Were there little glitches? Of course.
Did they matter? Not in the least.
Rather than go into a lengthy narrative, I'll share bits and pieces and (of course!) some photos.
The Dress
(Mine, I mean.) :-)
I chose the Adrianna Papell gown in navy with the deep v-neck and "mermaid" flare. It was comfortable to move in and made me feel good. (On a side note, shame on the woman in the hotel lobby who exclaimed, loudly, as I walked by that it was tacky to wear a long gown to an afternoon wedding. The wedding was late afternoon, the reception was evening...and I was the MoG! Shame on her!)
My sister made me a beautiful sapphire blue necklace and I found dangly earrings to match!
The Ceremony
It was a lovely, traditional ceremony. My son got choked up reciting his vows, and when his bride reached up to tenderly caress his cheek, tears began to flow--mine, my sister's, probably half the women in the church and even the pastor's! (He couldn't talk for a minute after that!) It was moving and loving. It was perfect.
The Mother-Son Dance
You might recall what a tough decision this was for me, how worried I was I'd start bawling like an idiot. After weeks of searching, we went with Sweet Child O' Mine performed by Sheryl Crow. I know, some of you are probably thinking, What the...huh?? But it has an upbeat rhythm despite its somewhat sentimental message. And I love this version which is sung from the woman's (mother's) perspective.
"He's got eyes of the bluest skies(Written by Duff Rose Mc Kagan, Steven Adler, W. Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin)
"As if they thought of rain
"I'd hate to look into those eyes
"And see an ounce of pain..."
We cut it off after about two minutes, which was a good thing because I'm sure our simple box-stepping was a giant yawn to the guests. (Hopefully they enjoyed the music while we danced!) I did NOT cry, but I did indulge myself in a log bear-hug before letting my son return to his bride.
The Party
I danced all night with my hubby (slow dances) and friends (fast dances), so many thanks to whoever it was (Diane?) who suggested bringing a second pair of comfortable shoes. That was a lifesaver! Still, when the party broke up, I hobbled back to the hotel on achy feet, and when I crawled into bed later, every muscle from my waist down throbbed. Maybe a person of a certain age isn't meant to jump up and down like a pogo stick for a couple hours straight? Lying there in pain, I had to content myself with the hope all the excess expenditure of calories made up for the excess consumption of food!
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| Apologies for the fuzziness for a few of these! |
The happy couple honeymooned in Cape May (NJ) and hubby, Son No. 1 and I retreated to Virginia with my best friend from childhood (who had flown in from Iowa). A few days later, my friend and I treated ourselves to a mini ladies' vacation at an oceanfront hotel in Virginia Beach. More perfection. (How lucky am I?)
As I post this message, my son and his bride are celebrating their two-week anniversary. I hope they are recalling the day with the same joy and love that I am. And I know they'll be making fresh, new and wonderful memories in the years to come. Sigh...
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13 comments:
You chose a beautiful dress! And it sounds like everyone had a great time at the wedding. Congrats on pulling off MOG with style, Leah!
Fantastic. You look lovely. And I hate those stupid old fashioned rules some people cling to thinking it makes them more in the know. Who decides those dress guidelines anyway.
Thanks, Jannine and Brenda! I do love that dress. :-) I've toyed with the idea of taking it to a consignment shop to sell, but something is making me want to hang on to it. Sentimentality, I suppose. It's not like I have a lot of occasions to wear formal gowns! I still have all my formal gowns from past events. Several are probably in the "vintage" category now! Regarding the woman who made the nasty comment, the "funny" thing is that I didn't want a long gown to begin with, but the MoB told me, "It's a formal wedding. Of course you need a long gown." And then she ended up wearing tea length (which is what I originally wanted!). Anyway, all's well and all that.
Leah, I love your gown. Adriana Papell is one of my favorite designers. How dare that woman make a rude comment! some people. I don't know how you managed to make it through your mother/son dance without crying. As the mother of an only daughter, I'm glad I'll never have to try. Congratulations to you, the newlyweds, and the whole family!
I love her designs, too, Alison. I wish I had a reason to wear more than this one...I'd definitely be shopping the sales racks! The mother-son dance turned out to be relatively easy (emotionally) because the bride and her dad had done a choreographed routine to "You Should Be Dancing" by the Bee Gees (John Travolta's big solo in Saturday Night Fever). So everyone was already having fun. (This is after crying buckets, mind you, at the couples' first dance which was lovely and romantic. I wish I'd gotten some photos but I was too busy mopping my face.) Anyway, I knew the bride-father dance would be fun, not weepy, so I wanted something upbeat too. And I think I was too nervous to think of the emotion behind it. We kept saying things like, "Is this long enough...when is the DJ going to stop the song???" :)
I'm so glad you shared your son's wedding with us. Lovely, lovely dress. Who cares what time of day it was? You liked the dress and that's what's important. Glad you brought comfortable shoes. Don't think I was the one who suggested them. Still, a great idea. That must have been so much fun to go off on a mini-vacay with your friend. Your DIL touching his face would've had me in tears, too. How sweet. You'll have such lovely memories of this day. So will they.
Thanks, Diane... and everyone else who shares my frustration (annoyance?) with that woman in the hotel lobby. Who is she to tell anyone else what to wear?! The whole weekend and week after was so much fun...memories to last a lifetime. :-) Then I had to go back to work and back to reality! Such is life!
Gorgeous dress and all that dancing! Wow! I'm glad you showed us the dress and the rest of the pictures. So happy the event was a success. You've helped catapult the couple into a bright future. Now you get to rest. Congrats!
Thanks, Rolynn! I'd say they're off to a pretty good start. I'm so glad we were able to help them.
Late here! Beautiful dress. That color and style really suit you. So glad the day, and dance, were great successes. Go you for pampering yourself a little bit afterward. I'll be MoG about a year from now. You've helped me 'gird my loins' for the experience. LOL!
As everyone else has said, your dress is lovely, and a big raspberry to the rude person. (I would say lady, but she wasn't.) Your description of the day is filled with love. I'm so happy for you and your family, including the new daughter-in-law!
Thanks, Margo and Diane! I remember when I was looking a year out, Margo, and how fast it went. Now it's over! And I AM blessed to have a new D-I-L, Diane. She's a sweetheart. (Son No. 2 chose well.) :-)
Awwww, thank you so much for sharing the recap and lovely photos. You looked stunning and that rude woman can feck off. So glad it all went well...congrats to the happy couple!
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