed out during the 12 months that it took to plan our big event.
Eric would ask me many questions on what details I wanted that day, from the color theme, flowers and music, right down to the color of the table napkins. All I had to do was say, or show him what I wanted by tearing out photos from magazines.
Eric was the one with the "bride's portfolio." He would call and make all the appointments to meet with the photographers, video people, makeup artists, wedding coordinator, hotel coordinator, florist and even his family. Eric even took time to schedule my facial and nail appointments.
If at any moment I felt overwhelmed, he would listen and tell me that no matter what happened on our wedding day, we would be married.
I swear I had no stress. But my poor husband, on the other hand, at times became overwhelmed. Eric had experienced everything I was supposed to feel. You could say that we literally switched roles. Eric had many sleepless nights tossing and turning, bad dreams that no one would show up, anxiety attacks and the occasional nervous breakdown.
Our wedding day finally arrived, and I was so happy and excited. The ceremony, the flowers and the reception ballroom were decorated beyond my wildest dreams. The whole day exceeded my expectations.
Knowing all of this, and looking back on that day and throughout the year, I know every moment of every day that I am the love of his life and that he is mine. This has been the best year, being married to him, and I feel like we are still in our honeymoon stage. Eric makes it a point to tell me every day how beautiful I am and how much he loves me. I look forward to many years to come with my husband.
The Yamashitas were married March 31, 2001, at the Hale Koa Hotel. They live in Honolulu.
Write: For Better, For Worse, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; e-mail ohana@honoluluadvertiser.com. Articles and photos submitted to The Advertiser may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms.
