From Micro Wedding 2020 to Celebrating 2021 Style…Phew!

The flowers have wilted. Family and friends have returned to their prospective homes. A pleasant fatigue has settled in both mentally and physically. Accomplishment and relief have replaced worry and hesitation. Photographs have been taken. Memories made. Months of wedding planning 2020. Replanned for 2021. Two and a half years of wondering and juggling plans. Some ill-fated. A micro wedding for my son and his wife was held last sometime in 2020 with a celebration planned for this July.

Happiness was carried in by the warm summer air encompassing the wedding venue just over a week ago. The wedding flowers appeared more vibrant as the natural sunlight danced through the window highlighting the bouquets placed side by side waiting for the celebration to begin. Bold Sunflowers saturated in yellow. Deep purple posies with violet highlights. Fuchsia soothed by pale pink petals. Large, small, tall lovely local blooms. My hands tightly gripped the stunning “mother of the groom” bouquet as if to hold on to each long-awaited moment. Finally, we were celebrating this beautiful couple. Maybe it wouldn’t look exactly as they originally hoped and planned for, but the day arrived in splendid style.

My dress was purchased in February of 2020 just a week or so before the shop closed. Just a week or two before the world closed. The wedding specialist explained to my now daughter-in-law and I that they were not getting their new inventory with the usual frequency. We speculated about the why’s, but little did we understand about the reality of the pending pandemic slam that was headed our way. I purchased the dress we loved best.

Would the bridesmaids’ dresses fit? Much changed in 2020 and babies were born. Maternity bridesmaids’ dresses required alterations. A new face in our family photo. A new precious family member requiring a special occasion dress. Barefoot with bows. Perfection. We spent the day primping while sipping on mimosas and enjoying being together. We wore the dresses. Men sported their pearl gray suits. We were well planned for 2020 but it took vaccinations to allow 2021 to happen.

My daughter-in-law was a gorgeous contemporary version of Lady Guinevere with long auburn hair loosely adorned with pearls and delicate sparkles. A wedding dress made solely for her. Stunning. Mr. and Mrs. formally announced and fifty-four weeks late. My handsome son and his beautiful wife walked arm in arm into the embrace of their guests. Classic elegance floated across the yard to the cocktail hour tent with violin music softly playing.

Professional photos seemed that much more important to me in 2021. A mother and a daughter. A mother, a daughter, and a granddaughter. Three generations. A moment captured between a mother and a son. Tears unexpectedly and instantly appeared streaming down my face. Thirty-two years. A blink of an eye. My son’s youthful thick platinum blonde curls appear only in family photos now. Years gone too quickly by, but the little boy is in my heart now, always, and forever. I am proud of the man he has become. Combinations of each family were being requested, positioned, and posed. The bride’s family. The groom’s family. The new extended family was officially documented.

Socializing was an endurance event and one I was rusty at as I tried to talk with each friend and family member in attendance. Wedding reception conversation speed dating style. One minute here. One minute there while never feeling you have truly spent the time you wished you could with each guest. Grateful to have the opportunity to chat at any level after the lost many months. I found myself ecstatic to see the bride’s uncles as they arrived. I enjoy their company immensely. We bonded just over a year ago. We safely attended a beautifully intimate exchanging of the vows. The weekend was about witnessing a couple start their married life together surrounded by nine close family members and three fabulous dogs. The weekend spoke volumes about who this couple is as they wanted to honor the day they had decided to marry and so they did.

I sometimes wondered why the “kids” wanted to host a wedding celebration after such a beautiful and intimate wedding that was already on the books. Take the money and invest it in your new home I thought but I found myself so happy to see each familiar face and meet some new people too. Those house projects will get done at some point in time, but one cannot put a price tag on sharing special moments together…

“Happiness is only real when shared” Jon Krakauer