// BLOG
The Wedding Day!!!
September 3, 2010
The wedding day is finally here. After 10 months of planning and years of anticipation, we finally get to experience what my daughter has dreamed of. August 28th, 2010 was a great day for our family.
The day began with a light breakfast and an early trip to the hair dresser. It was fun to see the transformations.
Melissa, Christine, Katie, Kristen and Marissa before the magic happens.
Monica and Melissa with the makeup artist Holly.
Presto, change-o and the beauties are ready for the big day.
Katie, Kristen, Marissa and Christine. The Bridal party is ready.
My favorite photo of just Melissa on her wedding day
The ceremony was held at St. Lawrence Church in Huntington, CT and Melissa tossed her bouquet there too. The day was gorgeous, everyone looked great and was very happy. My church choir added a special personalized touch. I couldn’t possibly put photos of everything but here is one from the church.
A wedding blessing from Father Peter. No "Help Me" on the bottom of Chris' shoes!
I’ll finish out this post with a few more photos of the bride, groom and our family taken at the Waveny House in New Canaan, CT. Our photographer, Terry Day will be providing all the professional photos, but these are from my camera.
The full wedding party in the gardens of the Waveny
A tender moment for the bride and groom with bride's family
The Leggett side: The bride is from a very big family! Aunts, Uncles, cousins and this isn't even all of them!
Chris' family came a long way, mostly from VA. A number of relatives couldn't make the trip. Melissa has a much easier task to get to know Chris' smaller family.
The first dance is Stand By Me, played by The Big Band Swing Machine
This father-daughter team has years of dancing experience and it shows!
The Big Band Swing Machine added a magical touch to our evening. Everyone loved the music.
After the reception, most guests and family members went to the Doubletree Hotel in Norwalk where we were all staying. The party continued in the bar till about 12:30.
Bride and Groom go casual after the reception. They're dancing to their friend Jesse's Cajun music at the bar.
Go Jesse!
And finally, the next morning we all had breakfast before the honeymooners headed to the airport. San Fran and Maui, here they come!
The Legget Family and son-in-laws Chris and Morgan
A breakfast gathering of my family the morning after the wedding.
Countdown- The final days before the wedding
September 3, 2010
I am writing this after the fact (it got very hectic and busy as you may imagine) but I want to share all that goes on the last few days before a wedding. I will keep it to what I experienced, but I’m sure other things come up for other brides and their families.
A week before the wedding, Melissa moved home from Boston. She left her job to move to Virginia with her husband after the wedding and honeymoon. We were grateful that she was able to be home and not working the whole week before the wedding. Of course, she had the added stress of going through all her belongings and pack for the honeymoon, and the move.
Here is our list of activities for each day the week of the wedding:
Monday- go through belongings with 3 categories- keep, give away, store at Mom and Dad’s. We also had a prep party for finishing all the wedding and reception details- programs, hotel welcome bags, escort cards, lists for helpers the day of and for the caterer. Many thanks to my friends Darlene and Sheila for helping out. It gave us focus and purpose, not to mention a few extra pairs of hands. This was also the day we tested out the signature drink, the French Martini.
The French Martini- Vodka, Rasberry Liqueur and Pineapple Juice. Yum!
Tuesday- Meet with caterer and finalize tables, rentals and liquor order. Finish de-clutter of house as much as possible. Keep working on the wedding afghan.
Wednesday- Final dress fitting/pick up. Lunch at Olive Garden, then the bride’s time to visit with a friend. They won’t be seeing nearly as much of each other after the wedding cuz of Melissa’s move to VA. We all have some adjusting to do on that part! Melissa’s sister came down from Boston in the evening.
Thursday- Last major house cleaning, prep for arrival of groom and his best man, and brother-in-law. My husband took Thur, Fri and Monday off from work to help out and relax (Is it possible to do both?) The guests weren’t arriving till very late (11pm or later), so it gave us the day to grocery shop and settle in. My husband and I had lunch with Christine and Melissa at Ruby Tuesdays. Relax before the storm. Later, the ladies got a chance to go get our nails done. Mani/Pedi is a prerequisite for all mother/daughter teams! I highly recommend a gel manicure for an event like a wedding. It lasts 2-3 weeks.
Christine and Melissa getting a pedicure. A great sister or mother/daughter bonding activity.
Friday morning- Everyone had different assignments. Melissa stayed home and played hostess with her dad. I had to drop the dog to the boarder, then pick up one of the groomsmen at the airport. I got a chance to meet him before my daughter! James is in the Air Force and lives in CA. Once we got home and had lunch it was time to take 4 of the 6 guys to pick up tuxes.
James, Billy, Chris (the groom) and Ben. Tuxes are a go.
On the way home from Men’s Warehouse, we drove by the florist who was doing the wedding. It’s a good thing I took that route because I had to pick up the cake-topper and bring it to the baker. I almost forgot! We saved $20 in delivery charges, but if I had forgotten, I don’t think it would have been worth it! A quick stop and we had what we needed.
Friday eve was the rehearsal and dinner. We made our home the meeting point all afternoon so people didn’t have to deal with I-95 during rush hour. As 5pm approached we had at least 20 people at our house-bride and grooms family, wedding party, and participants in the ceremony. There was a slight mix-up of times for rehearsal at the church, the priest got there at 5:30 and we were all in a panic, thinking it was starting at 5pm. I guess the rehearsal was one thing I didn’t pay attention to. I never talked with the priest to confirm, as I did with everyone else. One bridesmaid was late due to traffic but other than that, it went smoothly.
The rehearsal dinner was great. Again some confusion as to seating- nothing had been decided ahead of time. We didn’t know what position the tables would be in and it turned out to be 4 tables of 8 or 6 chairs. With so few tables and such particular groupings of family and friends, it required assigning who would sit at what table, which we weren’t ready for. But it all worked out in the end. (Another thing I would do differently would be to have directions ready for everyone at the rehearsal to get to the dinner and from the dinner to the hotel. Thanks goodness for GPS systems.)
It’s funny how we micromanaged every moment of the reception, but hadn’t really given a lot of thought to the rehearsal dinner. We all wanted to just enjoy the evening and get to know each other a bit more and that was accomplished. After the dinner we all went to the hotel and met up with the rest of the out of town guests. Now all that’s left is to have the wedding!
Molly, Laura, Melissa and Kelly. A reunion with college friends/roomates. "We can't believe Melissa is getting MARRIED!"
The bride's Godfather Saher and Grandpa Leggett, two lawyers who love their Melissa.
Chris and Melissa, just 18 hours to "I do."
Countdown- Surprise trip to Craft Central- 9 days to go…
September 2, 2010
[I started this blog on Aug 19th, finished it 3 days after the wedding!]
Knowing that there was only one night left for my daughters to finish all the assorted projects for the reception, I made a surprise drive to “Craft Central” in Walpole, MA (AKA Christine’s house, a 150 mile drive away). I let my older daughter know I was coming but surprised the bride-to-be with an extra pair of hands! (My dog was not thrilled being left alone till hubby got home, BUT it was all worth it.)
Celtie tried to stow away for the ride but was easily discovered in her "hiding place."
After a quick update of the works in progress, I jumped in and wrapped boxes for centerpieces:
Melissa is holding one of the party favors, which are part of the centerpiece.
Dance Cards for the women, Olives for the men. Resting in a martini glass as an invitation to go to the bar for a signature drink. My older daughter Christine designed all the details.
Melissa and I also went shopping at Costco to buy items for the hotel welcome bags. We got there just before closing so it was a quick trip to the snacks, candy and water aisles.
All in all, it was a very fruitful visit. My daughters and I are a team, and we don’t want any one person to have to do the brunt of the work.
Still left to do: Assemble all the women’s escort cards, fill the hotel goody bags and put bows on the programs. I have 2 friends coming over on Monday to help us out.
Countdown- 10 days to go from the bride’s perspective
August 19, 2010
Melissa is busy working on stuff so I am writing the post for her. On her agenda:
Go to Staples and order
- copies of the ceremony program (Grandma drew a beautiful cover for it.)
- Welcome sign with illustration of Melissa and Chris in front of a Newport Mansion
- “Map” of the table layout at the reception (Melissa’s sister Christine found a cool old illustration of Newport, Rhode Island to act as the backdrop of the table design.)
Each table is named after a Newport landmark.
Still to do:
- Table Identifiers
- Escort Cards
The list is getting shorter but the days are running out! Melissa is leaving her job on Friday and moving to our house till the wedding. That means no more time to hang out with her sister/Maid of Honor to get all the rest of the designs finished.
One other issue that has been going on is finding out when a few of the groomsmen and their guests are getting to CT (from VA and CA). They need rides to our house before the rehearsal so we need to know when and where they are arriving. Melissa is asking the groom and the groom is asking the guys, but things are still up in the air. We’ll be very happy when this is all settled!
If you are dealing with a lot of people and trying to get a message heard, may I suggest that you use a conference call. There are several websites where you can get a free conference line and then you can arrange a time for everyone to talk things over; what are your expectations, what is the timeline for the whole weekend, etc. I like to facilitate group conference calls where the wedding party can create a fun team spirit and get psyched for the big day. Now if only I had spoken up a little louder with my own daughter!
Countdown- 10 Days to go and one big to-do is done!
August 18, 2010
I am soon to be the mother of the bride. I have seen two of my children get married in the last 3 years. This is now our third child’s wedding, but this is the first that will take place in my area. My husband and I are hosting lots of activity the week of the wedding, including the groom and his friends for one night a few days before the wedding as they arrive from Virginia. We also have the whole rehearsal crowd coming here before going to the church next Friday. But the activity that had me the most worried was photos the morning of the wedding. My daughter will be getting ready in my room because it is very spacious.
I am a not the neatest person in the world. (No snickers from those who know me!) I have improved over the years but I still have my issues: I get attached to things, I save too much, I don’t take the time to set up a system or put things away or file for that matter. Then after things pile up, I get frustrated and try to tackle it.
For the last 15 months it has been my goal to clean up my bedroom. I moved here 4 years ago and still hadn’t put everything away. I have a large desk and bookcases, but I don’t like to work there. I was almost done putting things away last summer but I stopped short of completion, leaving all the hardest stuff to deal with. What was left was the 3 boxes of papers that needed sorting, thinning out, or filing. A year later it was all still there along with new clutter. The desk had a layer of old bills and notes about this and that. My dresser had piles of winter socks and assorted small items. My side of the bathroom vanity was piled high with makeup, hair products and jewelry.
This year I’ve been motivated by the fact that my daughter is getting married and the photographer will be taking pictures upstairs- Melissa getting ready, Melissa and her bridal party, Melissa and her proud mom, whatever!
So yesterday, after talking with MY life coach (yes I have a coach too) about why I’ve been resisting the final push, I set up a schedule and did it! I stayed focused on the task. I resisted my computer, the phone, the to-do list, the refrigerator and my dog. Now the taxes are all filed, the papers are put away, and donations are in a bag heading to Goodwill. I even tackled the master bath. Toiletries are thinned out and shelved, and the jewelry is organized.
I am a life coach. With that comes the responsibility of doing the things I encourage my clients to do- like de-clutter or get my house in order. Now I can say “I did it, so can you!” I am quite proud of myself. When I woke up this morning, I no longer had to look at a messy desk or bookshelf, cluttered corners or a messy bathroom. I could open my eyes and enjoy what I was seeing! The wedding is 10 days away and I am ready. Woo Hoo!
I have a new appreciation for destination weddings. Keep all this in mind when you schedule your wedding at home. It’s more than just preparing for the wedding, it’s getting your whole house in order. And if someone else is hosting the gathering, I beg you to have a special appreciation for what they are going through.
More about my daughter’s schedule in the next post…
Gone are the piles and the dust! Now we're ready for one of those contemplative photos of the bride looking in the mirror
De-cluttered and ready for the "bride getting ready" photos.