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Blog Entry 6 of 6 Mother of the Blog

My baby girl is getting married in June 2008. My good intentions were to start this exactly a year before the Big Day, but that road to hell is not only paved with good intentions, but strewn with the detrius of being overbooked, overstressed, over budget and overwrought. I am not the mother of Bridezilla but she is one of my princesses and I want her to have a perfect day. Have I mentioned that I'm a journalist and her father is an artist? We're doing this a little under the national average financially, but hope for a party to remember. I'll be sharing special moments, such as rounding up centerpieces from every Target store in the Valley and the first time I saw her in The Dress. Feel free to share your wedding memories and advice; there will be contributions from other family members - from both sides - throughout the next year.

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Flowers and flounces: only 257 days to go

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Contributed by: Carol Rock on 10/16/2007

Made another check on the wedding list last week when we looked at flowers.

Settled into the cushy customer "couch" - well, as cushy as you can make a bench in an old jail cell - true story, this florist has done some adaptive reuse of a historic building (in my heart a thousand flowers bloom!) and I was sitting right about where Newhall's malcontents and outlaws had rested their heinies 100 years previously.

My daughter and I spent about an hour leafing through pictures of centerpieces (aha! we already have centerpieces! $$$ saved there), table sprays (hard not to make the connection between those and casket sprays), gazebo flourishes (my word, not theirs, all I know is that we can take them apart and move them after the ceremony), boutonierres, throw and carry bouquets and most importantly, what Bridemama and Groommama will carry as they come down the aisle.

I kid. Couldn't resist.

Proving that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Bridegirl came in with some ideas of her own so we weren't just wandering in the virtual forest. What amazed us was that the decorator/arranger/flower artist had a name for every different flower, color and style of petal or leaf that we talked about.

I guess going to the flower mart and asking for "those yellow/orange roses with frilly edges" doesn't cut it. She also introduced hydrangeas to the mix, a flower I absolutely adore, but since this is Bridegirl's day, I didn't bring it up. Imagine my thrill when she agreed with the decorator that they would make a stunning addition to the bridesmaid's bouquets.

Mothers will be carrying single calla lillies, wrapped with ribbon, as I remember. Elegant, but tough, as life and weddings require.

We pondered different shades of the reds, oranges, yellows and greens Bridegirl had in her wedding pallette, contrasting them with dress colors and centerpiece decor. We decided to make petal plucking a family activity instead of paying for pre-bagged items to scatter (I can see us now, on that tranquil night next June, sipping wine and gently pulling rose petals apart).

Notes were made to bring a tool box to the ceremony so we had the necessary implements for moving said gazebo flowers into the ballroom (needle nose pliers work well, we heard).

After all was said and done, we did a little figuring and finally put a number in the budget for those decorations, promising to get back with a deposit when a decision is made (we do ask AlmostASonInLaw about a few things).

While I was in wedding mode, I started exploring Mother of the Bride dresses, searching online during a quiet moment at home. Beyond the gowns made for MOBs that never saw anything bigger than a size 2 (or a ham sandwich, apparently), I wandered into the T-shirt markets. There are thousands aimed at wedding parties.

My oldest daughter has called herself the Slave Of Honor since the young man floated the idea of marriage to her sister, a slogan I think I should quickly add to the growing list of nicknames emblazoned across chests of wedding parties everywhere. Some of the other selections that made me laugh:
"Bridesminion," "My Daughter Got Married and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt," "That's Mrs. Mother In Law to You," "Hot Bridesmaid," "Team Bride" and "Boyfriend of the Mother of the Bride."

Of course, I did find a favorite: "Mothers Rock." That one might end up in my closet.

Seriously, I did visit my friend Adrianna's shop on Sunday morning, to offer an opinion on the dress being chosen by one of my theater kids, who is tying the knot next September. While I was there, I asked about MOB dresses.

"You've got time," she reassured. "The new collections are coming in soon. We'll call you."

Suddenly, I felt like an Emmy nominee. My clothier was going to call me when the collection was in. Perhaps we should add a line to the wedding program: Bride is wearing Maggie Sotero, Bridemama is in ???"

Whoever it is, Bridemama, while hoping to look stunning in her MOB dress, promises not to outshine the bride. After all, it's her day on the red carpet.....

And as a footnote, a unique way to announce a new partnership went up around the corner from my house a couple weeks ago. A custom flag bearing the image of a bride and groom announced "Amanda and Paul, Oct. 14, 2007." While you won't find a similar display at our house (Only one flag, the stars and stripes, flies at our house), I wish them the best and hope their lives together are filled with joy, laughter and adventure.

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