Wedding Again, Mother of the Groom, continued....

So now we get to the centerpieces....

Quite awhile ago, my son, his fiancee, her Mom and I went to one of those huge wedding fairs where you get to taste cakes, see photographer ideas, floral ideas, etc. And of course, sign up for things that eventually mean a lot of junk mail...er, possible prizes.

At one of the floral exhibits, we saw an arrangement that had three different sized plain glass vases, with pearl kinds of stones, a rose, water, and a floating candle. Our bride to be liked it, and I thought... hmmm, a nice gift for some of those in the wedding...

(And I also had liked it, so thought it would be pretty). Told her that I would pay for the centerpieces, in addition to the other money I had already committed to.

But also told her that we had to wait til TAXES came back. They did.

So, I gave them the promised money, which we promptly put on the photographer, and then we went shopping.

Katie has changed her ideas a little, so now we needed to find a minimum of 66 votive candle holders (matching), that were not TOO expensive. I suggested she get 6 dozen, in case some break in transit. We found the votive candles... but the Dollar Store had NO way to order the holders that she had liked, and all of the stores in the State of Wisconsin did not have even the 66! (And who wants to drive to all those places????)

So we hit Ben Franklin store, and found a much more simple holder.

They had 21 in the store (only needed another 51.... ) and the woman who helped us was VERY nice. She went to check with the manager, who said yes, he would order the 51, and yes, they would be in by April....and yes, we could pay for them all today.

That way, when they call in four to six weeks to say that they are IN... Katie or Kev or both can just take the receipt and go to pick them up (and I don't have to get more money to them ...or go along... grin).

But, the CHECK-out woman was simply overwhelmed by this...first, that we had so many glass pieces to wrap in bubble wrap, and second, she could not figure out how to ring up something that we were not taking with us...

She was so shook about it that she could not even write on the receipt a simple "We owe 51 votive candle holders to... our name". (And she circled the wrong part of the receipt, etc etc etc... shaking, misspelling, etc. Poor woman....

I wanted them to KNOW that these were going to be picked up if they ordered them, as well as not wanting to make another trip there to get them. I figured OUR committment of paying for them would make THEIR committment of ordering them much more definite.

We left there, and went to Marshall Fields where Katie and her Mom had previously found shoes that were PERFECT, and that matched her dress PERFECTLY... but she had also had to wait for tax return before getting them.

They went in, picked them up, and returned to the car.

She was giddy with excitement, wanting to show me immediately.

My son? HE was sort of in shock that he had just paid (he knows to the penny, I can't remember exactly...) nearly fifty bucks on a pair of shoes ...that you wear one day.... (!!!!)

****Note to my son... this is NOT too much for a pair of dress shoes for a woman at all... in fact, dress shoes for a GUY can cost that much, also... and so can many 'tennies' or whatever they are called today... Nikes, etc....Not everyone gets shoes at tent sales or Walmart or...


So we took our 21 glass votive holders, and the 96 votive candles (got 96 of them, just in case some burn really fast...) her shoes, (and Kevin's wedding ring!) and dropped them off at her Mom's home. I got to meet her Dad, and one of her brothers. Even got to take home a bowl of her Mom's bean soup.... grin.

And then, to end the evening, I took them out to eat.

When I suggested this, I wanted a MEAL, a good steak or something. (One does not get a chance to go to some of these places a lot when alone, ya know???) So I asked them where to? ... PERKINS...... (they both worked there when they met....)

I guess I did not look too excited...

We ended up going to a great steak place where you cook your own. Kev did a good job making the steaks, and it was a good finish for the day. Kate was tired, I was exhausted, and Kev got to take both of us home....

Now, we have to find 22 mirror trays (12x12") and 22 sets of the vases. We found the stones to put in them, but Katie has decided that she wants Gerber Daisies, not roses, and not IN the water with a floating candle... should be pretty if we can find those two parts yet, in sufficient numbers. The Gerber Daisies... well, this is Katie's and Kevin's Wedding, ya know?

And so far, they are really doing a good job planning it. Her Mom is having a lot of fun...her Dad just says ... tell me what to do, and I'll be there.

They claim he will be "the puddle at the end of the aisle" on Wedding Day, though HE denies it....

Yeah, righhhhht....

I think I will also be buying extra Kleenex for his side of Church...



God bless!


Update June 27, 2006 The Wedding


Related Tags: Wedding, Catholic, Wedding Songs, Mother of Groom, Dance, Wedding Reception, Wedding, Centerpieces