It was the wedding of the century!
Well, in my small world anyway.
But it was a beautiful wedding for two wonderful people – my youngest daughter and the love of her life.
I didn’t feel it was appropriate to pull my camera out during the ceremony, and there were two professional photographers and a videographer present for that.
(In the past, the bride was enthralled with that TV program, Say Yes to the Dress, and always wanted a spectacular wedding someday. Fortunately, as she says, parents are no longer obligated to pay for everything, or apparently anything – she and her groom took care of everything; all we had to do was show up. She got the wedding of her dreams, and Dad and I didn’t have to pay for it. Win- win!)
Anyway, I did try to take photos during dinner and the dances, but as you all know I’m not that great a photographer, even with things that don’t move, like the floral arrangements:
The groom’s mom did all the flowers, even the bouquets. What an awesome lady.
I’m the worst photographer ever for pictures of moving subjects, like people dancing, but I tried.
The bride and groom’s first dance was so sweet:
Then came the father-bride dance. Everyone watched politely as it began with the usual old person/young person shuffle, but then it became an actual dance routine with twirls and extensions perfectly timed to The Beatles’ song, “Here Comes the Sun”:
There were exlamations of “Whoa!” and some guests whistlted and cheered. They had no way of knowing that the bride and her dad had practiced for hours ahead of time.
Best father-daughter dance ever! I can’t wait to see the professional’s video.
The mother-groom dance was a bit more sedate, but brought tears to some eyes, including mine:
Oh, I forgot. Before dinner, the cake was cut. The groom had explicit instructions not to mash cake into the bride’s face (which he wouldn’t have done anyway because he’s not that kind of guy). Being such an amateur photogrrapher, I failed to notice that the real photographer was shooting with that super bright light (oh well):
But at least I caught the moment, more or less.
The little flower girl was adorable:
But as I took these photos, she was getting tired and was ready to go home and to bed, and I understand the poor thing had formed blisters on her feet from the cute little shoes she wore for the ceremony:
Actually, at that point Dad and I were ready to go home and go to bed, too. While I didn’t have blisters, my feet were definitely screaming – despite the fact that I had opted for sparkly slippers instead of dress shoes. So glad I did, I never would have made it through the evening with dress shoes on my arthritc, bunioned feet.
But the best part of the evening, for me, aside from the ceremony itself of course, was when Cordelia gave her after-dinner toast to the new couple. Her speech included her acknowledgment that as children she and her sisters didn’t get along all that well, and after many scuffles I would tell them that some day they would be happy to have sisters to share life with as I never had a sister and always wished for one. My girls would scoff and say things like, “No I won’t. I hate them. I wish I was an only child!“) Cordelia went on to relay that as they got older, the three girls became friends, ending with “So, Mom, you were right.“
I never thought I’d hear that in my lifetime. And the cheers from a few of the wedding guests made my evening. Guess they had children, too.
As an aside, the bride convinced Dad and me to visit the Photo Booth. We agreed once we learned we didn’t have to pay for it. Not a bad picture, and for all I know it could be the last photo ever taken of the two of us together (please, God, let that not be a premonition!) (or, knock on wood, for us non-religious folks):
So ends a long, stressful six months, even for those of us who actually had very little involvement in the planning. (Well, I did go for two dress fittings, and there were a few Bridezilla moments that required a mother’s wisdom and strength, but we all got through it.)
Hugs to the new Mr. & Mrs. May they have a long, happy life together!
__________
I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Twitter page, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
__________
Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
Congratulations! What fun! Our youngest daughter just had a wedding, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And are you, like me, glad it’s finally over? I’m happy for them, but it got reallty stressful towards the end.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks like a lovely wedding!! And the photos are great – please be sure to give yourself some credit!. Our oldest boy got married the week before your daughter and, like you, we found ourselves with very little to do as the couple planned almost all of it themselves. There were a few out-of-their control moments that required parental assistance…and we did insist on putting together the rehearsal dinner for them. But, like your day, it was wonderful! I think we always can call it the wedding of the century!
Who would have thought, back when we were working together, that we’d be sharing experiences again all these year later??
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know, right? I saw all those wedding photos posted on FB and did wonder if your experience was similar to ours. Your son’s wedding was awesome, too – they look like a very happy couple. It’s so hard to think of all our kids as being grown up, isn’t it? Maybe now they can start taking care of us! {PS: I often think of those days way back when, among all those banker’s boxes. What an adventure!)
LikeLike
What a lovely post! Wishing the happy couple a long and wonderful life together.
LikeLike
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well congratulations to the happy couple and to you Mon and Dad of the bride! The description and photos are adorable . So nice to see you back 💜💜
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank, Willow. It’s good to be back.
LikeLike
And good to have you back 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations to the bride and groom!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congrats, CM. Ahhh..what a beautiful wedding! Best wishes to the lovely couple! You’ve captured the moments beautifully. And good to see you looking healthy and happy, my friend! ◟(◔ั₀◔ั )◞ ༘♡
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, NBC. Hope all is well in your part of the world, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, CM! Things here are almost back to normal. ♡(ŐωŐ人)
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely wedding! Great photos – especially the photo booth ones. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, those photo booth shots did turn out well. Since we were the first people to participate, we didn’t realize there were props that could be used to make funny pictures. All the younger folks who came after us used those props.
LikeLike
How wonderful that you got to hear your daughter tell you about the sister bit–and hear you were right! Lol. Something any parent would take! Looks like a loving celebration–congratulations!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know you understand how special it was. Makes it all worth it, doesn’t it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cheers to the happy couple and the parents, CM. And you marvelously passed along the love and affection of the day to us all with your photos and words, my friend. Here’s to many more happy moments as a new extended family.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Mark. Those two are made for each other. It makes me happy.
LikeLike