Charming coincidence: Three

Yes, the day had seemed so very charmed, even before the late afternoon ceremony. Brilliant streaks of morning sun had shined through the window of the bridal suite I shared with my daughter, the hours before the wedding. Alone, I might have unraveled a bit, but her joyful anticipation was contagious.

Before the room pulsed with bridesmaids and photographers trying to snap the intimacies of bridal party preps: scenes of primping, light feasting, and secret notes passing from groom headquarters to bride headquarters, and back again, Em and I stole a quiet moment. One in which she opened my tiny gift to her, a charm to slip onto her bracelet of beaded memories. This one meant to commemorate her wedding day.

In this quiet time between hustle and bustle, Em immediately realized what I had realized the night before, when she and her groom presented their parents with tokens of their affection at the Rehearsal Dinner. My gift was an autumn-scented Yankee Candle, set on a glass plate, covered by a  crackled glass shade. The simple acrylic sketch of a fall tree etched on  the plate and shade displayed oversized leaves in chestnut brown, burnt orange, and sage green.  Emily’s wedding hues.

It was as if the leafy candle design had shrunk to the size of a sunflower seed, to fit the surface of the bead in Em’s gift box. 

We had surprised each other by exchanging almost exact symbols in honor of her autumn wedding day. 




And now on to the biggest charmer of them all. . .

Dress Rehearsal

First allow me to clarify: Dress Rehearsal is NOT Rehearsal Dinner, the get-together that celebrates all systems go for the wedding day to follow. It’s Dress Rehearsal. That is, going through the motions well before the Big Day. Motions in which the engagee ( accent on the last syllable,long double - e)  will don her dress, walk in it (as in down the aisle) bend in it (as in crouching down low enough  to  hug toddlers of full- grown cousins) , and , after a hearty dinner, dance the night away in it as a married lady. That’s a high order for a single garment  – any garment – on a single night -- not to mention a reconstructed full length wedding gown(with train) that has been altered to fit like a glove.

Dress Rehearsal discoveries:

·    That the bride must put  the gown on over her head, not step into it, because the slip that poufs out the A-line of the gown cannot be tucked down into the dress’s skirt without stressing the seams of its  lower half . Good to know. We don’t want stressed seams (or stressed bride or stressed MOTB) the day of the wedding.

·    That the hooks on the bodice of the gown will stretch to the farthest row of eyes on the built-in corset as long as the bride sucks in her  breath as deeply as  possible  Do not underestimate the extent to which a bride will inhale to  zip the snug bodice of a fitted gown. I understand there is no need to worry unless – after all hooks are eyed – a bride-to-be’s complexion matches the latest craze of wedding party gray. Fortunately, Em retained her rosy glow throughout the Dress Rehearsal.  

·   That there is one concern. The threaded  loop designed to hook the lower half of the gown to the lowest button of the bodice's back, thus  lifting the gown’s train high enough to let  the bride dance the night away, that loop doesn’t look as if it can stand up to  the job through ceremonial pomp and celebratory circumstances on the dance floor.  

Time to get out the sewing box – which is what Dress Rehearsal is all about.