August 19th, 2019

​I just love weddings!   Every single wedding I've ever attended I have enjoyed immensely. And I've never seen two that were exactly the same.

Tim and I attended a wedding this past Saturday.  It was lovely.  The groom beamed and the bride glowed and everyone had a wonderful time.

This one was a beach themed wedding and we were encourage to were beach attire:  sundresses, shorts and flipflops!  How fun!   The bride managed to find a dress that was unmistakably bridal and still beachy.  Genius.  There was music and happiness and lots of photographs taken.  One of the most unique parts of this particular wedding was that the bride and groom sang a song together!  Adorable!~

 It occurred to me on the drive home that the last wedding we went to was quite some time ago, youngest son's wedding.   That is quite a dry spell! There was a time when I felt like I was going to wedding every month.  And another strange summer when either Tim or I were part of the wedding party for months on end.  Just before we moved to Colorado I donated my MANY bridesmaids gowns to one of those organizations that provides "prom" gowns for girls who cannot otherwise afford them. They were thrilled to have them.

The very first wedding I attended was as a young child but I remember it.  It was in a very large church with enormous, colourful stained glass windows that were mesmerizing to me.  Because I was so little (and therefore small) all I saw of the bride was the top of her head which, of course, was covered by a veil.  While I was quiet and well behaved, the service felt as if it took eternity and I thought weddings were the most boring thing ever.  We didn't spend long at the reception, just long enough for my mother to walk through the receiving line (remember those?) and then we left.  But my eyes spied a table piled high with pretty gifts and another table with a towering cake and I saw people drinking punch out of little glass cups.  I was really bummed that I didn't get any cake.

I've attended weddings in small chapels and huge cathedrals, in stunning gardens and under huge white tents, on the beach and in backyards.  One of the most unique weddings I ever attended was in a church that did not allow music.  It was the first and only time that I heard every single step of the bride's high heels  on the wooden floors as she walked down the aisle.  The church was so quiet that every step echoed.  It was rather dramatic.

My dad was a Justice of the Peace at one time in his life and he performed wedding ceremonies in all sorts of places like on boats and in parks, and, if the bride and groom had no other place for the service, occasionally in my mother's rose garden in their backyard.  He really loved conducting wedding services.  I think way deep down, he really was a romantic soul.

I've seen enormous wedding with so many attendants on both sides that they barely fit on the dais and weddings so small that it was only the bride, groom, officiant, me and one other person as witnesses.  From sit-down multi-course dinners  to buffet dinners to potluck luncheons to appetizers and cake or just cake and punch receptions.   I've seen brides maids carrying enormous trailing bouquets, to small posey's, to single roses, to bibles.  Dress codes from formal gowns to cocktail length dresses to  jeans and boots to beachwear.  Services from High Mass to traditional services to the bride and groom writing and speaking their own vows. And all of them were beautiful.

I am a big fan of the TV show,  "Say Yes to the Dress".  I think it's mostly because I love seeing those beautiful gowns.  I also watch the food channel shows where they  make amazing wedding cakes.   If they had a show about the floral arrangements for weddings, I'd probably watch that too.  I do love pretty things.  And weddings are among the prettiest of things.

At one time, my sister and I talked about how fun it would be if the two of us own a wedding salon.  We had grand plans.  It wasn't just about the gowns, it would be full service.  The gowns, the venue, the flowers, the food, everything arranged all in one place.  It was a great idea and, when we were young and foolish, fun to imagine.  Of course none of it happened.  But I still adore weddings.

We wish   Saturday's bride and groom, Greg and Beth, every happiness!

(and secretly hope that somebody else has a wedding that we get also get invited to one day soon!)