8 days until the wedding!

Is it getting hot in here???

Emotions are creeping up on me at odd times again….every commercial or scene in a movie featuring a happy bride is triggering tears, it seems.  Christina and Charlie got their marriage license last week and I became misty about that; a dear friend sent the kids a fabulous wedding gift and my eyes welled up unexpectedly.

  

Woven into the stress and planning and appointments and juggling of funds from one account to another, there is this powerful wave of love that washes over everything and reminds me of what this day is all about…the joy of two people beginning their life together.

I feel really grateful to be a part of all of this, especially when I vividly remember not wanting my own mother to be involved in either of my weddings.  Our relationship was never close….it was more of a polite indifference, actually.  But now here I am, knee-deep in Christina’s happy day, and I couldn’t feel more fortunate that I didn’t repeat the patterns of my biological beginnings.

The lady who is charging more for the alterations than we paid for the wedding dress tried to get into my wallet again (CASH ONLY!) by attempting to sell Christina on an $80 corset at her recent dress fitting.  Immediately upon hearing this, I insisted that we go to Kohl’s to see if we could do better, which we did…$40 for something much more versatile that she can wear under other dresses (which she couldn’t have done with the pricey little confection made especially to be worn under a wedding gown).

I left Kohl’s feeling exceedingly triumphant!

Somewhere along the way, the price for the reception dinner crept up to $65 per plate.  I got this news the same day that two different people (finally) sent back their response cards including extra guests they thought would like to come along to a wedding.  I had to put the hammer down on that nonsense right away.  Once again, I am stunned by the lack of common sense and consideration.  Apparently, understanding the etiquette of an invitation is a lost art, and if you feel like bringing a few neighbors and your gardener, well, why not?  Free dinner and alcohol for everyone!

If you have not seen this movie, do make it a point to rent it sometime:

It was made in 1950 (with an impossibly gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor at the height of her popularity), but (much like my 1950s etiquette book) all of the humorous situations still hold true to this day.  I am apparently playing the Spencer Tracy role, because I have found myself uttering the same sentiments and outrage as the Father of the Bride did 60 years ago!

There is but one major task left, and that is the dreaded seating chart.  I must keep in mind that there are family feuds still actively simmering, ex-wives who despise one another, crabby and unpredictable  grandparents who have no filter between what they think and what they say and are thrilled to express displeasure about anything and everything.  There are half-siblings who are not on good terms with one another and those who have issued strict mandates about who they will and will not sit next to.

 All of this must be taken into account while arranging sixty people for dinner.  I briefly toyed with the notion of dosing the water glasses with hefty hits of Prozac or Xanax to help these folks mellow out, but who needs a lawsuit at this stage of the game?