The Wedding

I have this quirkiness where, I think back to moments in time, at exact times, in my present.

For example...

Last Saturday I was thinking...

"At exactly this time last week I was doing such and so."

Of course, last week on that day, my daughter Elise was getting married.

I, on the other hand, was a frenzied mess.

There are just not words for all the planning and organizing one does to pull off a wedding in three months. I literally filled every page in my planner under the title, "wedding." Not only were we time limited, but cash limited as well, if you know what I mean.

That combination made for a few crazy, down to the last minute to get everything done, days.

At 4:30 Saturday afternoon, just two hours before the wedding, which was a 20 minute drive from my house, I was purchasing things we needed. I had driven 5 minutes from home when I realized I had forgotten my dress...yes, my dress I was wearing at the wedding. I drove home quickly to grab it but stopped too quickly and spilled the raspberry sauce that would be topping the cheesecake in less than two hours, in my car. As I grabbed my dress, I got to the car and realized I had no shoes. Ok..by this time, I wanted to cry.

I talked on the phone, to my sister, (who was with my two other sisters who had not sat down since they had arrived 24 hours earlier) the whole time I was driving out to the wedding venue, muttering un-intelligible words to her, about every detail that had to be done before the bride walked down the aisle,so she could make a list and help me keep my sanity. I most likely needed a paper bag to breathe in. I arrived at the place where all the detailed plans and reality would meet in just a few short moments, only to discover that I had left my make-up and change of clothes for later at home. It nearly put me over the edge.

I ran quickly to the house where all the girls were getting ready, hoping I hadn't missed too much, feeling a bit like Pigpen with a whirling dust storm around me,when my eyes laid hold of the most beautiful girl in the world...

And I am not kidding.

 

The bride, our little girl, was stunning, and for just a moment, I didn't care about spilled raspberry sauce or the fact that I had no make-up. This was a moment I wanted to treasure forever.

But,forever would be too long. We had a wedding in less than two hours so that moment was glorious but brief and the flurry continued.
The photographer was ready to take pictures of these girls but one of those girls in particular was my hair dresser. And I was already doing without my make-up. I wasn't going to do without a hair do also. 

Christiana sweetly calmed me down, ratted my hair, twisted some locks and did her magic. In about five, my hair was transformed and off I went to finish frosting the cake. Umm yes...that would be the wedding cake. I had one hour until the moment and I couldn't frost with a dress on so I had to leave time for that.

That was an event all in itself.

Let me just say that the word "Spanks" (if you don't know what this word means you may want to google it. I can't bring myself to talk about it) causes heart palpitations for me. It is also a form of gymnastics to don the thing. But don I did with just minutes to spare and on went my dress which I hoped would zip. And it did, with not more than a millimeter to spare, I might add.

Holy cleavage is all I am going to say about my dress.

And well... I loved my dress.

With my friends help, and my sweet niece willing to kneel on the bathroom floor, my face was painted as well as my toes. All fifteen minutes before I was summoned to walk down the aisle as the MOB and all in the tiny bathroom off the kitchen where I just finished frosting the cake. (Alysha, you did a fine job of painting those toes with my shoes on. Amazing really. And Carrie, I might just start wearing eyebrow pencil because of you.)

Speaking of shoes...I found them at Salvation Army for 99 cents. I loved them and they looked fabulous with my dress. However, the green sticker on the back of the heel that screams "thrift store purchase!" was not exactly wedding worthy. Thankfully, a keen eyed bystander caught the sight of that ugly green thing right before I hit the concrete. Thank God I didn't have to replay that nightmare in my head.

 

Well, ready or not, the time had come to get this show on the road.

Guests were finding their seats.

Pinwheels were whirling.

And now, the craziness had to stop. I had to calm my anxious heart and know that what was done was done and what wasn't wasn't.

It was 6:30. And the wedding was beginning.

My tall, dark, handsome son Corbin, walked me down the aisle, to my seat. I had one last job to do...and I didn't want to mess this up.

"When the Mother of the Bride stands it signals everyone else to stand," is what my sister told me.

Ok.

This was one thing I could not forget to do.

So once I saw these two sweet things make their way forward,

 

I stood.

 

And then I beheld.

Here came the Bride in all her glory.

Without her bouquet.

Ok...Now I know you might just think, "What the heck? Don't ruin the moment." But, the reality is, my stupid mind just doesn't stop sometimes. Here I was, watching the biggest moment of the whole day and my brain, that thinks about detail and order, focused in on...

"She forgot her bouquet!"

I'm staring at her, gorgeous as she was, doing hand gestures that are saying, "Where's the bouquet? The flooowwwweeers." Oh,for Pete's sake. As if we were all going to stop this moment and start all over with the bouquet. What is wrong with me?

I'm sorry. I truly am sorry for that. I tortured myself for days afterwards for the stupidity of that  moment. 

And I tortured myself for days afterwards on lots of things.

Because you want it to be perfect.

And it is the biggest day of your little girls life.

But...

in reality...

it was perfect.

Because it was a celebration of love.

 

Love between Matt and Elise.

 



Love between siblings.

Christiana...her sister...her maid of honor.

Corbin, Elise's youngest brother and sweetest boy around.

Ross, Elise's oldest brother and protector.

(Wish I had photos of these two boys in their tuxes. They looked beautiful)

Love between father and daughter.

And love between us. The frazzled MOB and stunning bride.



If I had to do it all over again, would I make some changes to help things look better? Prettier? Tastier? Yep.

 

Do I want to dwell on that fact? Nope. 



Like one wise mom, whose married off a few daughters of her own, told me,

"Crop the photos and remember what you want. They are your memories."

My perfectionist side could cause this day to look like a photo all marred up with scratches everywhere. But, my mom side, the one I really want to be, chooses to crop the photos to my liking and frame only those. Little details just really don't matter. The bigger picture does.

This day was about Matt and Elise!

and

All's well that ends well, as they say.

End well, my dear ones. This is just the beginning for you.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to the sweetest family one could ever have, for all your help. I would have never made it without you.

And to my close friends...you know who you are...thank you for being there. For helping me and loving me through this.

Now, for just a few more photos of this very special and memory filled day....

(This was one of my favorite decorations. Paper bag luminaries.)

For the love.