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!

We Have A Winner!

Lord help me but I ordered 850...and that means the answer is C...and our winner is...Cathy B from Atlanta!

It's Giveaway Time!

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Confession time...the happy couple stole an idea for their wedding reception from another happy couple's wedding reception. There, it's done. Out in the open.

Ok...well now I feel really bad.

Alright, technically it was the bride and me, not the groom who stole the idea. Truthfully, the groom wasn't even in the same state when we perpetrated the crime.

That's better. I guess.

Here's what happened. The bride, myself and the father of the bride traveled out of town to the wedding of the daughter of two of our closest friends. We had a wonderful time (except the three and a half hours I spent crying in the backseat after the bride hurt my feeling...earlier that morning the comment had been made, "I bet Mrs. Dana never asked Melanie to put green glitter candles on her tables."...just hateful I tell you).

Anyway, the bride, the groom, the wedding, everything was just beautiful. And then, as we headed to our table, we saw them. They were sitting neatly tucked within our napkin, just waiting for us. They were classic. They were retro. They were just about perfect.

They were monogrammed matchbooks.

They were missing piece to the table setting we had been searching for all those long autumn weeks. And then suddenly, as quick as walking into a room, the puzzle was complete. We should have monogrammed matchbooks at the happy couple's reception too!

When we returned, the bride showed the groom the matchbooks we brought home and he thought it was a wonderful idea (I guess that makes him an accomplice after all, ha!) so we set out to order them. The happy couple decided to change it up a bit and split the order. Half matchsticks (in the slide out box) and the other half matchbooks. We decided we would get 150 of each for (you guessed it) a total of 300.

The happy couple ordered 150 matchboxes that evening and the next day I was going to order the matchbooks. The price the happy couple quoted me was decent so I thought the matchbooks might be even a little cheaper. But when I got to the checkout it was way over what the happy couple had paid for the matchboxes! But being in the midst of monogrammed matchbook mania, I hesitated but a moment and then clicked the Place Order button. And then promptly forgot about them.

10 days later as the happy couple and I were standing in the garage, looking at who-knows-what now, Ted stopped by for his daily visit. Ted is our UPS guy. We've become very close. Last week, he and his wife asked me to be in the delivery room with them when their first baby is born.

Ted had stopped by to deliver the matches. In a really, really, really big box. Really big.

Now the happy couple's order was perfect. 150 matchboxes. My order? Notsomuch. And here's where the giveaway comes in...you get to guess just how many matchbooks I actually ordered.

Here's how you play:

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

Whatcha playing for?

(1) One $25 VISA gift card

so here we go.......how many matchbooks did I really order?

A. 350

B. 550

C. 850

D. 1150

Comments will be closed Saturday, January 15, 2012
at 11:00 p.m. Eastern

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...

Sure Hope There's Not A Quiz

One of my best friends is headed into the final stretch as her daughter is getting married in just a couple of weeks. She's been very gracious to share with me some of what she has experienced, and as she and I have been talking these last few months, I've been taking mental notes.

And to be honest, I think I've misplaced them.

Now I can admit that sometimes, as we like to say in the South, I'm not the sharpest stick in the woodshed. I have been known to do stuff like...

Ask the kiddos repeatedly to explain a movie plot on the ride home from the theater ("Inception" about did me in...and don't ask me to explain "Back to the Future", we'd be here for days).

Driving around the block a couple of times to find an house I've been too before. The day before.

Go into the grocery store to shop, forget something...and the list is in my hand the whole time.

But this is different. Something new. And I like to call it "theweddingplanningisturningmybraintomush-itis". The symptoms are

.......

Sorry, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the wedding brain mush. Anyway, I figure the only cure must come after the wedding is all said and done with. When everything is back to normal and I can start thinking about things like, "How exactly did Leonardo end up in that guy's dream anyway?"

The Father Of The Bride

It's the father of the bride's birthday today so in his honor, I wanted a post all about him. And the wedding plans. And how the two (the father of the bride and the wedding plans) have managed to co-exist these past few months with little to no conflict.

He is the Switzerland of wedding planning.

The father of the bride has smartly stayed along the sidelines during the planning of the happy couple's wedding.  And no one in their right mind would blame him. I mean, who would want to be in the middle of a heated discussion about gold, green, glittery candles? Or heaven forbid, to be asked to be on the committee that decides if Italian Green Beans will make it onto the menu? He has wisely said, "no thanks, I'll pass!"

Now that's not to say he hasn't stepped in a few times to mediate a tense negotiation or to quell an uprising, such as the infamous would-be mutiny I had on my hands a few weeks ago (you can read all about that dark time here, at Ahoy Mateys).

The funny thing is, when we planned our wedding 26 or so years ago, he seemed to be a little more involved, especially since we paid for our wedding and were responsible for all the decisions.

He went with me to the florist to pick out the flowers. He went with me to the caterers to pick out the food. He went with me to the bakery to pick out the cake.

Then again I could be imagining it (young love will do that to you).

But one thing I am positive of today is my thankfulness and love for the father of the bride. He is the anchor of our family, leading us, guiding us, protecting us and most importantly, he lives his life for all to see as a true man of God, and as a follower and believer of Jesus Christ.

So on this day, as our family celebrates the father of the bride's birthday, and reflects on his mighty contribution to our family, the sidelines may be the wisest place to be...smart guy.

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!

Ain't It Pretty?

Yes I thought these would look lovely around the handmade napkins the bride is making. Kinda going along with the natural, Tuscan theme the happy couple has decided on.

No?

Not even with prettier beads? Maybe glittery ones?

*sigh*

Well, it was worth a shot...one of these days the bride is going to say slip up and say "yes"...

That means the correct answer is A! And our winner is Michelle F.! Congrats!

His Office Held Hostage - Boxes O'Stuff

So we came home from our long Labor Day trip taking the maid of honor off to college and what did we find when we came home and tried to open the back door?

More boxes of wedding stuff.

    

See? Lots and lots of stuff...endless amounts of stuff...so much stuff that the idea of renting a wedding stuff storage unit has crossed my mind more than a few times.

Or maybe a pack mule to haul it all outta here.

Bouquets & Rice: Week 7 - Schooled

Some odds and ends from this week...

We're taking the maid of honor to college this weekend and we just found out her dress has come in. Maybe I can convince her to stay home for the alterations.
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This week we ordered tableware for the reception and my oh my how things have changed...for instance:

Old school plastic silverware...

New school plastic silverware...

This ain't your grandma's reception anymore.

You should see the new school napkins.

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I've been contemplating starting a vocational school after the wedding is all said and done. Perhaps a training school for future mothers of the brides. The curriculum could include:

Psychology- The Bride's Brain

Accounting- Overspending the Wedding Budget

Food Service- Managing the Cutting of the Cake

or Choose an Elective in:

Online Ordering 101

Candle Coupons 101

Fabric Draping 101

Enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year begins in January.

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I need to set up a principal's office. Somewhere I can send the bridal party when they're misbehavin'. I'd use the father of the bride's office but it's full of fake flowers, napkins, clicky lighter thingies, beading pearls...

His Office Held Hostage - Is That A Wedding Gown On My File Cabinet?

Our house may soon be asked to appear on "Hoarders" I have never seen so many piles of stuff in my life.

Boxes and boxes of flowers, candles (but alas, no gold, green glittery ones), candle holders, tulle, lanterns, wreaths, glue guns, lights, trees, napkins, fake china, my 7th grade science teacher Mr. Dewberry, cups, votives, fabric swatches, olive oil dispensers...the list could go on for days.

And where are all these precious treasures being stored? Why, in the only room in the house that doesn't have squatters someone living in it...the father of the bride's teeny-tiny sanctuary from the world...his office.

Overnight, his office has been transformed into a bargain bin craft store.

Lots of foot traffic in his office lately. Lots of browsing going on. Lots of time spent deciding the perfect spot for each new box that arrives from Ted. Who's Ted? Ted is the UPS guy that we used to see once every 8 months.

Our families are now spending Thanksgiving together this year.

I guess it could be worse. I know that soon, all the boxes will be empty and their treasures will be tucked away for safe keeping (or sold on craigslist). And the father of the bride will have his office back.

I just hope I can send Mr. Dewberry back C.O.D.

And We Have Our Winner!

Congratulations Jessica K!

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

**********Comments Are Closed**********

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

Bouquets & Rice: Week 6 - Eeyore's In The House

Some odds and ends from this week....

Came home yesterday and was greeted by three big boxes sitting in the little office at home...slap full of fake flowers. We spend the evening watching the bride prance around the house, holding the flowers like a bouquet.
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I never thought I would say this but I'm tired. Of craft stores.

*sigh*

Used to be, I could spend an afternoon wandering up and down the aisles of a craft store, lost in the possibilities of "what can I make?" Not so much anymore.

*sigh*

It's become a quest, a chore, another thing to cross off the weekly list of wedding stuff to do.

*sigh*

Maybe I need some hormones.
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My plan to lose 783 pounds before the wedding has lost steam. And the chocolate-dipped cones at McDonald's are not helping. I really like those babies. And they really don't like me.
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Man, this post is kinda depressing. So let me share some exciting news! I found my dress! And it was right under my nose the whole time...

That would be me, at Halloween (don't ask, it was the early 80's).

I haven't shown it to the bride yet but I think she'll be good with it, don't you?

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 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

You're Gonna Need A Bigger Boat

I've shared before about my love for all things coupons. The thrill of getting 50 cents off a can of green beans is almost like winning lotto. Almost.

I mean you don't have reporters surrounding you when you luck upon a box of spaghetti on sale with BOGO coupon. And you don't get a large cardboard receipt instead of a large cardboard check when saltines go on clearance.

Nevertheless, you add into the mix, a coupon for wedding stuff? It can send me into a slight tizzy. For instance:

A few weeks ago I had some coupons for those clicking candle lighter thingies. And the bride and I went to our local big box discount store to do some shopping and we decided to pick the lighters up. But (gasp) the big box discount store didn't have the brand we were looking for but as luck would have it, a store clerk mentioned that the dollar store down the street happened to carry those lighters.

And they were on sale.

As quickly as she said "on sale", something happened to me. I fell into a shark feeding frenzy mode. You know those videos of sharks, eating big chunks of fish, black eyes rolling back into their heads, jaws chomping down frantically on their prey?

Yeah, that was me in the middle hardware section at the big box discount store.

I grabbed all the the coupons I had in my bag, shoved them towards the bride and said, (normal voice...) "Ok, go over there and (voice starting to get a little louder...) Grab All The Clicky Candle (voice starting to get a touch shrill...) Lighter Thingies (and now I'm yelling...)YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON! QUICK!!!"

I must have been flashing back to the one and only time I waited outside in the freezing cold, in line overnight, to get into the big box discount store the day after Thanksgiving. I guess I was afraid I would be be trampled by the stampede of all the other crazed mothers of the brides, all wanting the same coveted clicking candle lighter thingies.

Of course I was the only person in the store looking for them.

I sent the bride over to the dollar store to get them and stayed in the big box discount store, picking up a few groceries as I waited. After about 20 minutes, the bride found me on the bread aisle. She was empty handed, except for the half dozen coupons I had so brutally shoved into her sweet hands.

Sighing and shaking her pretty brunette head, she gently handed me back the clicking candle lighter thingies coupons.

I forgot to give her some money.