I am happy that our wedding-planning days are far behind us. I always thought I would like planning a wedding. I liked attending them after all. Planning it was a nightmare. Unfortunately, I think part of the horror was all of the so-called "help" I received. Most of it consisted of a list of "must-do's" that I didn't particularly agree with and that entailed hours of extra work on my part. I also expected that my husband (then fiance) would help more, and have more of an opinion. His most frequent response was "I haven't had time to think about it". I gather that many, many women have had the same problem--the guys just have never thought about planning a wedding and when they're forced to, they freeze like deer in the headlights of a stretch SUV.
We went to another wedding on Saturday, this time here in town with the kids in tow. It was a very family-friendly affair. The ceremony was at 10:30 in the morning, with a lunch reception starting at 1. There were lots of kids at the wedding, many ages 7ish and under, so my kids were in good company.
This was not Char's first wedding ceremony, and when getting dressed that morning, she asked to wear a white dress. She was unhappy with the 4 I produced from her closet, and then insisted that she needed a hat, like "the picture". Aha! She wanted a wedding gown and veil, like in our wedding photo from the family room. Sorry, kid, fresh out of veils. We'll discuss that again at first communion. We talked her into a lavendar dress instead.
Our kids are fairly well behaved in church, and Charlotte was looking forward to the party afterwards. She was fascinated with the whole scene, from the bride who dressed like a princess, to the cake, to the gift table. While the couple was dancing, the floor was surrounded by young girls watching enraptured as the day's Cinderella and Prince Charming floated by. The boys hovered also, squirming impatiently as they eyed the long stretch of romping room and weighed how much trouble they'd be in if they ran and slid on their bellies through the bride's skirts.
Trystan was enamored of the cake--during one of his pre-lunch strolls around the hall, he stopped, pointed and said "Needit!". He is too young to really compare to the older boys, although his favorite parts of the afternoon, besides shoving chocolate cake up his nose and down his shirt, was racing on all 4's underneath the nearest long-skirted table. I think he took the chairs to be tunnels, and the assortment of handbags to be the prize granted if he made it under before I caught him. It must be testosterone that makes boy children turn every activity into a physical contest.
Charlotte has been talking about weddings nonstop all weekend. I think she is finally convinced that she is not old enough yet, though she has assured me that she will turn 24 on her next birthday (August 24). She is currently debating her choice of groom. I have had to explain about Trystan's ineligibility. And Daddy's. The current contenders for her hand are two of the daycare boys, though she knows that she can only marry "one at a time". Surprisingly, her good friend and playmate Gavin has not made the cut, despite my suggestions that she plan to marry her best friend.
There was no garter toss this time, but you know that one of those 7-year-olds would have flown like MJ in order to win the prize, too young to suspect that the 3- and 4-year old girls already had their names and tux sizes filed away for later. I think that it would be in my best interest, as mother of the potential bride, to expound the virtues of all-inclusive-weddings-on-the-beach. And the sooner, the better.
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