I am currently on the W coast of FL. Pretty calm here but this storm is huge. They are expecting rain and the island roads flood a the drop of a hat. They got a text from friends who are currently on a cruise, and the cruise was extended for 3 days at no charge due to the rerouting to avoid the storm. Tough life.
As for the FMIL/DIL wedding dress issues, I agree its absolutely the bride’s choice to wear whatever she chooses. The FMIL should let her daughter wear whatever she wants.
D and SIL are in Cozumel through tomorrow. Supposed to be back to Port Canaveral Wednesday, with rescheduled flights back to Michigan late afternoon. Hope it all works. She let her professors know last Friday that she would miss the first 2 days of classes/clinics.
My DIL had planned to change into a dancing dress but decided to leave her wedding gown on. She did change her shoes into something more comfortable. My D left her gown on the entire time. Both weddings took place at a venue that included lodging so no need to change into “traveling” clothes. I still have my departing reception dress. I loved the dress. Wedding gown was also worn by my sister in law. My MIL had it cleaned and it has been stored at her house. Last Thanksgiving my niece opened my dress and another wedding gown. Both dresses were still in good shape, no yellowing. The boxes on the other hand were falling apart.
@greenbutton I apologize if you’ve already mentioned this. Has the Mom of the bride always been difficult for her D to deal with?
I sent my D’s dress to be cleaned with an online company. They offer insurance if it is lost. My D plans on selling her dress so part of me wouldn’t have minded it going missing. It would have given us part of the money back without the hassle of selling it.
Have the FDIL bring the 2nd outfit to the reception (unless it is truly terrible and then bring another) and decide at the last minute. In all the excitement the MOB will not even notice.
I personally don’t get changing to a 2nd party dress, not after all the emotions invested in choosing the right gown. Not to mention, the gown expense. But I totally agree this is the bride’s choice. It’s her wedding.
I also wouldn’t have the dress cleaned by just any service that can handle the material and decorations. A big point is how it’s wrapped and I’d want someone with expertise in that.
I have the dress my mother would have worn for her wedding, if she hadn’t eloped. All yellowed and the lace so fragile. Never boxed.
Btw, turns out D1 will have the dress appt in late Oct, not Sept.
I’m back from our D’s Saturday wedding. Overall it was wonderful. You have images in your mind about how everything will play out, and of course, many things are different.
The farm venue was even better than I remembered, with many improvements over the last year and a half. Weather was much cooler than normal, so no one used the fans, with the wedding program printed on them, other than just to read. I ended up going to Charming Charlies clearance the day before and buying wraps/heavier scarves for $1/each. They were used that night. “To Have and To Hold in Case You Get Cold.”
H’s brother’s 9 year old was one of the 2 flower girls. On the morning of the wedding, he texted saying he was sick and his wife was driving him home (3 hours away) and asked that someone pick up his daughter. She ended up walking down the aisle without her parents being there. Mother did show up shortly after dinner started. They have always been unreliable, so why would being a wedding change that!??
The florist did a great job on bouquets and the reception tables, but the wedding arch was nothing like I expected. She covered the complete arch with greenery, with only about 20% of the arch having flowers. The food was good, not great, as I’d sampled at the tasting. I had to tell the servers to refill water glasses. There were at least 12 guests that didn’t show up, so we asked the caterer to box the dinners and took them home with us. The wedding cake was the best cake I’d ever had. We ran out of Riesling wine before dinner and son discovered it before wedding coordinator, so he left to get more. Wedding coordinator did have to leave to go pick up donuts for the donut wall, as they were never delivered. We were to get a shuttle bus for guests, as part of the hotel package. They actually sent a full size motor coach. I was terribly embarrassed. We had only booked 15 rooms and only 6 people used the bus. It was so large that it actually backed into a light pole at the venue, as the turnaround space wasn’t very large.
D’s biggest disappointment was the minister couldn’t make rehearsal the night before. Minister suggested having it at 2pm before the 5pm wedding. They decided on 1pm and it worked fine. It was my mother’s pastor and I thought she did a great job with the ceremony.
I am glad it is over.
The night after our D’s wedding, our best friends’ D got married. Her two biggest snafus were with her wedding dress alterations and bartenders. She had lost 15 pounds, so the dress had to be taken in and apparently the first alterations lady didn’t do a good job. She had to find someone else to correct it. She planned on cash bar, but when the bartenders showed up, they said they weren’t prepared for it. H and I only had 1 drink each. I got bit by mosquitoes and couldn’t find any repellent, so we left earlier than we’d planned. Our venue sprayed for them, plus we had a slight breeze which may have worked in our favor.
The support and encouragement on this thread is incredible. Such a testament to the value and desire to keeping this “cafe” up and running. <3
@toledo sounds like you experienced -and survived! - a good bit with your D’s wedding! You have stories to tell. 
Most of all I hope that your D and her new H had a wonderful night - they are married and that was the intended end result - and some really great cake - now that’s a win!!
“On the morning of the wedding, he texted saying he was sick and his wife was driving him home (3 hours away) and asked that someone pick up his daughter.”
Why didn’t he just stay at the hotel? Glad the 9 year old rose to the occasion. Good for her!
@doschicos They were staying with her mother, who is undergoing chemo and didn’t want to risk getting her sick… To be honest, I’ve heard every excuse in the book from him over the years. The real excuse is drugs. If I really believed him, I would have gladly paid for a hotel room for him. We bought the flower girl dress and her shoes, but wouldn’t give them to her until she got to the wedding. This was really about giving my poor niece the chance to do something fun. She ended up on the dance floor all night. She was adorable.
@toledo- Sounds like a good time, with the requisite surprises. Glad that your niece was able to participate and how thoughtful to help her have her moment.
So much goes on in the run-up to a wedding; totally agree that by the time it is happening, you are ready to be having the event as opposed to working on it. Just occurred to me that pregnancy is usually much shorter than the time spent planning. Put your feet up- that was quite a weekend with back to back weddings.
D and SIL are still cruising, now south of Cuba. They have been delayed to Thursday. She says 11 days is way too much and they are ready to be done. She has been in contact with her dental school and they have been extremely accommodating with her clinic hours and patients.
One part turning out well is that I told her to get her air travel and port transfers through the cruise line since their connections would be tight after the wedding. More expensive, but worth it if they ran into trouble. Well, the hurricane happened and they are not stressing about Delta. Royal Caribbean already rebooked their air for Wednesday, but Canaveral is closed tomorrow, so they will rebook them for Thursday once they are sure they will dock. No extra charges for changes and RC will get them home. Customer service at its best.
I bet the staff on the cruise ships are ready to get off, too! There must be a lot of logistics to bringing on more food/drinks, etc.
Well…they will have quite the honeymoon story to remember. I’m sure RCCL is treating these passengers very well!!
They spent 2 days at Cozumel and replenished supplies. Most onboard services are now 1/2 price so they are taking advantage of some things they didn’t budget for.
And yes, it will be a story for the future…
I know of someone who is supposed to be getting married this Friday… on a barrier island off the coast of Savannah! The Savannah and Jacksonville airports are either closed or closing tomorrow, and the highways have been to contraflow, with all lanes heading westbound, so no one can get there. I feel so badly for them. The first out of town relatives were scheduled to arrive tomorrow. And her parents and grandparents just moved to this island. Now all have to evacuate. Can you imagine?
Port Canaveral is open and D/SIL will disembark tomorrow morning. She is “ready to be off this boat”. Flights reset by RC (no additional charge), and they should be back in Michigan tomorrow night.
@dentmom, I’m glad they are finally returning. Your D and SIL Definitely had a memorable honeymoon. I have a feeling she won’t choose to go on another cruise for a while.
Congrats on your D’s wedding @toledo. It sounds lovely despite the snafus. I would rather have cool weather than really hot weather anytime. Those wraps were a good idea.
My D got married last Sunday at a beautiful harbor front hotel. She and her husband glowed with happiness all night and all of our guests seemed to have a great time, although a few of my friends complained that the band was too loud.
We were all very happy about how well the courtyard ceremony went. A few months ago, my D and her husband decided to switch officiants from a cantor to her husband’s sister. They designed their own ceremony with some religious elements. The sister was a warm officiant and my BIL did a great job performing the hardest Hebrew prayers. They wrote their own beautiful vows and ended up with a very personal ceremony that was just what they wanted. I think this is a great trend for couples who don’t feel close to a clergy member.
I’m happy things went so well and she is happily married, but feel a little let down now that it’s over. We had fun planning the wedding and sharing lots of time with our D and her now Husband ( I need to get used to saying that).
I wonder what the %'s are these days of first marriages taking place in a church. Just a curiosity out of this thread and the young adults/religion thread.
Only one of three of mine are married so far. My S did get married in a church. (his wife’s church which he now embraces - when they go to church. )
Two daughters are left. I don’t think either one would necessarily choose a church setting for a wedding. Certainly not the church here at home they grew up with. I’m ok with that - but admit that I do like a wedding in a church. Not a deal breaker for me though!
Just seems that a fair amount of weddings these days happen in alternative venues outside of a church.
I don’t know about being married in a house of worship (the physical building) but my S1 was married in a Jewish ceremony by a Jewish chaplain and S2 will be married by our rabbi. Neither ceremony was/will be in a synagogue. I think that both couples wanted some of the traditions of the Jewish wedding ceremony and chose their officiants to reflect that. S1’s ceremony was more traditional than I would have predicted but with some very personal touches. S2 and FDIL are meeting with our rabbi this Sunday so we’ll see abut their ceremony. In my experience, more of the Christian weddings I’ve attended have been in a church than Jewish weddings in a synagogue.