Scared Monkeys Discussion Forum

Lala's ask me to write about my experience as "The Mother of The Bride" so here goes.  I'm sorry it's so long.  I will post pictures as soon as I have them, and can safely do that without fear of them being photoshopped.

What a wonderful experience!!

Woman of few words, LOL  ::MonkeyHaHa::

Advice to the "Mother of the Bride"

01.   Prepare a budget that you and your husband can afford.  Then tell your daughter and her fiancé what your budget is.  Whether it is a cake & punch reception in the fellowship hall of the church, or a full reception at a nice place, stay within your    budget.
02.   Don't be a drama queen. 
03.   Keep it simple and elegant.
04.   Include your husband and her fiancé as much as they want to be involved.
05.   Make a list of things that must be done, and in what order.  www.theknot.com is an excellent resource tool.
06.   Follow proper etiquette.
07.   This is not your wedding it is your daughters.  Listen to her.   
08.   Have fun with this.  There's no reason to be all stressed and uptight.  Have fun    with it.  Learn to laugh.  Don't be critical.
09.   If the grooms family wants to help then find something meaningful for them to do.  It is their son's wedding too.  If you have a situation where the Groom's family may be difficult to work with then don't be afraif to say that you have everything under control.  Do what is best for your daughter.
10.   If at all possible find a caterer in your area who does it all.  Cater, invitations, DJ, Photographer, tuxedos, videographer, etc.
11.   If you must cut cost don't scrimp on the photographer.
12.   Talk to the groom.  Make sure he is included as to what he wants for his special day. 
13.   If your daughter is dragging her feet, and is having trouble making decisions then offer her some suggestions.  If she ask for your opinion tell her the truth.  Be gentle.
14.   Don't let anyone take over or upset your daughter.  There may be times when you have to "stand guard".
15.   The week of the wedding will be busy with the last minute little details.  Don't stress.  Stay calm and hopefully you'll have a day or two where there really isn't much to do.  Use this time to pamper yourself.  You've earned it.
16.        The morning of the wedding the girls all went together to get their hair done.  I drove up to St. Louis to get Krispy Kreme donuts for the girls and had milk, choc. milk and orange juice.  This was a lot of fun, and I was able to spend some time with the girls before I had to go to my own hairdresser.  It's a good time to take silly pictures too.  It's a good idea to have snacks at the church for the wedding party too.  They were all starving.

girlfriend I'm not done yet!!  That's funny!!

Here it comes.......

 ::MonkeyDance:: ::MonkeyDance:: ::MonkeyDance::

This is for Lala's.  Hope it helps her and all the moms who have daughters.

I'll post pictures as soon as I have them, and can do it in a way that they can't be photoshopped.

My experience as the "Mother of the Bride"

When the groom came to us December 16, 2006 and ask for our daughter's hand, the wheels immediately started turning.  It was very exciting as we knew in our hearts that this was the young man that God had made for our daughter.  He is a fine honorable Godly young man.  We are very thankful for that.

Dad and I set down and worked out a budget that we could afford.  It had always been our dream to give her the wedding she wanted, and was thankful that we could financially pull this off.

We have always raised our children to live within their means, and if we had only been able to have a cake & punch reception in the fellowship hall of the church we know she would have been happy with that.  Knowing that your child truly appreciates what you do for them, and not demanding things make it all the more sweet.

I've always told my daughter that you can never go wrong with simple and elegant, and success does not depend on how much money you have spent.  Thankfully she remembered that. lol

We sat down with both our daughter and her fiancé and ask them what it was they wanted for their special day.   They wanted a Christian church wedding where we are all members.   She wanted a lot of flowers.  Calla Lilly's.  She wanted the girls to wear black tea length dresses with pearls.  She would like to have a reception at the Holiday Inn.  And she wanted a simple elegant dress.  He wanted each layer of the cake to be a different flavor.  One layer chocolate, one chocolate with strawberry filling, one layer white, one layer white with strawberry filling, and the top layer chocolate.  And he wanted fettuccini.  Done.  They wanted a June wedding as he would be graduating from College in May.  Hold on.

I called Andres the caterer and the price jumps up to $5.00 more per plate if the wedding is held between April 1 and  November 1.  Can't afford that.  Not with 350 people. So we told the kids that if they wanted this nice reception that they would have to be married before the end of March.  So they chose March 8th the day spring break starts at college.  Done.

Calla Lillys are very expensive so I told daughter we'll have to adjust some other expenses.  No problem.

The Dress:

I was going to take daughter to several dress shops.  The first one we went to was David's Bridal.  The first dress she tried on was the one she chose.  I liked to died when she walked out of that dressing room as I knew this was really happening.  My precious little girl was getting married.  She took my breath away.  I'm so happy she chose that one.  Simple and elegant.  No train.  No fancy beading.  The dress didn't make her.  She made the dress.   

The bridesmaid's dresses:

Each bridesmaid picked out her own dress.  The rule was that they be black, made of the same material, and be tea length.  This worked out beautifully and the girls were so happy that they could pick out a dress that they each really liked, and could wear it for other occasions.  They each wore pearl necklace and earings.  Each bouquet had a fushia colored ribbon.  Men if you're reading this and don't know what fushia is, it's kindof like hot pink. lol
 
The flowers:

Well this blew the budget right out of the water. Lol  That little weekend getaway daddy and I was going to take…….we didn't need to go anyhow. Lol
The flowers were absolutely gorgeous!  The bridesmaids had a bouquet of 10 mini callas with fushia colored ribbon.  The groom, groomsmen,  usher's, grandpas, and pastor had one single mini calla lilly with leaf curled.  The mom's and grandmothers had Stephanotis with pearls. The Bridal bouquet was 20 mini calla's.  Intertwined around the stems was a gold bracelet that was my grandmothers.  All of the girls in my family wore it on their wedding day.
Three large floral arrangements on the alter.  One for the unity candle.  And a memory bouquet for my mom, daddy, sister, grooms grandparents, and step dads dad.  And make sure that the florist delivers the flowers to the church, and also pins them on.  If I would have had to do this I would have been worn to a frazzle.  You should not have to do anything except show up at the church lookin pretty and be with your daughter.

This is where the Mother of the Bride has to be a good negotiator, and stand tall.

I was in a unique situation because the grooms mom and dad are divorced.  The dad left the family in October of 2003 for a 30 year old……… girl with two small children.  He's 51.  Needless to say the mom and dad can't stand each other and I won't even tell you about the dad's wife.  (can't say step mom).  I have to remember that regardless of how anyone feels this is my daughters future father-in-law.  Dad's wife is the type that would love to take over if you don't stand tall.  Dealing with this nonsense was really the only stressful part of the whole event.

The decorations

The groom's mom came to me and ask if she could help with decorations.  I said of course you can.   It is after all her son that is getting married.  And I love her to pieces.  She's such a sweetheart.  She wanted to decorate the Holiday Inn.  Great.  Mark that off my list.  Then the Grooms dad's wife came to me and ask if she could help.    Ok………so I ask her if she would like to decorate the church?  I'm thinking this should work well.  I've got mom at the Holiday Inn, and jezebel at the church.  Mark that off the list.  That should be enough distance between them right………well you'd think so anyhow.  Next thing you know jezebel is wanting to take decorations from the church over to the Holiday Inn after the wedding, and wants to set up a cookie table by the cake at the holiday Inn.  The mom and grandma want to put their own pew bows up at the church.  Grandma just can't understand why jezebel has anything to do with anything at all.  Now ya'll try telling grandma no.  Me personally…I'm scared to death of that woman. Lol  Well it turns out that I had to say no about the decorations coming from the church to the Holiday Inn, and the pew bows were not used at the church because grandma didn't want "that woman" touching them. Lol    I did have jezebel set up a cookie table by the cake.  That went over real well.  She also provided little boxes that had the bride and grooms name on them and the wedding date.  Everybody took home cookies.  This is a really good idea.  I believe she got the cookies from Sam's.  She also had a few big apothecary jars of candy.

The Church and Holiday Inn was absolutely stunning.  And I didn't have to do a thing.  The groom's mom was such a class act that after seeing how beautiful the church was she went to jezebel and told her that if she wanted to take anything to the Holiday Inn that it would be fine.  That took a lot for her to do, and just that simple act of kindness relieved all the stress between the families.  So I went through all that drama queen nonsense for nothing. Lol

The pictures:

Dad and I had a nice package picked out that fit our budget.  It would have been plenty.  Don't ever scrimp on pictures.  Ever.  The groom's mom came to me and said it would be really nice if we got the top package.  I told her we could not afford that, but if she wanted to split the cost we wouldn't mind.  That's what we did.  Don't be worried about who spends what.  This is not a competition.  If someone offers to do something let them as long as it is within reason.  And as long as their not being disrespectful.

The rehearsal dinner:

Don't get involved in it.  You've got enough to do.  And especially if you are in the situation that I was in. Lol  It did turn out very nice.

The videographer:

This is not something that is ness.  Not if you have a good photographer.  But if you can work it into your budget then do it.  I'll tell you why.  A few weeks ago I was cleaning out the storage room.  I found 2 old video tapes.  One of the tapes was the weddings of my 2 sisters.  As most of you know my oldest sister died last December.  They were married in 1968 and 1970.  These were not professional videos.  The one of the wedding had been on 9mm that was put on VCR.  The other video was of my mom and daddy's 50th wedding celebration.  I sat there and cried like a baby while watching them..  To see my sisters, parents, aunt/uncles grandpas, and other family members and friends who have passed it was priceless.  While they were grainy and kind of shaky they are 2 of my prize possessions now.  We weren't planning on having a video but after seeing these I called the next day and scheduled a videographer.  Done. 

The Invitations:  We learned a valuable lesson with this.  Daughter had the invitations that she truly wanted, but had we known the cost of mailing she may have thought differently.  She had the new "pocket" invitations.  They were absolutely stunning.  But you had to put a first class stamp on the respond card, and the postage to mail the invitation was .99 cents.  That's $1.40 per invitation and with 200 that's $280.00 postage.  That does not include the cost of the invitation.  The invitations do not say if they require additional postage.  I would recommend an invitation that has a postcard type respond card.  I think they call these seal and send.  And make sure the invitation requires only one stamp.  I would encourage you not to spend so much on this.

Wedding Programs:

These are very inexpensive, and adds a nice touch to the wedding.  Total cost on 300 wedding programs including printing was only $54.00  Don't full with printing them yourself.  Our local printing company charged the same price as if we had done them ourselves.  And it's one more thing to mark off your list.

The reception dinner:

Chicken Marsala, Roast Beef, Italian potatoes, house salad, green beans, fettucini, rolls.  Simple buffet.  The only thing that I had to pay additional for was an ice water goblet at each setting.  Some may think this was a waste of money, but it was important to me.   I wanted the table set properly, and didn't want people to go stand in line just for a drink of water.

What type of bar:

Everyone feels a little differently about this.  I didn't have a problem with having alcohol at the reception, but I was not paying for it.  I didn't want a cash bar though.  It has nothing to do with money.  I just have strong feelings about putting alcohol in someone's hands.  So I went to the grooms dad, and explained my feelings and that if he wanted to provide alcohol it was fine with me.  He said he would pay for beer/wine and that it would not be served until after the dinner.  He did not want to pay for a full open bar.  Fine with me.  I have a lot of family/friends that do not drink.  So I go to the caterer to pay them.  I tell them that I have at least 90 people that will not drink alcohol and I want  a discount.  I ended up getting a full open bar for the cost of beer/wine.  I also got the caterer to take off 10 people as we had quite a few children.  So remember that everything is negotiable.

The DJ:

This is a very important decision.  A good DJ can dictate whether the reception is a success or not.  We wanted one that was fun.  And we wanted all the silly typical dances that you do at weddings.  The DJ was awesome.  The house was rockin!!  Everyone had a blast.

The Father/Daughter dance:

Get the kleenex out for this.  It was one of the sweetest moments of the day.  Daughter wanted the song "My Girl" but the first time daddy heard the song "I Loved Her First" he knew that someday he would dance with her to that song at her wedding.

The Music:

Music has always been very important and special to me so I had to be very careful in this area not to interject my feelings too much. Lol  She and the Groom both like classical music so that was easy to do.  Rondeau was played for the seating of the Grandparents and Mothers.  Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring was played when the Groom's mom and I lit the candles.   Canon in D was played for the processional.  And of course Here Comes The Bride.  The Bride and Groom wanted a dear friend of mine to sing a song after the prayer before they took their vows, and one when they were lighting the unity candle and presenting the mothers with flowers, but had no clue what songs.  Well don't you know that tickled me to death.  So I got to pick the songs and they thankfully gave their approval.  After the prayer the soloist sang "There Is Love" and she sang "More" during the lighting of the unity candle and presenting the mothers with a flower.  This was very special to me as these were the songs sang at my wedding.  Actually I sang the song "More" at our wedding to my husband.  Yea that was a few years ago. lol

The Receiving Line:

This was really neat.  I had never seen it done like this.  Due to the situation that we had with the Grooms mom and dad we thought it best not to have all the parents stand with the Bride and Groom.   After the processional the Bride and Groom came back into the sanctuary and dismissed the guest from the front of the church.  The ushers did a wonderful job of going pew by pew.  And it went very fast with only the Bride and Groom to congratulate.  Highly recommend this.

Growing up pictures:

About 15 minutes before the Grandparents were seated we had a power point with pictures of the Bride and Groom as they were growing up.  This was very sweet, and kept the guest occupied.

Other advice:

It will be natural for you to bombard your daughter with questions when she walks through the door.  Try not to do this.  In my case our daughter was away at college and only home on weekends until she graduated in December.  Then she started working.  So time was precious.  What was helpful to us and less stressful was that I would make a list of questions as I thought about them throughout the day/week and then I would hand the list to daughter and ask her to answer them when she has time.  Keep it simple.

If it seems like she'd getting stressed and you know what she wants then just do it.  One of the hardest things I had trouble with was getting her to lay out the wedding program.  We were running out of time so I did a few drafts and gave them to her for her approval.  And when she makes changes don't get upset.  It's her wedding program not yours.  And make sure she understands that she is not going to hurt your feelings if you want something different.  It wouldn't have mattered to me if she changed everything.  And she knew she could be honest with me.  That's very important.  I just wanted her to be happy and she knew that.

It's her and the Groom's wedding day.  You are there to support, encourage, and keep things enjoyable and fun.  Oh yes………you get to pay the bills too. Lol

Every chance you get, say "I'm the Mother of the Bride".  What and amazing experience.

It is the Mother of the Brides responsibility to make sure that all of your guests are comfortable and having a good time.  You will set the tone.  It doesn't matter how any one else is acting.  If you are pleasant, gracious, and happy your guest will be too.  Most of my time at the reception was spent going to all the tables, and talking with everyone.  I actually really enjoyed this.  I'm usually very quiet and shy but on this particular day while it was my daughters wedding I was the host.  And if you don't know someone you just say "I'm The Mother of The Bride".  In a way it is your day too.  We as Mothers hopefully have spent our lives teaching our daughters how to dress, talk, be a lady, be kind, thoughtful, loving, gracious and how to be a successful Christian wife and mother.  Enjoy it.  I know I did. 

Sorry this was so long winded, but Lala's asked for it. Lol

Oh Lordy I almost forgot the most important thing!!  You know those beautiful open toe high heels that are dyed to match your dress?  Well let me tell you don't put those bad boys on until you are ready to walk down the isle. Lol.  And it is perfectly acceptable to wear pretty little slippers at the reception.  After all you are "The Mother of The Bride"

 ::MonkeyConfused:: ::MonkeyConfused:: ::MonkeyConfused:: ::MonkeyConfused::

Yea say that now!!  lol

 ::MonkeyLaugh::   ::MonkeyCool::   ::MonkeyDance::   ::MonkeyEek:: 
 ::MonkeyTongue::   ::MonkeyWink::

Oh duh.....the Wedding cake.....

To me the wedding cake is one of the most important things. 

We took the kids up to Harters Bakery (They're famous around here).  Thankfully Harters is the bakery that Andre's uses.

Daughter wanted a five tier cake.  Each layer octogon shaped.  The Groom wanted all the different flavors.  White smooth icing.  Decorated with scrolls, pearl drops, monogram.  Calla lillys coming down the side.  And a cake topper with the shape of a calla lilly with a bride/groom inside.  Very beautiful cake.  Simple and elegant.

snoopy,
I really enjoyed reading that. I had tears in my eyes and then laughed out loud at jezebel.   ::MonkeyHaHa::

Can't wait to see the pics. I really want to see that cake. It sounds gorgeous!

WONDERFUL!!!! I knew I would enjoy hearing about the wedding...Jezebel. LMAO!!!!! A story that only our very own Snoopy could tell.  Can't wait for the pictures!! 

Thank you vms.  jezebel was the only name we could come up with that was repeatable.  Funny thing is at the reception I almost called her that. lol  Oh that would have been soooo bad. lol   The thing is she's not a horrible person.  But how she came to be in the picture with the Grooms dad was really bad.  She was a friend of the family and they went to church together.  And of course being so young didn't help.  She's young and immature.  Doesn't quite know her place.  She wants the Groom and his sister to love her like a stepmom, but that just is never going to happen.  And they will never address her as stepmom.  I don't know if she or the Grooms dad will ever get that.  It's really kind of sad to see children have such disrespect and disdain for their father.  He brought it on himself.  We found out that he has been around the block so to speak many many times.  lol  manwhore. lol    I must give credit where credit is due.....she did a fabulous job with the decorations.  She really did.  The good thing is that the Grooms mom is now married to the sweetest most wonderful man.  The Groom and his sister love him to pieces, and he feels the same way toward them.   And they acknowledge him as their stepdad.

The saddest yet sweetest thing is that when the Groom came and ask us for our daughters hand one of the first things out of his mouth was that he would never be like his dad.  And he won't.  I can't imagine the pain of feeling that way about your daddy.  It must be very painful and dissapointing.

At least I'm done with that now.  I don't have to be the middle man any more.

manwhore 
You did it again.  ::MonkeyHaHa::

Those situations can be awkward. I am glad you made it through without calling her jezebel!  ::MonkeyShocked::  ::MonkeyHaHa::

It sounds like your daughter has a keeper!

Well I just got a call from daughter.  They are on their honeymoon.  They left Monday afternoon with my nephews to Orlando.  They are staying with my nephews in their upstairs suite.    Anywho my nephews upgraded them to first class on the flight, then had the pilot announce them, then had a navigator limo pick them up at the airport.  The same kind as they had for the bridal party after the wedding.  WTH??  I ain't never even been in a limo!!  Monday night / Tuesday morning they stood out in the yard to watch the space shuttle.  Yesterday they went to Disneyworld.  This morning they went to the Ritz-Carlton for a massage.  This afternoon their going shopping.  Tomm their going to Universal Studio, and Friday their going to Busch Gardens.  Well fan my brow!!  I'm glad their having a wonderful time!  Something just seems so wrong about this picture. lol  Wait a minute....who's payin the bills around here?  J/K......mostly. lol  Sounds like their having the time of their lives.  That's awesome.

Oki this is the dress story that Lala's wanted me to repeat.  I think she likes seeing me humilitaed.  lol  Here it is.

(This is Lala's talking here)
I just noticed that Snoopy is under the tree...someone had better watch her.  She will eat all the food presents...she's a dog about that kind of thing.

(This is me)
Lala's you bad monkey!!  If you had any idea the STRESS I'm under over this whole food thing you'd realize I'm kinda freakin out over it! lol.  I went a couple of weeks ago and ordered my mother of the bride dress.  I ordered the size I currently wear.  I ask the lady how much alterations would be as I plan on losing a significant amount of weight by my daughters wedding in March.  She said that would be no problem as the max. amount charged for alterations would be $30.00   I'm on a budget ya'll.

So I'm feeling pretty confident right?  I've got till the 2nd weekend in March right?   Oh heck no.  This past week I get a call from the lady that I will have to order a size smaller for some rediculous reason.    ......AND I must be fitted no later than the 1st of FEB.        Forgot about that whole time for alterations detail.

sooooooo now I have lost a month of weight loss time, and I definately have to lose at least a little weight!!!

I mean Mary Kay, Highlights, and a body sucker upper can only do so much girl.  sshhheeeet.

Ya know what the real kicker is?   Well let me tell ya sumpin. This is how my day went at the dress shop.  If ya'll would have been there you'd a LYAO

First off why in the world do most ALL of the dresses it seems that you must chose from when trying things on all come in a size 8 or smaller?  What is so wrong about that picture. huh?  I mean I'm not huge or anything but good grief!

I really couldn't care less about fashion.  Just give me a pair of blue jeans and a hoodie, and I'm good to go.  Sooooo I tell my daughter and her future sister in law (the brats) to just pick me out some dresses.  I don't care what they look like.,  If they think they're nice then that's good enough for me.  They pick me out 3 beautiful dresses.  Dresses I would have never picked out, but after seeing them I'm thinkin yea I could pull that off.  So I try on the first dress that I really like the best, and looks really good on me, but it was the wrong color...and of course it's too little.   Nooooooo that dress is no longer made. SO WHY IS IT STILL ON THE RACK!!!!  I skipped right over the second dress because after giving it another look I realized that that is sumpin my mom woulda wore, and ya'll I'm just not goin there yet.    ssshhheeettt.  So I've got the last dress to try on.  It's a freakin size 8.  HELLO???  I do manage to get the thing over my head and down to my azz (yea it wasn't goin over that I tell ya), and I'm all twisted up, and here I am all alone in the dressing room with no help to get this bad boy off.  So I just figured WTH everyone can use a good laugh so I just marched right out into the little area right outside the dressing room and shouted "would someone like to help me pleae"?  Tennis shoes and all.  It was not a -pretty picture.  So everyone is crackin up.  I'm being as moddess as I can but I can't get the gosh darn thing off!  So here comes my daughters future mother in law miss priss little petite thang (it's a good thing I really like her) to get me outta this garb.   She said you want to go up to St. Louis and look around?  I said he** no I'm bying this dress.  Well not this particular dress but one like it a little bigger.  I'm done wit dis.   

If ya wann see my dress go to markhenryfashions.com and put in number 41281.  And NO I do not look like her.  Geez.

Can ya tell I'm a little freaked out? lol 

I got to calm my bad self down.  I think my blood pressure is up to normal.

dang keyboard don't work sometimes. lol

That Mark Henry dress?  Well that ain't the one I wore. lol  I went to try that rag on and it was awful.  No way did it fit, and the color was the worst possible color I could have picked out.  I'm not too vein, but it was so bad that my eye started twitching, and my forehead started getting all numb and tingly where I had shingles a few years ago.  But I thought I had to wear it cause I paid for it already.  So they said they could fix it and all that.  So I get home and I'm so upset I was almost crying which I never do about such things.

Hubby said go back down there and get another dress.  He's such a sweetheart.  So I go back and get an Alfred Angelo 2 piece.  Beautiful dress.  But I'd like to have a jacket to wear over it.  Well in order to get the third piece you have to order a whole nother 2 piece outfit.  Good grief!!   So I did.  Now I have 3 dresses of which 2 I will never wear.  I ain't ever goin through that again I tell ya.  lol  Waste of money. 

Snoopy ~  I am so enjoying hearing about your daughter's wedding, from your perspective.  :smt038  You have a way with your descriptions.   ::MonkeyDance::

snoopy ~ it sounds like a wonderful time!  I'm leaving for school with a smile after reading your descriptions of the experience . . . can't wait to see the pics . . . I have a son, so this has been great following your story!  Cheers to you and your family!

Snoops...I am in hysterics.....even though I knew most of this...it is still a riot to read it/hear it again!!!   ::MonkeyLaugh:: ::MonkeyLaugh::

but I'll tell ya one thing...IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!!

Great story, Snoopy.  You really must print this thread out and save it for your daughter.  Your recap of the events was almost as good as being there.  Sounds like the kids are having a fabulous honeymoon.  Good for them!

So glad you enjoyed being "Mother of the Bride".

Snoopy, this is the most intertaining thing I have read in a while! Too funny, I went to that web site and looked at your dress, then you say...well that is not the dress I wore. ROFLMBO Thanks so much for sharing.  ::MonkeyWink::

I have read that dress story so many times, but each time I end up laughing so hard tears come to my eyes.  To heck with reality T.V.!  This is much more entertaining.  ::MonkeyWink::

Snoopy, I was just skimming around and this thread caught my eye, and I have to tell ya I am soooo glad it did!
Your daughter's wedding sounds like it was absolutely beautiful!
The dress story was hysterical... and yes, I went and looked at the dress only to come back and find out if wasn't the dress you wore after all....Too funny!

I have no clue if this is going to work. lol
 
Lordy please don't let me blow up the puuter like Beaners did a few years ago. lmbo

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 ::MonkeyDance:: ::MonkeyDance:: ::MonkeyDance:: ::MonkeyDance::

I can't believe I did this!!!   lol

The professional pictures will be so much better.  I just can't wait to get them.

1st picture  was at the end of the reception

2nd  moms lighting the candles

3rd   bride and groom coming back into the sanctuary to greet guests.  They look so relieved. lol  Esp.  the groom.  I thought he was goin down. lol  And he was crying. lol

4th  groom waiting to kiss the bride

5th  cake sharing

6th  rings

7th   vows

8th  vows

9th  son escorting me

10th   daddy and his little girl

11th  waiting for the bride

12th  the cake

sorry these aren't in order

Great photos Snoopy, you daughter looks absolutely stunning.  What a wonderful wedding!

Snoopy, your daughter is absolutely beautiful! Love the cake, the dress the flowers.....
love it,love it,love it!!!!

OMG!!! I actually cried because she is so beautiful.  I know you were proud and her mother is just as wonderful as I have suspected all this time.  God bless the happy couple!

Absolutely beautiful, snoopy! Thanks for sharing.

Snoopy..an absolutely beautiful wedding. Your daughter is gorgeous & her hubby ain't bad either  ::MonkeyCool::
I really enjoyed your details of "how the wedding came to be". I could see in my mind's eye everything you were describing. That is until I read "jezebel", I sat here & laughed so hard there were tears rolling down my face. You really should write a book.

I sure do hope Jezebel and manwhore don't read here. lol  I don't want to be buddies with them, but I don't want to hurt their feelings either. lol  ::MonkeyNoNo::

Here's another funny little story.  When all the kids were piling into the limo after the wedding I told them to have a wonderful time, but don't be crawling outta that limo at the reception all boozed up. lol  I knew there would be some serious partying going on and I told them I'd do a breathalizer on em. lol  Of course they all call me mom and tell me not to worry. lol

 ::MonkeyHaHa:: ::MonkeyHaHa:: ::MonkeyHaHa::

So the limo pulls up to the Holiday Inn, and they all come piling out, and yes quite a bit of recycle material if ya get my drift, but everyone seemed in good shape thank goodness.  My baby boy was in there afterall. lol  ::MonkeyConfused:: ::MonkeyConfused::

So during the reception I'm making my way around the tables talking with folks, and one dear friend was telling me how wonderful the kids were, and what a great job hubby and I had done raising them up and all.  I'm thanking them, and telling them that my children are my lives work, and I'm very proud of the way they have turned out...........................................................

Then Sunday comes........................................... ::MonkeyShocked:: ::MonkeyShocked::
I have the grooms mom, stepdad, grandparents, best man and his girlfriend, and some close friends over to the house to see the couple open their wedding presents........................and here come the pictures that was taken in the limo.....................................well heres my daughter precious little thing with a bottle of Michelob ultra tipped up flippin the finger.........................yea that was a proud moment............my lifes work shot to heck!!!! lol  So in her defense I tell everyone that what they don't realize is that she is not giving the finger to anyone that's how she points.  She got that from grandpa.  That's how he points.  I seriously doubt he even knows what flippin somebody off means. lol  Yea that explanation went over real well..  We all laughed so hard we were crying.  So I'll never live that down.   I sure hope that picture don't make it into the album.  Burn that thing. lol

 ::MonkeyCool::

darn kids. lol   ::MonkeyWink::

Thank ya'll for your kind words.  I just can't wait till the "real" pictures are ready.  Hopefull by the end of next week.

You've just got to post that one, lol  ::MonkeyHaHa::

Klaas are you crazy!!  lol  Believe you me if I ever get my hands on that camera that picture will be gone quick. lol  The best man was teasing me that he was going to get it framed with a quotation on it that says "Mama's pride and joy....she done good"  lol  He better not!!  He wouldn't give me the picture. lol

Honeymoon update....they were supposed to come home last night, but thier flight was delayed so they get to stay till tomm. evening.  Today they drove over to Tampa and went to Busch Gardens.  They sure have made the rounds, and had a wonderful time.

Snoopy...Thanks for sharing your daughter's wonderful day.

They are a great looking couple and your daughter is absolutely beautiful...Love the smile.

I will print all the 'hints' for future reference, just in case I relent on my DD eloping...LOL.

Snoopy
Every story you tell is hilarious!  I know you said you were in those pics, but I swear I can't find a beagle doggie in any of them.  ::MonkeyShocked::

Lala's you're so funny!! lol  I think that is the only picture in the world where I actually look tall! lol

Well we just picked the kids up from the airport.  They got to stay a little longer than planned.  They had a wonderful time, but of course are wore out.  So son-in-law is heading back to college in the morning and daughter back to work.  Welcome back to the real world. lol  Daughters doggy Daisy is so happy to see her momma, and thank goodness that dog doesn't have to sleep with us anymore.

Did the dog snore? LOL

Sorry so late in responding Lala's.  No the dog doesn't snore. lol  The pictures should be ready in the next.  If you would like to see the pictures please email me at scaredmonkeysnoopy@gmail.com  I'll send you the link and password. 

lol next couple of days.

What a wonderful thread and a wonderful story teller.  I had so much fun reading about the prep and also enjoyed the wedding pics tremendously.  Your daughter is one beautiful bride.  I can't wait to see the rest of the pictures.

Congratulations Mom!!!  I am so happy for you!

Ok the photos are finally ready!!  I've sent emails to everyone who requested the info.  After looking at the pictures I got another funny story to tell ya'll, but now I gotta fix supper. lol  BBL.  If you didn't see my email address it's  scaredmonkeysnoopy@gmail.com  Yea  I'm real original I know. lol  pppfffttt

Snoopy!!! I got the album and they are wonderful pictures.  What a grand day, your daughter looks so happy, and so does Mom.  Thanks for sharing these.  A beauiful couple and they will have a beautiful life. 

Ok so the big day comes.  We're all up bright and early.  Dad and baby boy were even up. lol  So I tell baby boy to have his shower and everything by 11:00am, and have his tux in the car ready to go to the church.  I tell hubby to please have his shower and be done in the bathroom by 11:00 because I will be home at 11:00 am sharp and I will need to do my thing. lord knows this is gonna take me some time.  I need all the help I can get. We've got to be at the church at noon.

So I head on over to the hairdresser where my daughter, the bridesmaids, grooms mom and grandma are at to take them Krispy Kreme donuts and hang out with them for a while until I have to go to my hairdresser.  ( I actually drove all the way up to St. Louis Friday to get Krispy Kreme donuts for the girls cause that's what they wanted. lol I think I spent $8 bucks on gas to get $6 worth of donuts.  God forbid I should deny them. lol)

So I go to my hairdresser at 10:00am  ........We're on schedule.  Got all my little duckys in a row.  Things are good.  So Ruthy gets me all gussied up hair wise, and I walk in the door of home at 11:02am.    House is quiet...........this is not good.  Run downstairs baby boy is all ready to walk out the door.  That's good.  He's 18 and sometimes he actually listens to me. lol

So I run back upstairs, and down the hall to our bedroom..............................................................................................and hubby has gone back to bed!!!!! WHAT!!!!!!!  Now not making fun of him or anything like that but hubby suffers from seasonal depression, and anxiety.  And this winter was really rough as we had a real winter, and with his baby girl getting married it didn't help things.  And like me he didn't eat right or exercise enough. lol  Dang it.  And needless to say he's having one of those very very bad days.  This is not the day to have a bad day ya'll.  It's not in the schedule.  I know it's not funny about his condition, but if ya'll really knew me you'd understand.  I'm wired pretty tight. lol  SunnyinTX and Ldstlou can verify that. lol  And I definately absolutely like all my little ducks in a row all lined up nice and neat. lol  Why does life not work that way!! lol 

So I try to stay as calm as possible or else he'll just shut down on me, and I'll never get him out of that bed. lol  So as casually as I could I say honey how bout you go jump in the shower.  We prolly should get ready to go.  How bout you jump in our shower, and I go in the other bathroom.  At this point I am completely freaked out, but not showing it. lol  So hubby's still in the bed and says ok so it's time to get ready?   PEOPLE IT"S 11:15 AND WE GOT TO BE AT THE CHURCH AT NOON!!!!!!!!  I said yes baby it 11:15 and we should prolly be at the church around noon or so.  Noon or so?   No it's noon sharp!!!  I've got the dress.  I'm the Mother of the bride.  I got to be there!!  And seriously it takes the man 30 minutes in the bathroom to get ready!!  I never seen anything like it.  I'm freakin out!!  lol  So he finally gets up and goes to get ready.  At 12:10 I can't stand it any longer.  I can't even see to put my makeup on for the fog in the bathroom!!  Seriously ya'll I need my MaryKay!!  I got to have all the help I can get. so I tell hubby that I'm gonna head on over to the church to get ready there, and for him and baby boy to come over as soon as they can. lol  I think they actually got to the church around 12:50. lol  And the poor thing struggled all day.  I felt so bad for him, but didn't know what else to do.  By time the reception had rolled around he was more relaxed and doing better thank goodness.  Note to self.......on next big occasion don't leave the man alone for a second. lol

Yea and everyone thought I'd be the one to fall apart. lol  I held back the tears all day.  Well I almost lost it when daddy was dancing with his little girl.  I was fine until I was driving home from the reception then I came unglued.  (don't tell anybody)  That was wierd.  I'm the rock doncha know.


P.S.  did ya'll figure out who Jezebel was?  Ya'll better not say it was me in the brown dress. lol

And no I'm not the little skinny one. lol  I love that picture of me and the grooms mom cause I look so tall.  Think I'm gonna frame that one.lol  All 5'4" of me.  Darn that womans really short.

I think my favorite picture is #535  She looks just like me don't she?  Now that there's funny ya'll.  Yes I really was there when she was born.   I'll tell ya one thing about 26 years ago I was that little. lol  gosh darn it. 

I knew it!!!  I picked Jezebel out right off the bat!  What a perfect name for her...that's not really her name is it?  LOL!!!

Snoopy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First of all what a HOOT you are  ::MonkeyHaHa:: I loved every minute of reading this thread !!

What a beautiful family, even if they flip birdies they are still beautiful - you too for you look lovely !!!

Thanks for sharing, I've been traveling and moving and just lost all track of time lately, sorry I missed this until today !!

Snoopy
Beautiful simply beautiful.

Your daughter has a smile that seems to light the world.
I especially like page 8 with the flower girl and ring bearer pictures.

I do hope you have saved these stories and written others for the "kids" to enjoy in later years.

Thanks for sharing and you did Great !!!!

OldF

Thank you all for sharing this special day with me, and thank you for your kind words.  Kids are doing great.......I'm still stuck in the basement. lol  Son-in-law comes home on weekends and they have the upstairs to themselves.  They're aways so happy to see each other after the long week.  They have supper together then come downstairs to visit with us for a while.  How  I got stuck with the kitchen in the basement is beyond me. lol (I sure wish she'd clean my new wood floors upstairs.....it's driving me crazy) lol

Son-in-law graduates in a few weeks then they can get on with their lives.................hopefully find a house soon so I can get the heck outta this basement. lol

You won't believe what I went and done the other day........daughter finally went to the photograper to pick the 96 pictures they want for their album, and as if son-in-laws mom and I didn't spend enough already on pictures we went and each bought a parents album.  I think I need my head examined. lol  Now we still have to wait 10 - 12 weeks before we have professional pictures. lol  I'll be darn if I'm going to buy any off their website.

The final pictures will be ready for veiwing in a few weeks so we can see the finished product with all the backgrounds, etc.  The password is the same if ya'll want to check again.  If any of you would like to see the pictures my email address is scaredmonkeysnoopy@gmail.com  I'll give you the info.  I'm only going to keep this email address a few more weeks.  Most of you know my "real" email address.