Someday your Prince will come

What a historic day to begin our wedding planning adventure. Every bride and mother of the bride in the world has been watching the Royal Couple and their fairytale wedding. I watched Her Royal Highness' mother today, as I watched the coverage. What must have been going through her mind? Probably, the same things going through my mind. True, my future son in law is not the future King of England, but he is my daughter's Prince!

The moment that the entire world (especially the female sector) was waiting for was the moment Kate emerged and her wedding gown was revealed. Why was the world so concerned with what she would wear? The dress sets the tone, theme, and feel of the wedding. The very first thing we did, related to wedding planning, was to shop for a dress. That is actually the only thing we accomplished within the first three months of the engagement! Actually, we were just going to drop in at David's Bridal in Tallahassee and look around. She had seen some gowns in magazines she wanted to see in person so we slipped into the store. Well, we were in the neighborhood!

What was to be a 15 minute drop in, became a 2 hour dress-up session! The style of dress I would never have thought she would even look twice at was the one she fell in love with. Trying on 3 or 4, everyone in the store agreed the one she tried on first was made for her. I was not prepared for the overwhelming feeling when she tried on that dress....even in barefeet, the vision of her in that dress brought me to tears. When the wonderful attendant (I can't remember her name, but she was WONDERFUL) put a veil on her and a hairpiece, my heart was aching. I was glad Daddy was not there. He would not have been able to handle it.

Dress and all the necessary undergarments were purchased with an expected arrival date of mid-February. Surprise....the dress and undergarments came in a couple of weeks later. The hairpiece and veil took another few weeks. But, a constant reminder of the impending change in our family hangs on the back of the door in our guest room. Every time I walk in the room I pause for a few minutes and think of all the "let's play pretend, Mama" moments and the times I would find her in my shoes or gowns, with my makeup carefully smeared about her face. I am glad I didn't scold her those times. That would tarnish the precious memories I have when I peek at that white mass of lace and jewels. I remember when she was about 8 and she wanted a tiara...not a dollar store tiara. A real tiara. I wouldn't buy one. One day, while in a formal wear store shopping for my dress for some special occasion, she wandered around and found a tiara. It was $60. I would not buy it. She took out her money and convinced the store manager to let her put it on lay-away. She paid about $10 down and faithfully visited that store with her allowance every trip to Tallahassee. I think I finally paid about the last $20, but she proved a couple of things to me: she knew what she wanted and how to get it, and she was determined to be a princess no matter the cost! LOL

Kate was a beautiful bride and her dress was gorgeous, but Brandon's princess will be far more beautiful than William's. The crown jewels cost a lot more than that $60 tiara and her dress will cost less than Kate's undergarments, I would imagine, but the vision of my little girl as a grown-up bride will be priceless. She has her prince and she will live happily ever after!

Here we come...

Thirty one years, one month, and twelve days ago, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. That head full of hair that we could put in pigtails from the start, that sweet little mouth, that pretty rosy skin...the minute I touched her I knew my life would never be the same. She snatched my heart right out of my chest!

We watched her first smile, her first laugh, that first step. Then came the first day of school and first time away from home. Next it was the first time she drove the car. And then.....that first date. When she walked out the door, it was just like the day she was born...I knew my life would never be the same.

Of course there was that first courtship, and then the one that seemed to be serious. But, when she brought THE ONE home, there was no doubt in our minds he was THE ONE. I don't know if he could see it in her eyes, but we sure could. I knew my life would never, ever be the same.

As happens on occasion, Mama was right. He is THE ONE. A year after she changed her Facebook status to "in a relationship", he proposed. So, here we are. That point in the life of every daughter's mother that is anticipated, hoped for, and dreaded. Planning a wedding.

Six months from tomorrow, on October 29, we will be giving our daughter to a wonderful young man. I knew him before she did. In fact, I guess you could say I introduced them. Yes, I will take credit for that! LOL I say we will be giving her away, but he already has her heart: lock, stock, and barrel. And that is as it should be.

The engagement came on October 1 which would give us over a year to plan, right? Not. Life just kept getting in the way and we have really just started to have a chance to seriously get down to wedding planning. So many hurdles have been there to jump, but there have been no broken bones yet...not even a sprain! Hopefully, we can get through the next six months and still be able to say that.

Our daughter, Monkey (as I called her until she was old enough to ask me not to) aka Baby Girl (as Daddy still calls her), lives 6 hours away from us. The wedding will be here in our hometown. Long distance planning is really hard, but somehow we will make it work. Did I mention she has a really annoying work schedule and seldom gets to come home, either? And with gas nearing $4 a gallon, my idea of trotting up to her house every couple of weeks has been put on the back burner. Fittings and decision-making will be hard, but we will make it work.

I have several reasons for starting this diary. First, because Monkey and I are having to rely on text messages and email to make decisions on things for the wedding, I want to share with her the things I take care of here. I want her to be able to read at her leisure, not on the spur of the moment, what goes on during the planning. Second, some friends (who only have sons and will never have the opportunity to be a Mother Of the Bride) expressed envy and wish they would be able to be a part of planning a wedding. This is my way of letting them be a part of the planning without the headaches! LOL Finally, I hope to share the things we are looking for, how we found them, what we did with them, and what worked for us. Because it is so hard to find those things you need (or don't even know it's out there) especially when you work full time and don't have time to go out on a hunting expedition for what you need, every town needs to have a centralized spot for wedding planning. I hope to make it a little easier for the next MOB who comes behind me!

Join me on this adventure. I hope to post a little every day. That may not happen, but I will share as each thing is checked off our To-Do List. Today I just wanted to introduce myself and my reason for this diary. I hope you will share with me any experience or knowledge you have. 184 days and counting.....