Wedding

The weekend of December 22, 2007 was a huge deal for Breezy.  It was the weekend that BestSonInLawEVER proposed to her.  He planned a special weekend in the mountains, called Hubs and asked his permission to ask her to marry him (what? Really?  He asked HUBS and not ME?!) and took Breezy on what he called her Christmas present- a weekend in the NC mountains complete with dinner at the Grove Park Inn.  The engagement excitement lasted just a second for me, however, because THERE WAS A WEDDING TO PLAN.  And I had NOT ONE SINGLE CLUE as to how to go about this.  Hubs and I are just not the falderal kind of people.  We’ll take an oyster roast over dinner out at a nice restaurant; camping over a 5 star hotel; cabin over mansion; older, classic car over brand new gas guzzler; a simple ceremony at his parent’s house on the island (don’t get excited it was an old summer home that they never renovated—a shack on stilts, if you will) over a 250 guest list wedding.  Breezy preferred the 250 guest list wedding.  Being the speedy quick thinker that I am, I called in best friend Leslie to save the day.

Leslie and her Hubby enjoyed directing weddings back in their hay-day but that’s not the only reason I refused to have the wedding without her assistance asked for her help.  The fact that she loves us factored in strongly as well as the fact that she possesses an astute attention to detail and a drive for perfection when her name is attached to anything.  And so, from December 22, 2007 until November 8. 2008, Leslie put together the wedding of all weddings.  It was incredible.  And she did it all while dealing with bridezilla an ADHD bride who lived one state away and a mother of the bride who simply is not into anything that is fancysmancy.  None.  At. All.  Leslie talked with Breezy and immediately knew exactly what she wanted.   Leslie never, not once, left one single detail to chance.  Breezy and BestSonInLawEVER received weekly emails containing their list of things to do each week.  Those two didn’t even have to THINK.  Leslie was in total control—she knew what was going on when, where AND how.  Oh, I went along for the ride to appointments and such but I lack the ability to ‘see’ things until they’re actually put together.  Leslie can see the parts and know exactly what it will the whole picture will look like.  She was AMAZING.   

The wedding gown was no problem either.  Breezy drew a picture of the dress of her dreams and my mother (the girls call her Mimi) made it for her.  Simple as that.  Well, for us anyway- we didn’t have to make a pattern and find the fabric (Mimi searched and sent samples to Breezy who made the final decision) and put the dress together.  The fabric was an ivory satin of sorts. The bodice satin was embroidered so Mimi followed the embroidery design and sewed tiny sea pearls onto the bodice. Breezy knew what she wanted for bridesmaids dresses as well and so that part went smoothly also.  Actually, the entire preparation process was a cinch…thanks to Mimi and Leslie.  

My mother in her wedding dress- that she made.

Breezy, her sisters, and the flower girls. 

Back of the dress

Breezy wanted a sort of Robin Hood/enchanted forest theme and Leslie gave it to her.  The ceremony took place outside down a grass covered avenue of tall, several hundred year old oaks with huge wrought iron candlelabras hanging from their branches to further enhance the theme.  The aisle was adorned on either side by wooden chairs.  Wrought iron flower stands held the most beautiful autumn flowers and a trio consisting of a flutist, cellist and violinist played eloquently for the ceremony.  Behind the ceremony stood a huge clear-top tent outlined with white lights under which was the most lovely buffet and the dance floor.  Beyond the tent stood the historic Legare Waring House.  The ceremony began at 5:30 with a bit of sun still shining and continued during the sunset.  Hubs and Breezy have had this thing they do since she was a little girl.  They walk up to one another and say, "High 5" but as they go to high 5 each other, they pull their hands back and run their fingers through their own hair.  This is what they did instead of hug after Hubs 'gave her away.'

The aisle.  Can you see the candelabras? 

The ceremony music.

The tent before nightfall.  You can just see the house through the tent.

Another view of the ceremony.

 Leslie found our florist on James Island (Karen, owner of Keepsake Florist) and she had to be a God-send because she was PERFECT.  Karen had one phone conversation with Breezy and knew what to do.  Every flower was exactly what Breezy wanted.  The bakers were a husband and wife team who did a great job on the cake- it looked just like Breezy wanted it to look.  The caterer was great in that her cost included the not only the food but the tables, cloths, chairs (reception AND ceremony), set-up, clean-up, plates, glasses, EVERYTHING.  And her food was, for real, EXCELLENT.  The only thing we should NOT have done was use her sister for the bar.  Oh, and Leslie was very unhappy with the D.J. I think he’s still looking for his youknowwhat somewhere out in the Atlantic Ocean.  However, neither of those two detracted from the celebration because Leslie handled it.  We had considered a band and went to meet with an entertainment agent and watch some Dvds.   We fell in LOVE with the first band and were ready to book them right then and there.  Until we were told that the price was (please sit down and I kid you NOT) $15,000.00.  Just in case you think you’re reading the zeroes wrong that’s FIFTEEN THOUSDAND DOLLARS.  For a band.  For an unknown band.  Once the shock wore off a bit, the agent said, “Here’s another one.  They’re not as expensive.”  Maybe not but they were just as good as the first one and we LOVED them!  $10,000.00.  TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS.  WTH?!  The next band was $8,000.00 and the ‘cheapest’ she had was $4,000.00.  We went the D.J. route. 

The tent is all lit up here.  And you can get a general idea about the food set-up.

The cake.  Breezy chose the design.  The bridesmaids' bouquets are on the table.

Breezy and her sisters.  We jokingly call 2008 the year of the wedding OR the year Deanie ruined her sister's wedding pictures.  See the brunette on the far left?  That color is out of a bottle.  All of our darlings are blonde. 

There were EIGHT bridesmaids and TWO maids of honor.  So, TEN attendants in all.  Then the two flower girls- my step brother's daughters and people are still talking about how wonderful they were.  Same with the guys- EIGHT groomsmen and TWO best men.  I know that sounds ridiculous.  BUT when we considered that FIVE of the attendants were actual sisters of the bride and groom, well- that only left room for FIVE close friends.  So yes, it was BIG but it was BEAUTIFUL!
 

The bride and her attendants. 

Breezy with all her sisters- old and new.

BestSonInLawEVER with his new sisters.

BestSonInLawEVER with all his sisters- old and new.

Breezy and the boys.

BestSonInLawEVER and the girls.

The wedding party.

Their real selves.

A sort of view of the tent.

Dr. and Mrs. BestSonInLawEVER

The happy couple with Leslie.

Our photographer is the daughter of a friend.  She took 967 pictures in all.  967!  She put her favorite 150 of them into a wedding photo album for Breezy and BestSonInLawEVER and then gave me copies of those 150.  She put all 967 photos onto a CD for us.  We have plenty of visual memories!

Everyone had such a wonderful time celebrating with the happy couple!  All of our girls were in the gifted/talented program though out school and took honors and AP classes in high school- which means they all four had some of the same teachers.  These teachers all attended the wedding and had their pictures taken with the four girls.  These are some of our most cherished photos from the wedding!

If I had to give advice to those planning a wedding and could only use one sentence, I would say: Get yourself a Leslie- IMMEDIATELY!

One thing about a wedding and our empty nest- weddings give empty nest more of a feeling of permanency.  I did not like this.  It has taken me these last two years (two years almost 4 months) to come to terms with the permanency of the situation.  Oh, I am thrilled that Breezy found her soul-mate and that they are just as happy as they can be!  I LOVE that!  But, I am a wee bit selfish and, no matter what, I'll always miss my babies when they aren't living here.  At home.  Where I like for them to be. 

I am going to try to participate in the NaBloPoMo for the month of March.  The theme for the month is "In a word."  I thought they would give us a word every day to write about.  WRONG.  We have to choose our own word.  Every day.  This is NOT easy. We'll see how far I get.  This is: Day 1.