Monday, August 1, 2011

Shoes. Pocketbooks. Buttons. Fans. And Stuff.

Today’s post is all about the smaller details that make a wedding work because we all know that it’s the little things that make the big picture so memorable.


Let’s start with shoes, shall we?

When we first got to Florida, Meagan showed Sarah the shoes that she had bought for her and the other two bridesmaids. Sarah absolutely loved them and was so excited about wearing them; however, when she tried to walk in them, it was a wee bit less than inspiring because she looked as though she might topple over at any moment. Sarah has not had a whole lot of High Heel Wearing Experience.

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We all agreed that a toppling bridesmaid wouldn’t do much to enhance the wedding so Meagan suggested we shop for an easier-to-navigate style and just return the shoes to the (national chain) store when we got home.

Thankfully we were able to find an alternative style for Sarah which were still cute and pink but just a little easier for her to get around in.

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And while I’m on the subject of shoes, during a mini rehearsal before the real rehearsal, Meagan put on her wedding shoes so that she could practice getting on and off the platform in them. And then, since they were trying to figure out how much space her train would take up in all of the platform maneuverings, Sheri tucked a piece of crepe paper in the waist band of her shorts to help to "picture" it. I think it’s a very attractive look, don’t you?

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Now. For those of you you are really up on fashion stuff, please take note of the extra accent I added to my own Mother of the Groom shoes.

Paper towels! They’re the latest wedding accessory!

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Here’s the whole Paper Towel Story:

The wedding party ladies all met at the church early Saturday morning to get ready. When I had finished applying the all-important make up and the even more all-important Spanx, I slid on my new silver sandals and walked around doing last minute stuff. And all was well.

I walked around another minute. And then suddenly, all was not so well.

For no obvious reason, the straps suddenly started sliding down my heels so that I could not walk even one step without flailing and weaving around in an attempt to keep the shoes from falling off my feet altogether. I looked about as regal as a pregnant platypus trying to square dance.

Steve, my own personal Sir Galahad, appeared on the scene and using the file from a nail clipper, punched new holes in each strap to tighten them up.

I was most grateful to him for his ingenuity and I walked around for a few minutes with the newly tightened straps. And all was well again.

Then I walked around a minute or two more. And all was not well. Again.

The straps had slid right back down, leaving me totally incapable of walking. And when I say I couldn’t walk, I am not exaggerating in the least bit. I couldn’t take even one step. And to make things all the more stressful, we were only about ten minutes from the start of the wedding when I was supposed to make my graceful, elegant way down the long, long center aisle on the arm of my handsome nephew, Caleb.

I half thought about grabbing the nearest woman who wore a similarly sized shoe and wrenching her shoes off her feet but I didn’t that think that shoe snatching was proper behavior for the mother of the groom. I then thought briefly about tossing the shoes altogether and making my way down the aisle in a bohemian-esque barefoot fashion, but I figured that that might ruin the whole lovely lavender dress vibe I had going on.

Steve and I huddled frantically in the side hallway of the church’s foyer trying to figure out what to do. He eventually deduced in his analytical male brain that punching another hole was not going to make any difference because my foot was sliding forward in the shoe and without something to hold my foot in place, further hole punching would not help. So with just four minutes to go, he ran into the bathroom, got some paper towels and knelt down in front of me so that he could insert a folded towel into each shoe. He remarked to one curious onlooker, “Now this is a picture of real marriage!” And he was so right.

Happily, the straps stayed up all the way down the aisle and when the wedding was over, they stayed up for the walk back up the aisle; however, about five minutes later, they fell down altogether. I rummaged around and found a pair of lower heels (not half as lovely) to wear during the reception so that I wouldn’t have to be the Barefoot Mother of the Groom for the rest of the day.

And speaking of shoes, Meagan was spotted sporting these darling yellow numbers to the rehearsal. She has such wonderful taste in shoes—and clothes. (I cropped the picture because her head and face were very blurry.)

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And my last shoe shot? Nathan and Meagan’s nephew’s teeny tiny dress shoes were left on the top of a pew and I couldn’t resist a picture.

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The Buttons

Shoes weren’t the only detail to be attended to during the wedding prep; we also had the Wearing Of The Buttons. For Friday night’s rehearsal, each of the people in the wedding party was presented with a custom made name badge. In fact, even this strange guy who wandered in off the street got one.

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His groomsmen got buttons too—just so that none of them would forget who the other guy was.

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Me and my handsome, button-wearing, almost-married, no longer College Dude son.

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Pocketbooks

A wedding isn’t just about shoes and buttons though; it’s also about pocketbooks--big and small. After the wedding, as Sheri and I were getting ready to leave for the reception, we looked at each other and just had to laugh; although we had both carried lovely, dressy purse-ettes for the ceremony itself, we immediately went and grabbed our honkin’ big purses at the earliest opportunity. I just can’t do life very well without my big purse and it’s nice to know that Sheri is the same way.

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Wedding Programs/Invitations

The last wedding detail to be featured today is the wedding programs. Meagan had a great idea of turning the programs into fans, much like the old-timey church fans back in the days of yesteryear. (Or maybe it was back in the years of yesterday?)

At any rate, Steve, Sarah, and my brother-in-law and nephew set up a little Wedding Fan Production Facility and got them all knocked out in a couple hours.

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They turned out so beautifully. On one side was a verse that was meaningful to the couple; you can read Meagan’s mom’s blog for the story behind it.

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On the other side of the fan was the listing of wedding party and the ceremony.

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The design of the fans tied in perfectly with the wedding invitations and it was just a really fresh, creative look overall. I really loved the fact that Nathan and Meagan’s wedding was very much “them,” right down to utilizing bright, unusual colors.

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Not only did I love the bright colors, Snowy approved of them also. He just thought you might want to know. (And yes, he really does need a haircut!)

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Before I respond to a few comments, here’s a photo of the bride and groom about to leave for their honeymoon. (Nathan had to leave his tux behind since it had to returned to the rental place that afternoon.) I just absolutely love the expressions on their faces because there’s much joy and contentment there.

It was a day full of big details, small details—and much, much happiness.

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Much more Wedding Stuff to come!


Comments

Lisa from Georgia said, “I posted last night after first hearing the song. Now, that I have listened several more times, would you consider selling the music? I can imagine many future brides wanting to make this their song. I understand if you want to keep it special for Nate and Megan, but it is seems too pretty to keep hidden.”

Lisa, thanks for the compliment; so glad you’ve liked the song well enough to listen to it several times.

As for selling the music to other brides, I think the biggest challenge in doing so is that the song is so specific to Nathan and Meagan (as far as them meeting when they were both still kids) that the lyrics would probably not apply to many other couples. But I’m honored that you would suggest the idea!

Lisa also said, “Are any of your songs currently available on iTunes? I would love to have some of the songs from Like a Blanket for my I-pod. I cannot find the CD I had and really miss the music.”

Lisa, the only song that’s on iTunes is “Like A Blanket” but it’s not the version that we recorded. I would be happy to e-mail single songs to you in an Mp3 format for a minimal cost if you e-mail me and give me an idea of which ones you would want.

Buff said, “Just wondering...did Megan's wedding dress bustle in the back? I've noticed several pictures where it is not..hopefully she didn't have to hold it up through the whole reception!”

Buff, yes thankfully, Meagan’s dress did have a bustle which definitely made life a whole lot easier for her during the reception.

Debbie said, “I love the black and white dress Megan is wearing! Was that her reception dress or was that after the reception was over? Her wedding dress was so beautiful I imagine she wanted to stay in that as long as possible.”

Debbie, that picture was actually taken several years ago of Nathan and Meagan in High School. I agree with you—it was a gorgeous dress!

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

lesley said...

I just had a laugh! I thought that when you said they were turning the programs into 'fans', that they were the accordian style fans that were folded onto themselves. I couldn't imagine how that could be attractive, or how one would even read the programs! Ha!
You all did awesome with the high heel situations. I have never worn a pair of heels :)

Love Being A Nonny said...

To me it's the DETAILS that make the wedding fabulous! Great post!

Anonymous said...

Hi there Becky...each post you write I think you cannot possibly top your previous stories and then I read the newest story to find not only have you topped your previuos stories, but have done so with humor, interest and love...of course it does not hurt that you have wonderful subject matter...thank you so much for sharing your life with all of us out here in smithellaneous land...

Blessings from Texas, Fran

Jan said...

Oh my, Becky...I, too, spent my son's wedding with paper towels in my shoes! They were married in Orlando, and you'd think my feet would have swelled in the heat, but no---my shoes were too big!

Lesley, I, too was picturing accordian pleated fans. Thanks, Becky, for the clarifying picture.

OK... more pictures, pleeeeeeeeeeease!

Jan Reuther

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