After a lengthy sojourn, I have had the opportunity to revisit the world of weddings. Most of you will think that I am soon to be a Mother of the Bride, and while this is true it is really not how I was reintroduced to linens and lace. You see I am soon to be a Matron of Honour. People remind me that I am no longer a maid, although with my work list I beg to differ.
The bride is my aunt who is walking down the aisle with a, shall we say, equally “seasoned” group of attendants.
I have to admit I love the program “Say Yes to the Dress”. Whether New York, Atlanta or even Canada (although my vote is still out on that one) I love the dresses, the drama and the final celebrations. So is it any wonder that I was so excited when we went dress shopping. We began with a visit to the annual Bridal Show. By the way for most of us this was the first time we attended this event and well, it literally was a parade of all things bridal.
From décor to daisies, cake to candles, dresses to doilies, brides and their “gangs” in tow were treated to a vast array of possibilities for the special day. To say we looked a bit out of place was an understatement. Most of the persons at the booths had some difficulty discerning what we were doing there.
Some attempted to delicately inquire while others out-rightly asked if there was a bride in our collective. Luckily we are confident and mature enough that we just laughed it off.
We soon realized that although perhaps longer in the tooth than many of the attendees, they were certainly better aligned with the whole show thing; carrying large bags while picking up samples and hopping from booth to booth with the efficiency of an army with visions of white. We also learned that we were far too late for many of the bridal requirements, having a mere months to the big day versus the pre-requisite year or even two.
Not to be deterred, we continued dress shopping and waded through the vast variety and selection at local retail outlets. Surprisingly to us, the dresses are heavy and, we surmised, by the pound heavier dependent on the amount of bling. We learned, however, that the weight was due, in large part, to the undergarment that was sewn into the dress. This is underwire to the extreme. Although the dress may move on the outside, there is no way you are moving on the inside. No wonder
brides look so regal coming down the aisle.
Shopping for attendant dresses proved to be equally challenging. Although the bride was very generous in allowing us to wear a style we felt good in even if they were not exactly the same, and even though there was a colour stipulation that could be varied along the champagne hues, what is a bridesmaid dress style for the average twenty year old (and size 0 to 2) just doesn’t cut it for the average size uh, well you get it. We tried on more than a few and let me say strapless is out, at least for me. No matter the size of the chiffon cover up, there no longer is any amount of fabric that can magically make this work. (Especially when accompanied with sensible shoes)
I have to admit that I am more than a little impressed at the efficiency young women present in this regard. I don’t know if I was so organized, nor financially able to afford all the “little” things. In fact it appears the “little things” are the most expensive, understanding that some brides spend thousands of dollars solely on décor. Fortunately as we have become older and wiser, we realize that decoration is important for sure, (we spent a few hundred on shower enhancements after all) but not at the expense of food and drink! And at that moment we realized we have become our mothers.
To prove the point the Bachelorette party was a plethora of food, each of us (13 in all) selecting a dish for one of the four meals of the day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and after-dinner. Surprisingly we ate so often and so well during the traditional three, we actually took potato chips home. Unfortunately for me, I ate them before the week was done. But just in case you are wondering, we did have the traditional shooters, even if they were in the form of a much more civilized after-dinner drink.
All of this, we learned, is part tradition, part innovation. Most important, and as our bride reminds us, being our age we just don’t get all that concerned about the small stuff. I am going to carry that philosophy with me as I continue the wedding journey through to my own daughter’s event next year.
Congratulations to my aunt and “new” uncle. (Just saying that makes me smile)