It seems almost surreal that I have a daughter getting married in a few months. You would think that since this is our third child to get married Steve and I would be pros at it by now. However, it has been 10 years since the last one and when you realize that is a decade ago, it is no wonder this seems like a new thing we are doing. Also, as everyone says, having a daughter get married is different than a son. Several people asked me recently if I was stressing out about it, and I replied "not yet," but I have a feeling the few weeks before the wedding might be a different story. I am praying this will not be the case, but from everything I am hearing, it is almost certain to be a high-stress time.
After coming down from the high of the initial engagement last fall, we were able to finalize the big details that we needed to--date (5/10/15), place, caterer etc. This allowed us to sort of coast through the Christmas season and not worry about too much over that time. The other fortunate thing that happened was that we were informed of a bridal shop that was closing and had every wedding dress for sale at a drastically reduced price. Megan and I went and found the perfect dress! That was a huge relief because neither Megan or I like shopping and we were thinking that trying to find a dress might make both of us cranky.
Now that the new year has arrived there is more of a sense of urgency. Megan and her bridesmaids shopped for dresses and after finding the style they liked, Megan ordered and received the bridesmaids dresses all the way from China, (fyi--Chinese sizes are a lot smaller than American sizes). We are finalizing the meal and have a date set to meet with the florist. Megan ordered the wedding invitations and she and Jeremy started premarital counseling. Megan also had a Tupperware party in December and a Pampered Chef party last Friday. Each party sold over $1,000.00 and Megan received a HUGE supply of Tupperware and Pampered Chef products, either free or at a very reduced price. This was an amazing way to stock her kitchen. When I look at all the things she received I can hardly believe it. I would recommend having these types of parties to any young lady who is either getting married or starting out on her own. She was afraid that having two parties might turn people off, but that didn't appear to be the case. The women at church seemed genuinely happy to buy things and family and friends did as well.
Fortunately, Megan is a very capable person and very responsible about planning and taking care of all the details that need to be done. I am just basically there to support her and do what I can to relieve her stress. Thankfully we have two ladies from church (Becky & Diane) who are going to do the decorating and we know they will do a fantastic job. Believe me, if either she or I would have to be in charge of decorating, it would be a disaster! We are so grateful to put that detail in someone else's hands. (I should say that Megan knows what she wants the decorating to look like, it is just the actual doing it that doesn't go well for her and me).
There is one minor detail that I have been avoiding ever since Megan and Jeremy announced their engagement--my dress. In the past week, three different people have asked me if I purchased my dress for the wedding yet. I wonder if this is a hint that it might be time for me to start looking? Here are some of the thoughts that come to mind whenever I think about going shopping for a dress: I want to lose more weight first. Anything I get will look awful on me. I won't be able to find anything. I hate shopping!
I knew better than to ask Megan to go with me. As I said before, we don't shop well together. In desperation I called my sister and asked her if she would support me in this endeavor. She said she would be delighted to accompany me so we set a tentative date to go shopping. The good news is that no one will be looking at me anyway on the wedding day. All eyes will be on Megan.
In spite of all the details surrounding a wedding that can be overwhelming at times, I really do enjoy watching Megan and Jeremy interact together. It is such fun to watch two people in love. I see the love in their eyes for each other and the excitement on their faces when they talk about their wedding and getting their house organized and planning for their honeymoon, and it makes me smile and my heart happy. Falling in love is so special and I am so happy for both of them. I am determined not to get-over stressed about all the details and to just take each day as it comes...now if I can just find a dress for myself.
