This past year, I joined the wonderful women from Is This Mutton, MK’s Adventures in Style, Deb’s World, Grownup Glamour, and Frugal Fashion Shopper for a global writing challenge. Later this year, Suzy from The Grey Brunette, Sue from Living Well after 50, Leslie from Once Upon a Time, Happily Ever After and I joined in on the fun permanently! Gail came up with this month’s prompt. I know exactly what I’m going to write which is a first! I hope you’ll visit all of these blogs because you are going to be amazed at, not only the diversity of the ideas, but the photos are fabulous! There’s also a link party on Is This Mutton.
So, celebration…
At first glance, this seemed like a really easy prompt to me. After all, we’re smack dab in the middle of Christmas preparations, right? But, I wanted to go beyond the expected. I’ve been pondering this for several weeks now, and I just keep coming up to a specific celebration…my daughter’s wedding.
A caveat…
My oldest son’s wedding was beautiful. His wife-to-be was stunning as were all the bridesmaids in the party. The floral arrangements and the reception were gorgeous. The church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, was just glorious. I celebrated their union with tears in my eyes and a very ungraceful dance with my son. It was absolutely lovely.
A little history…
My daughter met her future husband in Washington, DC in 1998, I believe. I’m trying to do the math, and I just can’t math right now! Paul lived in Fort Wayne in a neighborhood probably 15 or 20 minutes from our home. Yes, I know. I said they met in Washington, DC. Both of them attended Youth for Christ, a high school activity held after school for kids to learn more about their faith. Every two years, the kids would go to either Los Angeles or Washington, DC, depending on what state they lived in. Luckily, we live in Indiana so they went to Washington, DC. To be clear, they attended different Youth for Christ “clubs” so there really hadn’t ever been an occasion for them to have met. This particular year, there were two or three chartered buses going to Washington, DC.
A little more…
At some point, Miranda and her friends met Paul and his friends in Washington, DC. It was not love at first sight for one of them. Let’s just say Paul was not my daughter’s first choice. After they got back from Washington, DC, Miranda kept in touch with both Paul and his friend as they would sometimes stop by the house or call her. She was a sophomore in high school at this time. Miranda and Paul went to the prom together her junior year, but it didn’t exactly go well.
Time went on. Paul graduated from high school and joined the Navy. Miranda dated other boys, graduated, and went to Franklin College (a very nice liberal arts college not far from Indianapolis). Paul wrote to Miranda occasionally, but she rarely wrote back. He was in the Gulf when times got tense. I told Miranda maybe she should consider writing this boy who might very well be in danger. She finally relented and wrote the poor guy back.
Fast forward…
Eventually, Paul convinced her to give him a second chance. She visited him in Virginia, and romance blossomed! In the fall of her senior year, he proposed. After considering a spring wedding, she finally decided a Christmas wedding would be special. But, that gave us just a little less than a year to get everything planned. Where we lived then, you needed at least that much time to reserve venues, get dresses ordered, and so on and so forth.
Planning…
I think the very first things we bought, even before her dress, were Christmas candles to decorate the tables. Kohls had a clearance sale going on after Christmas of 2003. I have no idea how many we bought, but it was probably over 50 pillars of varying heights and designs. You can see some of them in my Christmas house tour (here). Next on the agenda was the wedding dress. We began at a small shop that has since closed. Miranda tried on several dresses, but only one was a maybe. The store didn’t have it in white which was something she really wanted. The sales associate told us she wasn’t sure what color the embellishments would be on the dress in white and that white dresses really didn’t photograph that well anyway. Unfortunately, those embellishments can only be seen in the first photo in black and white. They covered the bodice and went down part of the side that doesn’t show in any of the photos! We visited another store a week or so later, and Miranda tried some there. Of course, I thought she looked lovely in all of them. We returned to the first store that same day. Another young woman was trying on the dress Miranda had been considering, and that’s when she knew. That was her dress…she had this visceral reaction to someone else trying it on…even though that wouldn’t have been the dress she bought anyway.
More planning…
Given we had less than a year to plan the wedding, Miranda took on booking the venue for the reception. We had already cleared the church for a 4:30 wedding. She looked at a few places in Fort Wayne, the largest city closest to us. She wasn’t particularly impressed with any of them. She did make an appointment for the largest event place in Columbia City, and I went with her. Miranda really didn’t want a buffet style reception, but once we met with the events coordinator at Eagle’s Nest, she was sold on the idea. In fact, she was very impressed with the place. I was happy because it was the least expensive of all the venues and only a few minutes rather than several minutes and miles from the church. I was concerned about having people driving any kind of distance for a December wedding.
A little more planning…
At some point, Miranda, some of her bridesmaids, and I went back to the wedding store where we’d found her dress. There, they picked out dresses that worked on all of the girls. As they were looking, I took a look at the MOB dresses. Let me just say, they were something Dorothy Zbornak would have worn as well as being almost as expensive as Miranda’s dress. I took a look at the bridesmaid dresses, and that’s where I found mine! It was a black dress with some diamante embellishments and a wide collar. Believe it or not, when we moved almost nine years ago, I donated that dress, but somehow or other, I still have the dress my mom wore to my wedding almost fifty years ago!
Last bit…
During Miranda’s spring break or maybe a weekend, I can’t remember, we met with the baker. When Nigel and I were married, a lady he had worked with as a teenager made our wedding cake as a gift to us. She has since passed, but her daughter has continued the business. Miranda decided to continue the tradition and use her. The cake was delicious and had several different layers. I remember one of them was lemon with raspberry filling, and I can’t remember what the other flavors were…maybe marble and spice. Because it was so close to Christmas, the layers were squares and looked like Christmas presents. I loved the different textures she used. The last thing to plan was the flowers. We found this woman who did floral arrangements in a tiny little “blink and you’ll miss it” town. When we sat down with her, she told Miranda her wedding was a true blessing and a gift from her parents. And, she should keep in mind the costs of all of it. I may have shed some tears at her kindness. Miranda had always wanted to carry red roses. Her bouquet contained three dozen roses and was so heavy. The bridesmaids carried smaller bouquets. Because the church was already decorated for Christmas, we really didn’t need anything else beyond altar flowers. That’s the one thing I would have changed. I would have made them so much larger because, as you can tell, the sanctuary is very large.
The wedding…
Miranda’s wedding was bittersweet for me. My mom had passed exactly eight months to the day. I really missed her being there. My Grandma Luderman was there, but she would pass less than three months later. Did I cry? Friends, I cry at weddings on television! I cried off and on all day long, but I did a pretty good job of not crying during the ceremony. Nigel looked so handsome walking his favorite (and only) daughter down the aisle. Luckily, we are Lutherans, so it was a rather long wedding as weddings go. Since it was in December, it was nearly dark by the end of the wedding, and the church just glowed.
The reception…
The reception went well. I had helped Nigel write his little speech. Most of our families and friends were there. The food was delicious. The conversations were warm. My now son-in-law can dance like nobody’s business. His now wife has a bit of a groove bone (unlike her mom) so she enjoyed herself, too. She had bought a pair of sequined (or maybe glittery) flip flops for the wedding because she knew she wouldn’t be wearing those heels! Nigel had arranged for a limousine to take them to the hotel for the night before their honeymoon. At the end of the day, I was exhausted. But, it was a wonderful exhaustion born out of seeing my daughter marry the love of her life in the dress of her dreams carrying 36 beautiful red roses.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
Well, I hope you didn’t feel like you were sitting beside one of those old grannies who pull out their photo albums and tell you about every little thing in every photo. Or, maybe it felt like you were stuck beside someone on a plane who tells you all about their last operation? I really hope not. Miranda’s wedding was a celebration of love…the love I feel for her as well as the love between her and Paul. It was a celebration of the planning we had done to create a night of wonder and tradition. It was a celebration of sharing this time with family and friends. I hope you enjoyed reading about it or, at least, looking at the photos. So, can we talk? Did you have a traditional wedding? Or, was yours more low-key? Perhaps, your wedding was an even more grand affair? Please leave a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as soon as possible.
Thank you!
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.
Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, and Style Splash. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda and Lisa. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
What others are saying…
Debbie says, “Debbie doesn’t have grand parties or drink to excess, so it’s not the party lifestyle she’s seeking, it’s the joy of celebrating with friends and family, and being in the moment that counts. Debbie looks back at some big celebrations and shares the moments of joy with her readers.”
From Sue: “Sue loves a celebration especially during the Festive Season spending time with family and friends. For Celebration prompt Sue is taking a different angle and looks at areas in our life that we could celebrate more.”
Gail “goes back to the 60s to recount a typical birthday and Christmas in her childhood. Expect lucky bags and a hedgehog made of a potato.”
Suzy “shares a glimpse of her world, where celebrations are all about finding joy in everyday moments, from cozy holidays with family to milestone adventures, highlighting the beauty found in life’s simplicity.”
“If there’s one thing Mary Katherine and her crew know how to do, it’s celebrate. Read about some epic celebration here.”
“For this month’s prompt, Leslie is sharing celebrations past and present and the special moments she hopes to celebrate in the very near future.”
“Penny remembers Christmases past and present and ends with a big shout-out to all low-paid workers in those essential jobs and the many volunteers who give their time to run so many things. Let’s celebrate those wonderful people.”
And, now, it’s your turn!
If you’d like to link up your imagination posts, please pop over to Gail’s blog, Is This Mutton, for the link up!
Hello Marsha, how lovely to reminisce about your daughter’s wedding and although she didn’t give much time to plan, Christmas weddings are just that little bit special because it is a time of year when most of us are happy and celebrating the Festive Season. Miranda looked beautiful and I’m sure you were and are still very proud of her. My daughter and her partner were married in one of the small villages in Cinque Terre, Italy. They had visited there when living for a year in the U.K. and it was always a special place for them. Years later they were attending a friend’s wedding in Poland and afterwards they popped over to Cinque Terre and were married. Yes, they eloped but I didn’t feel I had missed out. I had always told my children to have the wedding they wanted not what I wanted. She looked so happy in the photos and it was such a special time. Thanks for sharing your Celebration post and best wishes to you and your family for the holidays and 2024. x
Thank you, Sue! How cool that your daughter and partner married at a place that was so special to them. I agree that weddings should be about the couple rather than the parents. I think the only thing I gave much advice on was buying the candles for centerpieces even though we couldn’t light them! Miranda knew exactly what she wanted. It was so much fun to see her trying on wedding dresses, and I thought each one was perfect for her. But, she didn’t. It truly wasn’t until she saw the other young woman wearing that dress that she knew. We had so much fun planning it. Have a wonderful holiday season, Sue!
Oh I just loved this; the photos are all so beautiful too. I love hearing about (and seeing!) other people’s weddings since weddings are all so different. Even the more traditional ones like this have all their own little unique details and fun stories behind them.
Thank you, Joanne! I love reading and seeing other people’s weddings, too! It seems like there’s always a reason for something happening at a wedding or reception.
I love that you shared this, it’s such a nice tribute to your daugther and her husband’s marriage, and such a nice memory for them to look back at! All the pics are absolutely amazing, she looks gorgeous on her day!
xoxo, MIDORI
https://www.midorilinea.com/blogs/midori-linea/designer-life-to-mommy-life
Thank you so much, Midori! Even though it was several years ago, I can recall most of it as if it were yesterday!
What a lovely story about Miranda and Paul. Her dress, and 3 dozen roses, were beautiful. The wedding cake tradition is delightful.
I still have my (2) wedding dresses, and the dress my mum had for her first wedding in the 1950s, which my grandma made.
Thank you so much, Gail. I still have my wedding dress, and Miranda’s is stored in the front bedroom closet because she doesn’t have any room for that huge skirt at her house!
Oh wow, Marsha, the story of your daughter’s wedding reads like a fairy tale. And you are a very lucky lady. Neither of my children are married. My daughter has been with her partner for over 20 years now and they have a 17-yr-old. I don’t think they will ever marry. But my son might I think, when their two children are a little older. I would love if they did as I so want to wear a mother-of-the-groom outfit with a great hat!
Mr F and I, we didn’t have conventional wedding. I still have the wedding dress tucked away somewhere and it is a purple Biba type dress, the kind of dress that was very popular in the 70s. We married in a Registry Office and had the reception in our small flat. Actually we had two parties, one around lunch time after the wedding for the relatives, and a wonderful rowdy party for our friends in the evening. An uncle of mine donated some extraordinarily good beef and we made all the food including two cakes, one of which was coloured in a neon pyschedelic colouring. And the honeymoon was in Cornwall in a caravan. We had a fabulous time both at the wedding and the honeymoon and the cost was next to nothing – rather different I think to today’s weddings!!
Thank you, Penny! It was a lovely wedding, and I’m so glad you enjoyed reading about it. Perhaps, you could convince your son to at least have some kind of commitment ceremony. You would be the best dressed there with an amazing hat, I know! Just don’t go looking for the traditional MOG or MOB dresses. They are atrocious, or, at least, they were when my kids got married.
I think weddings are such a personal thing. Ours was small and cost very little. The reception was just cake and punch. In fact, my dad’s side of the family left the reception because there wasn’t any booze! They came back feeling a little happier than when they’d left! Your honeymoon sounds like an amazing time! I think driving around in a caravan would be so much fun!
What a lovely memory and I giggled how he wasn’t your daughter’s first choice!!
XOOX
Jodie
Thanks, Jodie! The funny thing is he came to visit Mike and me one summer. Miranda had stayed in Franklin to work that summer. I think he was trying to score brownie points with us! I’m so lucky because my bonus kids are just the best people ever!
Your daughter’s wedding was beautiful. What wonderful memories!! I can’t imagine how heavy the bouquet must have been – 3 dozen roses!
Thank you so much, Lisa! It was a very heavy bouquet, but I don’t know that she even felt it! The entire night was magical.
This is a beautiful story mom, thank you for sharing it. It was really sweet to hear your perspective on our wedding. Thank you (and dad) for giving us such a beautiful wedding. I wouldn’t change a thing about it, not even the altar flowers!
You are very welcome, Cakes! It was a beautiful wedding, and I think we did a good job on it! But, I would definitely change those altar flowers!
What fun to follow along your beautiful daughter’s gorgeous wedding! I agree with everyone that Christmas weddings are just a little extra-special. My first wedding was the big one, with 10 attendants and the big dress. The whole thing cost $2,000 (and I cashed in an IRA to do it!) I wrote about my “stealth” 2nd wedding in my post – and we’re still happily together! Merry Christmas, Marsha!
Thanks, MK! I think everything combined made it so beautiful…the Christmas trees, the early darkness, the gorgeous MOB (hahaha)! Wow! You had 10 attendants and ONLY spent $2000! That’s pretty amazing because I’m guessing you’re around my age. I’ll be popping over to your blog in a little minute. Merry Christmas to you, too!
That is so lovely, she looked beaoutiful but the Christmas trees at the alter make it so very beautiful. How gorgeous. I too had red long stem roses as my bouquet with black ribbon, my mum worried they were funereal but I thought they looked beautiful. People can be weird about things at wedding. The black high lights on the flowers make for stunning photos. I really can’t imagine my kids getting married but I guess maybe I will. They’re still my little babies, even tho they aren’t. What a lovely celebration to share.
Thank you, Lydia! Those Christmas trees truly were works of art. They were (maybe still are) decorated with handmade Chrismons, all gold and shiny. I chuckled a bit about your mom’s comment. I wanted to carry roses when I got married because my maiden name was Rose. But, the florist told me they used more roses in funeral arrangements. So, I carried spider mums instead. I do wish I’d told him it didn’t matter…I would be carrying roses. I know, my little babies are all (almost) in their 40s! How in the world did that happen!!
Have a wonderful Christmas, Lydia!
I also have to say, I thought it would be an easy topic but then decided it was too hard. Or my brain was out of order, or I was just out of time….
I agree, Lydia! I thought, “Oh, celebration. That will be easy. I am not totally sure I really hit it with my post, but we certainly did celebrate!
Thanks, again!
What a beautiful story Marsha and gorgeous photos of your daughter on her special day! Weddings are lovely at any time of the year but for you in wintery December it looked very special. I enjoyed picturing the scene and can empathise with the planning that’s required to put on a wedding. I have three daughters and two have had weddings – one was a lovely outdoor event near our little town with friends and relatives coming from as far away as England as my son-in-law was born there and has since emigrated to Australia, becoming an Australian citizen a few years ago. My youngest daughter had a destination wedding to Fiji with just immediate family and two friends in attendance – it was fabulous fun. My other daughter lives in England, is engaged but they can’t decide where they’d get married so have put in the too hard basket for now. I really loved how you interpreted this prompt and your love for your daughter oozes out of your words. Thanks for sharing this special time with us.
Thank you so much, Debbie. My daughter actually read this one and then texted me she was in tears! It was a lovely night…especially as darkness fell so early, and the church just glowed. Miranda is stunning and was even more so that night. She was glowing with happiness. A wedding in Fiji would be lovely, too! My son’s wedding was just as lovely…I just didn’t plan it.
Thanks, Debbie!
What a truly beautiful celebration of love, Marsha! Your daughter is stunning and her wedding dress was perfect for her. I love that she carried roses too (even though they were heavy!). I had roses but they were a peachy colour. My wedding was lovely but most of it was organised by my in-laws (who paid for it all) so if I could do it over, I’d change a lot lol! But it was still a wonderful celebration. I’m looking forward to renewing my vows to Michael at some point and then I’ll get to choose everything I’d like!
Big hugs
Suzy xx
Thank you, Suzy! I like to think she’s stunning, but I may be a bit biased! I don’t know that she even noticed how heavy the roses were. They were so gorgeous and smelled so good. I wish I’d carried roses in my bouquet, but the florist talked me out of it. If I ever get married again, I shall have roses…just not sure what color or how many…gobs and gobs, though!
What a wonderful wedding! Your daughter is gorgeous and these pics are so amazing. Reading this post reminds me of my own weddings. The flowers for both were amazing. I had white, light pink, and purple roses for the first one. I had a wildflower look for the second. Thanks for sharing these special memories.
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Thank you, Kathrine! She is gorgeous, and the photos are just a few of what we both have. Your bouquets both sound beautiful. I’m so happy you were able to find love again.
What a beautiful wedding and beautiful photos. I love the story about how they almost didn’t get together but she gave him a chance when you suggested she do so.
My husband and I met in 1998 as well. I was still in college at the time and he was working full time at a newspaper. Eventually he became my boss and we joked that I had slept with the boss to keep my job.
Thank you, Lisa! I could have written so much more, but I didn’t think Miranda would appreciate it. I think, deep down, she knew she cared for him much more than she let on. And, when we thought he was in imminent danger, the writing began. And, the rest, as they say is history.
Hahaha!!! Well, I guess that’s one way to look at it!
What a fantastic journey this global writing challenge has been! Joining forces with these wonderful women has surely been an enriching experience. Gail’s celebration prompt is inspiring, and it’s great to hear you have a unique angle in mind.
The anticipation of Christmas preparations is always there, but your choice to delve into the celebration of your daughter’s wedding adds a deeply personal and sentimental touch. It’s a momentous occasion that goes beyond the holiday season, making it even more special.
Visit https://www.melodyjacob.com/2023/12/what-i-would-love-to-be-gifted-for-Christmas-and-new-year.html
Thank you, Melody! These writing challenges have truly been challenging! I have to think about them for a bit before I finally land on something. This one just seemed natural given the timing!
How beautiful! I loved reading all about the wedding planning and all the details. That’s the spirit of celebration we enjoyed when my son got married a couple of years ago, and what I’m looking forward to whenever my daughter gets married. I am already excited about shopping or the dress with her!
Thank you so much, Kym! It was such a beautiful wedding, and we had (mostly) a lot of fun planning it. Just know that every single dress your daughter tries on will be perfect and gorgeous on her! She just won’t feel that way. It was hard to keep my feelings to myself, but I’m glad I did. The dress Miranda got was perfect for her!
It’s so fun that you shared her love story and details about the wedding! What a special couple!
Thanks, Laura! It was a beautiful wedding, and I’m so glad she chose that time of year.