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!

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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio