Time To Move On

With everything in life, change always comes. And now it's time for this blog to change. To come to a close.

Tonight after spending some precious family time together, my daughter left our family home and went with her husband to their home. The first night back from their honeymoon and it's as it should be. It's as the Lord designed life to be. We are closing a chapter but beginning a new one!

So I won't be posting any new stories here. But that doesn't mean I've decided to stop blogging...I'm just going to be blogging somewhere new. And when I figure out where that is, I hope you'll visit once in a while!

Thanks for sharing with me the craziness of a daughter's wedding...maybe someday I'll have The Grandma Chronicles to share!

It. Is. Done.

Well, the big day has come and gone...about 96 hours ago my little girl walked down the aisle into the arms of her prince.

So why did I stop blogging? Well as we got closer and closer to the big day (which btw occurred only a few days after Christmas...I think the happy couple planned it that way just to see how close to the edge they could push me) I realized I wasn't able to give the attention I wanted to give to the 'ol blog and help plan the wedding. And work full time. And take care of the bride's siblings. And be nice to my husband. And eat.

So something had to give and since I wasn't budging on the "give up eating" option, the blog got put on the shelf. But now that the happy couple are on their honeymoon (the one wedding item I didn't have to provide a credit card number for) and the bride's siblings have clean clothes (thanks Aunt Lynn) and my husband thinks I'm the cat's meow again and we ate something other than fast food two nights in a row, I thought I'd finish the tale we started months ago.

Stick around, it may be fun!

Bouquets & Rice: Week 16 - Odds & Ends

Well, today is a big day...it's the bride's shower! Another milestone on the way to the wedding. The bride is very excited, so excited that she decided at 10:45 last night that she needed to color her hair for the big day. I went to bed with the same hair color.
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The bride picked out ribbon for the bouquets the other day and after 22 minutes of standing in the middle of the ribbon aisle, in front of hundreds and hundreds of spools of ribbon, discussing the subtle difference between "fern" and "olive" she finally picked a ribbon color.

It was cream.
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The happy couple received their first wedding gift this week. And this is the groom's special gift-opening teeth-technique...

True story...this gift was from a couple of our oldest and dearest friends...and the husband is a dentist.

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Last night as I was falling asleep the thought popped into my head that Christmas is a mere 50 or so days away. Then a few weeks later is the wedding.

I got up and washed a load of clothes. And then I colored my hair.

Hey There!

We're less than 3 months away from the big day. The bride's shower is soon. I have nothing to wear. We don't have enough cream colored flowers.

And I think I may have ordered 1500 monogrammed matchbooks instead of 150.

Just a few things that crossed my mind this afternoon.

Things are starting to pick up again after a few weeks of quiet. We are back into our routine of ordering, shopping, choosing and fussing. Discussions about the color of the invitations, bubbles or birdseed, and groom's cakes have been occurring in between deliveries from Ted (Ted is our UPS guy. We've grown very close, so close in fact that the father of the bride and I have considered putting him in our will)

Lots of important decisions have been made in the last month also...things like...

Favors or no favors? (hence the matchbooks...but it wasn't an easy decision, it took 3 people and a day and a half to figure out how to order them)

Serve cocoa along with coffee? (just coffee)

Cream ribbon or green ribbon for the bouquets? (ummm, I forget)

Ziti or elbow macaroni? (ziti, the groom's Italian, I'd never hear the end of it)

All these important decisions plus a-bazillion more have be made the past month and I'll be filling you in on all the details. Lucky you! So stay tuned...

What'd You Get Me?

In thinking through all the little details that come with planning a wedding, one thing recently came to mind...gifts for the wedding party.

So I got online to see what brides and grooms are giving nowadays as gifts to the bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls and so on...and what I found proves once and for all that yes, I live in a bubble.

And I like it in there.

Here's what the bride of today is giving her bridemaids...wonderful, heartfelt gifts like:

1. Pink monogrammed flasks
(you can get the matching cigar holder for just pennies more)
2. Wet bikini bags (the bag isn't wet, just the bikini)
3. Wedding Party Cup Cozy - keeps your drink from sweating all over your dress (and it's perfect if the flasks are back-ordered)

And let's not forget the guys, those lucky groomsmen may be on the receiving end of one of these goodies:

1. Personalized serving tray, in a zazzy zebra print (apparently groomsmen like their dinner served on a tray with their initials printed on it...in lime green...who'd a-thunk it?)
2. High Rollers Leather Dice Cup (dice are extra...and those poor low rollers, I guess they could always use the cup cozy)
3. And as not to be out-gifted by the ladies, a Leather Golf-themed flask (three tees included)

Yep, I would have to say that the pearl necklaces and tie clips the father of the bride and I gave to our wedding party are things of the past. And to think, my bridesmaids have had to carry their bathing suits in a regular bag all these years.

Bring It!

I've been in some kind of blog fog the last two weeks...we took some time off from planning the wedding to attend to the maid of honor's college move and some other family matters...and that time away has affected the ol' blog too.

Been trying to get back in the swing of things, but around here the atmosphere has felt similar to coming home from a great vacation and then having trouble getting back to "reality". My mind has been elsewhere...

But then the last couple of days, things have started clicking back into place. The bride mentioned a couple of things she wanted to pick up this weekend. A friend asked for some flowers for the bouquets. Another friend agreed to coordinate the wedding. We talked a little bit about suits for the guys.

And then last night I couldn't sleep.

Yep, the wedding plans are back on!

We're Havin' A Heat Wave! A Tropical Heat Wave...Not Really...Just A Giveaway!

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I'm having a giveaway today just to have one! No bad ideas to guess, all you have to do is just leave a comment! And the topic? What else...weddings!

Leave a comment about weddings. It can be a favorite memory of your wedding or even someone else's. Maybe it's something from a royal wedding or a sibling's ceremony. Your neighbor's granddaughter's wedding or the recent Kardashian circus wedding.

One of my favorite things about a wedding was something special Mark and I did at the end of our ceremony. Before we walked down the aisle, we each gave a long stemmed rose to our mothers. Mark gave one to my mother and I gave one to his. Just a way of saying we were truly family now.

Another special moment happened at our friends Kara and George's wedding. The entire wedding party was in place and before the bride came down the aisle, the bride's brother, who was performing the ceremony, instructed the groom about his new role as her husband. When he finished, he told the groom to turn and "behold your bride". And there she was, waiting to walk down the aisle to him. Wow.

Or seeing the groom's first initial beaded onto the train of the bride's gown. That was pretty neat. Ok, so I wasn't there in person for that wedding.

It was Fergie and Prince Andrew's wedding.

And we all know how that turned out.

But still, I really liked the monogram.

So what's been a favorite part of a wedding for you?

Someone's special vows? The cake being smushed into the groom's face? Cute flower girls and ring bearers? Just name it!

And here's the prize!

(1) one $25 VISA gift card

Just leave a comment (just one!) and when time is up, I'll pick a winner out of the hat. It's just that easy!

Comments will be closed on Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 11:00 p.m. Eastern

Ahoy Mateys

from dictionary.com...

mutiny [myoot-n-ee]
noun, plural -nies, verb, -nied, -ny·ing.

noun

1. revolt or rebellion against constituted authority, especially by sailors against  their officers.

2. rebellion against any authority.

verb (used without object)

3. to commit the offense of mutiny; revolt against authority.

Last week I was starting to sense something around the house...a presence, a vibe, a feeling...

Turns out, I had a wedding planning mutiny a-brewin'.

Now at first, I though it was all in my head (which is not an uncommon occurrence among my people, oh the tales I could tell) but I was pretty sure I was right about this one.

All because I began to notice subtle changes around the house. Like...

*The conversations about the wedding that stopped when I walked into the room. (ok, so I knew they were talking about the wedding because I was listening in the hallway)

*The sideways glances at one another when I mentioned picking out flowers for the bouquets.

*The rolling of eyes each time I reminded the happy couple of how pretty those gold, green glittery candles would look on their reception tables.

And then finally the other day, the last piece of evidence that a mutiny was on the horizon reared it's ugly head...

my wedding planner went missing.

Oh yeah. They were coming for me. So I did the only thing I knew to do. 

I tattled. 

I told the bride's dad what I suspected and with a couple of fists of fury he crushed the rising revolt (ok, not really fists of fury...he sat everyone down in the family room and we talked about it). But that was the end of it,  no more wedding planning mutiny. 

And they promised to stop calling me "Capt'n Bligh".

It's Chocolate. It's Marshmallows. It's Graham Crackers. What's Not Too Love?

I like salad bars. And coffee bars. And juice bars. And candy bars. And...well, you get the picture.

And the other day a good friend mentioned having a pizza bar at the reception and she got me thinking, "why stop at a pizza bar? why not have an "all bar" reception? what better way to feed a couple hundred of your closest friends?"

And not only that, but just think of some of the extra benefits to an "all bar" reception...

*We wouldn't need to set up any tables, just set some bars stools out and have at it.

*Put up a few sneeze guards and we could open up to the public and charge by the plate (the coffee bar alone could pay for the honeymoon)

*Make styrofoam to-go plates and hair nets available to all the guests

*Decorating the bars could be a snap. Stainless steel goes with everything

*I could sneak have some Italian Green Beans on the salad bar 

I tried to convince the happy couple that this would be the way to go for their reception. And I almost had them on board. That is until I mentioned the Smores lounge. Yes, a Smores lounge.

Hey if it's good enough for Reese Witherspoon it's good enough for the happy couple. I first heard about the Smores lounge while perusing the waiting room bible (People magazine) at my doctor's office. Mrs. whatever-her-last-name-is-now had one at her recent wedding reception in Los Angeles. And I thought it would be a really cool thing to do.

Alas, the happy couple thought otherwise.

While technically not a "bar" the Smores lounge would have benches or lawn chairs (take your pick) around a fire in a self contained pit with chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows available. Plus sticks for roasting your marshmallows! You can't forget sticks!

When describing the Smores lounge to the happy couple the bride's only comment was, "Open flames, gooey marshmallows and my wedding gown all in the same room? I don't think that's a good idea, mom."

I tried...maybe I can convince the groom to have a juice bar at the rehearsal dinner.

So our correct choices are A and B! And our winner is Angel R.!

It's An Easy Giveaway!

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Oops! I missed the Friday giveaway! But I had a really good reason...it was the maid of honor's birthday yesterday and we celebrated by going to dinner and then for ice cream...

Ok, so I not only had one bad idea this week, I had two. Yes, two (it was a banner week). And it's your turn to guess which two they are...

We've been talking some about the reception this past week and all the details that need to be figured out. And I'm all about easy. Whatever's the easy way, I'm your gal. So which TWO of the following statements were my ideas for an "easy reception"...and what are you playing for?

How about...

(1) one $30 gift card to Subway

can't get much easier for dinner that that!

Here's how you play:

Read the three statements below and choose the TWO you think I actually "discussed" with the bride. TWO of the statements are absolutely true. I really thought they were a good idea. And then they were turned down quicker than Speedy Gonzales grabbing a piece of cheese.

Leave (just one!) comment with your guess of which TWO bad ideas I had (A, B or C) and when times up, I'll put all the correct guesses in a bowl and pick a winner!

so here we go.......which TWO of the following ideas do you think I suggested to the bride last week?

I thought it would be a great idea to...

A. Who needs a sit-down dinner at the reception? How about all bars, all the time...coffee bar, candy bar, pizza bar, cake pop bar, salad bar, juice bar...the possibilities are endless. 

B.  Instead of the wedding cake, have a smores lounge...in one corner of the reception hall: campfire, lawn chairs, marshmallows, chocolate bars (oooh another bar!) graham crackers...the works.

C.  Instead of the wedding cake, I make cupcakes. For 250 people. The night before the wedding.

Comments will be closed on Sunday, August 21, 2011 at 11:00 p.m. Eastern

The Groom - Tennis Anyone?

I've got to hand it to the groom. He occasionally hits the nail on the head. We were in the family room this evening, talking about what else, the wedding and the bride and I were having a slight disagreement. And when we turned to the groom, and asked him to take a side, he very wisely (wiser than most 19 year old's might be) said,

"I'm Switzerland"

A pearl, a nugget, a gem from this guy...

(photo by Jon Fletcher)

That would be the groom on the right, aka John McEnroe

and the bride's brother is on the left, as who else but Jimmy Connors...

they're dressed this way for 80's night at our Vacation Bible School last week...

 and look like they just stepped out of the men's sportswear section 

of the 1982 Sears catalog.

gotta love Switzerland