Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Jewelry and Swooning and Love.

About a week before we were to leave for Nathan’s wedding, Libby, a lady in our church asked, “So, are you all set for the wedding?” I said, “Well, I still need to find some jewelry for the dress I chose; I’ll probably look around for some tomorrow.”

She casually inquired, “What color is your dress?”

When I told her it was lavender her face lit up and she said, “Well, I might have something you can borrow. Why don’t you bring your dress by the house later today.”

When I arrived, I was flabbergasted at the absolutely perfect match her jewelry turned out to be. And beyond being flabbergasted, I was thrilled down to my toes that I was getting to wear a pendant and earrings that had been owned by her mother and were over a hundred years old! (I don’t think I’ve ever been younger than my jewelry before.)

Are those gorgeous pieces, or what?

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Then Libby inquired, “Do you have a purse to carry?”

Well, I had a small, 10-year old bag that didn’t match my dress very well, but I didn’t feel like spending extra money on a purse. So I answered, “Um, sort of, but, well, not really.”

She said, “I may have something that will work for you.”

When she pulled this out of her closet, I swooned! It was exactly the kind of bag I would never spend money on but the kind of bag I would love to carry.

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And when I put all the pieces together, I swooned some more; in fact, I was a veritable Swooning Smith.

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So by that point, the only thing I was lacking was a dressy watch. The one watch I own is fairly utilitarian and it would not have been at all comfortable hanging out in the swanky neighborhood that my outfit was becoming. And yet I didn’t want to spend money on a dressy watch that I wouldn’t wear that often.

I finally figured I would just put my everyday watch into my purse and take it out occasionally when I needed to see the time. However, that whole idea didn’t thrill me much because I knew that during the hours leading up to the start of the wedding, I would be wanting to know the time about every 93 seconds and the thought of locating my purse, opening it, and dragging out the watch did not engender any joy in my soul.

The Saturday before we left for Florida I happened to be walking through a local thrift store. And I found this. A dressy watch. That worked great. For seven dollars!

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Bottom line? Jewelry/purse: free. Watch: $7 Shoes: On sale for $29 (And I bought some little pads to put in them which should make them wearable for future celebratory extravaganzas.)

I paid a little more for the dress than I had wanted to spend (it had been $170, on sale for $90) but I figured it was a pretty big deal to have a son get married and I consoled myself with the thought that everything else came in way under budget and therefore it all balanced out.

And so there you go. The story of the Mother of the Groom outfit. I hadn’t had a reason to get really dressed up for a long time, so the whole thing was an extra fun experience.

I’ll close with a few miscellaneous pictures of other Wedding Stuff. And I promise you at some point that I will stop posting about this subject; you all have been very patient to put up me and my pictures and my stories.

(Please note that due to a forgetful mix up on my part, I did not have my Nikon with me at the wedding so the pictures are not as good as they might have been. I will have the complete camera mix up story coming soon—along with my hair crisis story.)

This picture is so typical of Nathan. He and I were practicing our little mother/groom dance in our hotel room and all of a sudden he just reached out and wrapped me in a bear hug.

I started flapping my arms and yelling, “Nathan, you’re squishing me!” which of course caused him to hug me all the more tightly.

There’s nothing quite like being attacked out of the blue by a Nathan Bear. And may I just say how much I miss those hugs? (Please note Steve grinning in the corner of the mirror.)

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Sarah with her cousin, Caleb, who was an usher for the wedding. He lives in Wisconsin with my younger sister, Debbie, and her husband, Randy. They are some of our favorite people in the world.

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Some more favorite people.

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A definitely non-professional shot of the bridal party but, oh well. Getting ALL the groomsmen in a photo is highly over rated.

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I loved this vantage point. This is the candle that was lit during the ceremony in memory of my dad and Sheri’s mom.

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And yes, Nathan and I did make it through our dance. Fortunately, he didn’t attack me with the aforementioned bear hug in the middle of it.

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Nathan’s best man gave a wonderful speech about Nathan and Meagan which made me quite teary-eyed.

Please also note in this picture the floral centerpiece created by Meagan’s dad, Frank.

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Sheri, the mother of bride, watching the wedding photography taking place on the golf course beyond. (And may I just say that bright blue is definitely Sheri’s color—she was radiant.)

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And finally, the mother of the groom, looking at her son and daughter-in-law and being reminded all over again that love is life’s greatest gift

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22 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Catherine said...

Don't apologize about giving the wedding so much press. I am eagerly awaiting the news. Where did you get your dress? Where did you look? What other choices? I want to read all about it and am anxiously looking forward to the pictures.

It was truly a beautiful wedding.

Anonymous said...

Me, too...waiting for more pics AND stories!
Buff

MaryH said...

Um, please don't STOP with wedding stories - and more pictures - whatever form they are in are more than welcome here - I speak for myself only, but I am sure many more would agree - PLEASE, PLEASE don't stop telling us about the wedding - after all,most of us feel like we "raised" Nathan also! (Smile - just kidding-sort of)

Anonymous said...

Oh Becky, don't you know that we are all just waiting, waiting, waiting to hear about the wedding. I for one tune in every morning to see what else you have posted about the wedding. It is almost like being there with my online family :-) Thanks for including us in this wonderful, blessed occasion.
Gail Puckett

LeeAnne said...

Becky, just keep those wedding stories and pictures coming!! I LOVE it all! No apologies please!!
Oh, and you were gorgeous, by the way! :)

Melissa said...

We haven't had enough wedding posts, pics, and updates yet!

Anonymous said...

The little bits of wedding stories are much better than a single, large entry. We get to think about one topic at a time and really appreciate it before moving on to the next. Bring on more wedding stories!

Beth

Karen said...

You can post stories and pictures of the wedding for as long as you want!

Holly said...

We can't get enough of wedding pictures and stories! Please don't stop!

LOVED the wedding song! Thanks so much for sharing! The song is beautiful and has been stuck in my head all week. It makes me teary every time I listen. What a great idea Meagan had and what a great job you did on the song!

The wedding was beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Having just had my son's wedding, I'm loving all of the wedding posts and pictures! It looks like it was such a beautiful wedding! You are definitely blessed! :)

Gayle in AL

Anonymous said...

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't stop the stories and pictures!

It's a special time in the Smith/Hawley Family and I know that I want more----LOTS MORE!

Jodi

Anonymous said...

Do you think you could stretch out the wedding stories until the first home purchase and/or first pregnancy?

I never tire of seeing wedding photos or hearing the stories....

Your Texas Friend, Fran

becky m said...

this was a long time in the making and i love hearing and seeing the pictures as much as when you were writing about snowy all the time, this an important time in your life and if you want to share as many details,that is awesome, i find it all very entertaining. and unless somehow i missed it..i think you still owe us the other dress choices story too.

Lisa from Georgia said...

Please do not quit telling us about the wedding!! I love it...I feel like I was there. I want MORE, MORE, MORE pictures and stories of the Royal Wedding of the Summer! :)

Anonymous said...

Please more pictures!!!! We love hearing about the wedding! And, your jewelry and handbag... BEAUTIFUL!!!

Kathleen said...

The other thing that I think is that you are giving your son and your daughter-in-law a legacy of your words about their special day. They will always be able to look back and know what you were feeling and feel the love and joy and pride in your words. It's why I write my blog. Not so that others can read it (because few do) but because one day I want my children to read it.

Anonymous said...

I love seeing the pictures and reading about the wedding. Hope you are having a wonderful day. Anna

Anonymous said...

Hi Becky! Please don't stop writing about the wedding! I have enjoyed all of your posts - especially the one that included the beautiful song you and Megan wrote! It seems you had a wonderful day and that it was all you hoped it would be. Thank you so much for sharing and eagerly awaing more stories!

Debbie in Sacramento

Anonymous said...

Becky: I hope you have realized that we want more more more wedding stories and pictures. It is a day that should be put into as many words as possible.

Mel

Anonymous said...

Becky,
I, too, love all of the pictures and exciting stories of the wedding. Keep them coming. Also, Sarah's necklace is beautiful and is she.

jenny said...

Hey, please don't stop writing (or posting pics) about the wedding! We are NOT tired of it. In fact, I think you've been a little bit "stingy" with details. So keep 'em coming, oh-mother-of-the-groom!

Anonymous said...

so I keep reading about a cake reception. Did you also have a lunch reception following the ceremony/ Just curious. I have 5 kids and 2 of them are girls. They have all made a promise to each other to have some work/independence living under their belts before they get married, but I am thinking that we will have some engagements announced soon.....the oldest 2 have been on their own for 5-6 years and have learned how to make ends meet!.So, would love to hear about the cake reception/luncheon!
Lucky for me, my oldest daughter is in law school and the youngest just graduated from UVA and has gotten her first job....But the oldest boys have lived on their own for several years and I think they are looking to settling down! So exciting!