Mother of the Bride

by Candy

It is Sunday, the day after. Surprise, I am in Nashville, but on my laptop to give a ‘mother of the bride’ update. What a wonderful time. My daughter, Katie was a beautiful bride and her new husband Jason is pretty fine also.

It has been a great week. I flew into Nashville on Wednesday. Wednesday night I joined my four best Tennessee friends for drinks and pizza. We had plenty of news (ok, some was gossip) to catch up on. I used to live in Tennessee and work at the GM/Saturn plant. Sharon, Jay, Emily and Mark were always my greatest friends at Saturn and continue to be very special. I am so grateful they made the time in their busy lives to hang out with me. We are already planning our next get together (yes, Patty, you heard that, another trip to TN!).

Thursday I spent shopping for wedding reception stuff. Thursday night the girl family members and Katie’s best friend Marlo joined me at my ‘home’ at the Residence Inn for a decoration-making party. After tying bunches of bows, we hot glued about 500 mini-circular pictures of Katie and Jason to the bottom of Hershey’s kisses. (They were a hit at the reception!)

Friday afternoon, the families got together at a favorite hang out in downtown Nashville – Piranhas. For many, this was the first meeting. Then we watched the wedding video from Katie and Jason’s Jamaica beach wedding. It was beautiful. Tears were rolling down my checks. I am almost thankful there was no formal wedding. I would have been a basket case.

And then the big day. Katie’s dad, step-mom, sisters, my mom and dad and my wonderful husband, Mike, joined me to decorate the reception hall. With mirrors, candles, fresh rose petals and much more we transformed a regular room into a room fit for a princess—my princess Katie and her prince Jason. We waited outside while the guests watched the wedding video and then we made our grand entrance. A barbecue dinner buffet was followed by all the usual reception stuff—toasts, the first dance, bouquet toss, garter toss and of course, cake. The cake was made by a friend of mine and was delicious – one layer – white; one layer – strawberry; and one layer (my personal favorite), Bailey’s Irish Cream.

We all did the electric slide, the chicken dance, the hokey pokey, etc. etc. Then the music changed into more of the nightclub scene music and I joined the kids dancing to all their favorites. Then the kids headed out (with designated drivers) to continue the party in downtown Nashville. Mike and I packed up the presents and headed back to the hotel. Today, we will head over to a quiet afternoon with Katie and Jason opening wedding presents.

And then, we’ll be flying back to Raleigh and return to work on Tuesday. Yes, I miss you guys and look forward to getting back to a normal life (if you can call life at MMI normal). I guess I will keep three special memories forever.

1. My daughter, Katie – a beautiful bride; a wonderful person; and a gracious hostess.

2. My terrific husband, Mike – who never complained signing checks whenever Katie or I asked; who was the ever-present box lifter, table setter, and errand runner; and my best friend who puts up with me.

3. Jason, my new son – Towards the end of the evening, I quit being a ‘wedding planner’ and became an emotional mom. Jason immediately saw my tears and rushed over; gave me a big hug and asked me not to worry, he will take care of my daughter and never let anything happen to her. I am lucky to have such a strong, sensitive and caring son-in-law.

By the way, Nicole, will be so proud of me. I was the queen of SoCo Lime—the trendy shot of Southern Comfort with a dash of lime juice. I did my share with the kids!

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