Juggling Life

Facing Down Fifty: Mother-of-the-Bride

It is always enjoyable (if you have an ounce of vanity, which I certainly do) to receive compliments about the way you look. That's especially true when one is standing on the precipice of a very-milestone birthday. Thanks to the magic of the internet, I got to hear lovely things from many people about my mother-of-the-bride look. As one can imagine, I did put some effort into my look for that day. I thought I would deconstruct the process and some of the products involved--I know I love a good beauty/fashion tip myself.

 

My stepsis, Teeny and I, shortly before the service.

The biggest decision for wedding attire is always the dress. This is not the dress I originally planned to wear, but I realized I wanted something that was going to be attractive and not matronly, but also not too young for me (and it had to fit which was an issue with dress #1). Luckily, I have a mother-in-law who is a wiz as a seamstress.

Wrap dresses are a curvy girl's best friend, so that was what I wanted. I know there are those that consider cleavage a little desperate in women of a certain age, but I realized a couple of years ago that my legs and my bust are my best assets figure-wise and when I dress up I choose to highlight them. Social Butterfly and I picked out a pattern and this great jersey fabric in moss-green that has an-almost lacy look (though the texture is actually from slits in the lined fabric). We sent the pattern, fabric and a dress that flattered me for fitting to Minnesota and eagerly awaited the results.

My MIL quickly decided the dress that would result from the pattern I chose was NOT the dress I wanted. I trust her fashion judgement and so when she volunteered to make a pattern from the dress I sent, I was thrilled. When I got the dress back, it fit well except it was too short--I realized too late the dress I sent for sizing was one I wore with tights and boots, so was shorter than I would feel comfortable in bare-legged. Luckily, she was able to create a ruffle and add it to the hem and the result was (I think) most excellent. I had the final tailoring done by the seamstress I normally use for alterations--and learned something I should have figured out a long time ago--I need to have the shoulders taken up on most dresses.

I added a brooch at the waistline,jewelry (bolder than I ever would have chosen when I was younger; delicate doesn't really work for me any longer) and some nude peep-toe pumps in a heel just low enough that I knew I wouldn't trip. 

I felt both pretty and comfortable in the dress--which may have been the reason I danced almost non-stop for about four hours! You can't ask for more than that.

I said in the opening that I love a good beauty tip and I am very grateful that when Colleen (of the now- defunct blog Yellow Dogs and Blue Skies) raved about Giorgio Armani Designer Lift foundation, I schlepped down to Neiman-Marcus and got a sample to try. Colleen was right that this foundation is amazing for middle-aged skin. It's pricey, but I am still on my first bottle and it's been 5 months--I use a good foundation brush and that makes a big difference.

My baby-fine, wisp-thin hair has always been the bane of my existence looks-wise, but I have recently found a product that has transformed my 'do. That product is texturing powder. After blow-drying my hair (and I'll be honest, before I blow-dry I use Thermasilk heat treatment, light Morrocan Argon oil, Garnier voluminizing mousse and Tigi root boost--it sounds more complicated than it is), I sprinkle Ulta Style and Finish on the roots at the top and crown of my head, give it a rub and then use the curling iron. For the first time in my life, my hair doesn't go flat within a couple of hours. I styled my hair about seven hours before the above photo was taken. 

Something I've done for a long time is to use Sally Hansen airbrush legs when I want a polished look because I am totally unwilling to wear hose. Not even for a funeral or a wedding. I decided a few years ago that life's just too short. I use it on my arms and decolletage as well--it evens out my skin tone nicely.

I did try one thing that I won't be bothering with again and that is lash extensions. I got a Groupon, so it was relatively inexpensive, but even as a bargain it wasn't for me. I wasn't aware that you can't wear mascara on them, so what I ended up with is eyelashes that looked I was wearing mascara even when I wasn't. That's not what I wanted--what I wanted was super-thick, lush looking eyelashes. Clearly, from my hair routine, putting on mascara is not so burdensome that I would pay not to have to do it for the same result. Plus, you have to be super careful about how you wash your face and about rubbing your eyes and I just don't have the time or energy to think that much about my eyelashes.

I truly enjoy the transformative ritual of applying make-up and doing my hair, so the search for just the right look was fun. I certainly enjoyed the festivities more knowing that I looked as good as possible. Also, I have reached the age where I am fully aware that, looks-wise, I need to appreciate what I have now--because though it's not what it used to be, it's "better" than it's going to be.

My wedding look was not cheap, but then again feeling fantastic for a big life event like this is priceless. I definitely consider it money (and time) well-spent.

 

 

The Wedding Post: Part Two (The Party Part)

Grownup Girl and Guy made sure they picked a day where people would be in the mood to celebrate (and geographically close enough) by setting their wedding date the same weekend as their pharmacy school graduation. They were both active in a professional fraternity and their proposal was at a Kappa Psi event. Graduating from a long program like doctor of pharmacy is not easy. For most of these young people, this is the culmination of close to two decades of school. In short, people came predisposed to party.

 

We were dressed for a party!

Early in the planning stages, Grownup Girl posted a someecard (which I cannot find) that said something like, "I'm having an Open Bar. Oh yeah, there's going to be a wedding, too." We are both work hard, play hard gals, so that sounded good to me. Which is not to say that the food and flowers were not also excellent--while I no longer eat meat, I am told the Prime Rib and Chicken Marsala were both incredible (and plentiful, as it was served family-style).

In an equation that turned out just as one would hope, Venue+Friends+Family+Things to Celebrate+Great Food+Plentiful Drink+Dancing=A P-A-R-T-Y!

Oh, and cake. There was cake:

 

Yes, The Pinup Girl made that. Costco cake was actually served to the guests because of food-handling rules, but I had a piece of this and it tasted as good as it looked.

There were so many people we love so much--including some we just met:

 

Grownup Guy's parents. His mom and I collaborated on a slideshow project. They are lovely people!

 

My friend, Barbara-Jill. She and her son drove 15 hours to be there. That story deserves its own post! (In my mind, friendships are rated on how close to being Lucy and Ethel we come. We come very close!)

My stepsis, Teeny. She flew from California and took a VERY expensive taxi ride to be there.

MVP and Mandy. I don't think I'm spilling any secrets to say we adore her. Oddly, she was surprised to find I had a blog! She knows now.

Julie and her husband in from North Carolina. GuG has some seriously talented long-time friends--she made jewelry for the bridal party. You'd think they all went to an Arts high school together or something. Oh, yeah.

A portion of the ol' cul-de-sac club. The one that only LOOKS like he could be my kid drove from New Jersey with his mom, my friend Barbara-Jill.

Cousins/GuG's half-brothers. My younger nephew and I declared a truce. He knows I would never give up on him 100%--I look forward to him pleasantly surprising me in the next couple of years. He can do it, that I know.

 

There was dancing!

 

Traditional father-daughter dance

Non-traditional first dance.

The traditional Having of a Very Good Time

Hey, people having this good a time don't always take the clearest photos!

I'm fairly sure the bridal party--especially the bride--had a fantastic time.

I fear that I will have to go out of the vocabulary range for my advanced age, but sometimes the kids know how to say it--the party was off the hook. It was all the fun and celebration that anyone could want and replete with warmed heart-cockles all around. Parties that might not traditionally find it easy to mingle, did so with grace. For the most part.

  There was such eating, drinking, dancing and general merriment that the party went a little late--until 1 a.m. I was dancing to the very end--even though MVP spoke some hard truth when he joked that we were painfully white people. There's another thing the kids say about situations like this--sometimes you DGAF. I'll get you started: Don't Give A . . . .(Suz warned you I have a potty mouth!).

One of the truly wonderful things about getting older is that you care more about how you feel than how you look. And I felt fantastic.

There's a reason Silver Lake Country Club is said to have the best bar/food/reception package in the Chicagoland area. They know how to throw a party and they won't shut one down prematurely. All of the out-of-town guests and many of the local guests stayed at the nearby Hilton and took advantage of the shuttles between wedding and hotel. It's a great way to go. 

As I type this, the newlyweds and their friend Jay are now firmly ensconced downstairs for the summer--everyone will get settled with their new jobs and studying for and taking the State Boards and THEN we'll start looking for housing. Once you have one kid home from school, you might as well have them all I say. 

Last night, we hit the first concert in our local open space park--a Rolling Stones cover band. I will say that if you give the twenty-somethings the drinks cooler to pack, you will not go thirsty! I just shake my head when I'm heading to bed and they're heading out for a pub crawl and a midnight trip to the beach. Ah, to be young! Or just to have the energy to be young!

My writing mojo is on simmer--my brain and body are directing me to watch every episode of Arrested Development post-haste. I'm almost done with Season 2. I have more stories from this trip that must be told though, so enough blog fodder for the foreseeable future. 

It was all pretty wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wedding Posts: Part One

I have very few formal-style photographs because I decided to leave them to the pros--and there were two of them. They had the regular photographer and a photojournalist. They didn't do a video, but decided to invest more in the photographers. A wise choice I think. 

You can tell from the photo above that this was very much a dream wedding--paid for, it should be noted, by the bride and groom. It was held the Sunday after their pharmacy school graduation to ensure that the friends and classmates they spilled blood, sweat and tears with over the last four years could be present. 

There were quite a few doctors in the house and they were all primed to celebrate.

The wedding day preparation started at 8 a.m. in a suite at the hotel the out-of-town (and a few in-town) guests were staying when the gals in the bridal party were treated to professionally-done hair and makeup. They were a Risky Business-sight to see as they were each wearing different-colored button-downs belonging to the groom. I have no doubt those will be some adorable photos. Before I have those to share, check out the back of Social Butterfly's hair--I will never have hair that can do this, so I am living vicariously through her.

The flowers were beyond gorgeous. This is an iPhone snap from the back of my Canon Rebel. No enhancement was done as clearly none was needed. 

The most fragrant bouquet in the history of wedding bouquets. My mother's watch was woven in the stems.

The weather was to-die for perfect. Not hot, not cold, enough overcast to be good for photography and just enough raindrops to make you know you were super-lucky that it didn't actually rain; the day before and the day after were both less-than-perfect weather-wise, so it felt very special.

My attempt at artsy-ness while not disrupting the pro. That's SB's bouquet in the foreground.

A little fun at the pre-wedding bridal lounge picnic.

The ceremony itself was a blast. A very good friend of theirs became ordained so she could do the ceremony. The bride and groom wrote their own vows--one of which was to take each other in good times and bad and through student-loan repayment. There were several very nerdy references (some I got, some I didn't) and their was a palpable sense of love and joy. Instead of a unity candle they added brightly-colored pills (think bright-orange ibuprofen) to a dish--they're going to have it sealed; I would post a pic, but it is residing (as are the bulk of their possessions) in a box.

Smiles all around and nobody saw any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony.

I hope you get a sense of how lovely the entire thing was--from venue to details to spirit. I have decided the reception deserves it's very own post, because as parties go, this one was off the hook!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Times, Indeed

 

I am about to hop in the shower as the party prep takes place downstairs. The young people are downstairs working right now. One very cool thing is that it appears that in this generation, real men do help with party prep (my husband always has, but he was the oldest of five and the second-in-command to a mother who [like the woman he married] has definite standards for housekeeping).

I will update this with pictures after the party. I'm very excited!

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The Pinup Girl was amazing. The theme of the party was "chemistry"--so perfect for a chem major/pharmacist. In addition to the cupcakes being the periodic table of the elements, she used GuG's textbooks and papers in the decor. My house has never looked this good. The food was simple, but delicious--mini quiches and caprese crostini and for drinks, Champagne with sparkling juices. The games were great fun and not too-showerish if you know what I mean.

It was great fun to see some girls I have not seen in years--they've all been out of high school for almost 10 years. Two of my mother's best friends were present. I can't tell you what that means to me.  

GuG with 3/5 of the bridal party--her half-sister, Social Butterfly and the Pinup Girl. Fun Fact: If you average her sister's and SB's height, that number will be a smidge over 5'll.

GuG's stepmother made the ballcap veil which went perfectly with the Br-I-De lab coat TPG designed--and thank goodness TPG put me out of my misery as I was wracking my brain trying to think of what element "De" could be; she had to take some poetic license on that one.

 

Of course there were presents. GuG's grandmother attached a gift card to a plate that belonged to her great-grandmother--cool idea, no?

This is my very favorite photo of the day. My eyes tear up every time I even think about it. It's been a long time in the making. 

Bear, Bugs, Me, OMomK, SB, GuG--together for the first time in three years. It feels good. Very good.

Ginger and Maryann aka Bear and Social Butterfly

This photo? Kind of takes my breath away. Oh, TWO, you are so missed.

So that was the party. After the party? The after-party, natch.

OMomK keeps a close eye on Mr. Fix-it's pour. This man deserves a medal for always being willing to make one more Chandon run. Seriously.

SB even changed into her New Year's Eve party dress. No idea who or what I am hailing so enthusiastically.

Yes, we did indeed raise the roof. Also? Shorty got low, low, low. I highly recommend Pandora's Kelis Milkshake station if you are in the mood to get jiggy with it. It is a testament to the power of caffeine, extra-strength Tylenol and a flexible arrival time (thank you, universe, for no students today) that I made it to work. As I said on Facebook, I was seriously channeling The Little Engine that Could.

As if all of this was not enough good news, Grownup Girl found out today that her school found a rotation for her in Chicago, so the master plan remains intact. Lest you think as you look at these photos, "She doesn't look in that much pain to me," that is, in fact, a Percocet smile on her lovely face. 

Thank you bloggy peeps for all the good juju you sent. I am convinced it makes a difference. To the readers (yes, plural) that emailed an offer of a place to stay and someone to look out for GuG if she did have to make that Montana drive--you are good people. Thank you so much. To the rest of you--thank you for sharing in my joy. My heart is indeed full.

To The Pinup Girl and Grownup Girl--that tipsy offer of unlimited free babysitting in a few years? It still stands in the sober light of day :)