CK Musings: The Mother Of The Bride Dress Saga
Yep... It’s true, I am a “MOTHER OF THE BRIDE!” Wow... how did this happen? I mean, clearly, I knew it would happen sooner than later... It’s just so interesting all the things that come with this role.
True story, when I was on a Zoom call with a customer of mine who has now become a friend, she was sharing that she had just gotten her shingles vaccine. My smarty retort was ‘how old did that make you feel?’ Her super quick retort back to me was... almost as old as being the MOTHER OF THE BRIDE! LOL... we both got a good chuckle out of that one!
Those of us who have daughters, know that there is a high likelihood that we will one day become the MOTHER OF THE BRIDE! Some of us are more eager for this role than others and I have to admit, I had not really given it much thought... until now!
Overall, it has been a mostly pleasant experience as Audrey, OUR bride, is hyper-organized and has things pretty under control... (until she doesn’t, which has really only been a handful of times, at which point I take a deep breath, listen and encourage. Remind you of those teenage years?). No really, she (and Blake, my soon-to-be SIL) have been stellar in their attention to detail and organization.
I have friends who are surprised that I have not been more preoccupied with the upcoming nuptials. But you see, through the years, George and I have entertained A LOT!! We kind of have a “party” house. Throwing a great party is like taking a shower for us. It’s just something that you do. Since the wedding is in our backyard, I am super stoked that it is going to be a catered affair. Tent. Food. Music. Dancing. Piece of cake... I’ve got this nailed. All I have to do is get dressed and show up, right!?
Oh dang, that’s right, I gotta get dressed. Dammit. I knew it was too good to be true! We all know MOBs who obsess over what they are going to wear (I have even witnessed a few try to upstage the bride!) I was never going to be THAT mom. After all, it is AUDREY’S day, not mine! You see, I am fairly confident that I usually look pretty good. Plus, I have a wonderful working relationship with the very best local boutique in Sun Valley, Panache. I was confident that “the girls” there would find something for me. Well, let me tell you... it just ain’t that easy! There are a LOT of ugly dresses out there. I have scrolled and scoured the internet passing up busy prints, slinky, sexy, one shoulder, off the shoulder, you name it inappropriate dresses out there. (I am still not sure who the heck is buying these things, but they probably shouldn’t be?!)
Let me share my MOB dress saga. (Gonna wrap it up quickly cause I’m exhausted and you probably are too!) Since last October I have had “the girls” on the lookout for the perfect MOB attire... Finally, in February, I decided it was time to get serious and bite the bullet. So, I strolled in without a care in the world, after all, I was confident. Right!? I perused the store, “eh”, “mmmm”, “maybe”, “uhhh”... “OH YEAH”. I like that. Let’s give it a try... DAMNIT! They have a size petite and a size small, and I need a medium! Oh well, let’s just try the small to see if it is worth pursuing. I step into the large and fancy dressing room. I squeeze into the small and feel like it is totally “my look!” I can see myself dancing the night away, celebrating Audrey’s new life (and ours), and feeling happy and carefree and great. Because Panache, will be able special order the dress in my size, I am able to overlook the fact that the dress is one size too small and visualize myself welcoming our friends, family and most importantly, Blake into our lives! Tah Dah... I knew I wasn’t gonna be “that mom!” I’ve got this!
Because we live in a small town, I was able to bring the dress home for a trial run to show George. I was so dang excited (and confident) to show him how great I was going to look that I eagerly suggested I try on my “MOB” dress for him that night (big mistake, ladies.) AFTER dinner (another big mistake) I decided that now was the time. Looking back at it now, I cannot believe how naive (stupid!) I was... I excitedly stripped down and donned my dress. I pranced in front of him fully expecting a nice “rrrrrroar”, but instead I got a “hmmm... okay... hmmmm... turn sideways... hmmmm...okay) WTF!! George is the number one member of my fan club. I can count on one hand how many times he has shut me down on my appearances or what I am wearing! OMG. I am not proud to admit it, but this caused some serious drama for me. Where do I go from here? ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? I resorted to scrolling the internet, again! This resulted in a few stressful weeks. In just about every conversation George and I had, I would end it with “...and what am I going to wear for the wedding?” It became the family catchphrase... "Ok... that’s all good, but... what am I going to wear to the wedding!?” (Oh how quickly I was able to make it all about me!)
Let’s fast forward... nothing worth a damn was presenting itself so I ran back into Panache. Took another look around and came back to the dress. The correct size (med) had shown up and Lee, my favorite sales gal, asked why I was messing around with the wrong size... I tried on the medium, which hung properly making me feel great. She quickly packed me up and I was on my way. That evening, I made sure the timing was better. I suggested another go of it. George was actually excited (timing, Ladies!) so I went into my closet, jumped, shimmied, and danced myself into my old Spanx, pulled my heels off the top shelf, cinched up that wrap dress, and proudly strutted out to the living room where G did a double-take and an “oh wow... you look great! Love it!” That’s the reaction I am used to! BAM! Bada bing. Bada bang. Done deal.
There are a couple of morals to this story:
- Marry a dude who really digs you!
- It’s not ALL about you, but you still gotta feel good about yourself
- When modeling for your dude for a big event, get your shit together and put it ALL together properly. Don’t half-ass it after a big dinner!
- Celebrate, cause life is good!
So... on July 10, I’m going to joyfully send my daughter off into her next chapter. I am going to celebrate her new life and pray confidently that she will have wonderful memories and a great life with Blake, her new husband and our new son!
Cheers to all us MOBs and keeping our act together. After all, it’s not about me (you!).