Daughter of the Bride: Part One

When my mom told me she got engaged, my first thought was, "My mom is getting married for the second time, and I'm still single." Now don't get me wrong, I'm completely thrilled for her and Shelley, as she has been a widow for 10 years, and couldn't ask for a more lovely man to become my step-father. I'm touched that my mother, who was happily married to my dad for 30 years, has found love again. That alone gives me hope for myself, for it makes me believe in healthy, loving relationships.

Nevertheless, I am envious that my mother is acting like a giddy 18-year-old and smiling profusely when gushing about wedding plans. However, I quickly realized that I been endowed with a huge responsibility; helping her plan the wedding. I am the Maid of Honor, and the Daughter of the Bride, two titles I am embracing. For those of you who have been one or the other, or BOTH, you know that they carry much weight and importance and are crucial to making the bride as happy and content with wedding arrangements as possible.

It's an odd concept (and one I never imagined I would do years ago), to be giving my mom wedding advice, but so far, we've been having a blast. I've decided to chronicle the journey as "daughter of the bride" up until August 1st, the day of the wedding.

My mother came into the city this past weekend, on Sunday, March 14th, to celebrate my birthday which was the day prior and to go shopping for me as a birthday gift. I suggested Loehmann's because we have a superbly keen eye for finding amazing clothes at even more amazing prices. But you know what's even better about finding a great bargain? Watching my mom look for wedding dresses at said "bargain" store.

Yes, readers, my mother, the classy, intelligent Sandra Dressler who always looks good while still wearing age-appropriate clothes, tried to convince me that she should wear a metallic silver wrap-around floor-length dress to her own wedding ceremony and celebration. It looked like tinfoil, a martian's costume, or even something a celebrity would wear to the Grammy's, but NOT something befitting my 63-year-old mother. It was an expensive designer, it was fun, but it was NOT a wedding dress, and I have no desire to be a maid of honor to an alien. Trying it on was rather difficult as we couldn't even figure out how it worked; she kept getting lost in the arms. Go figure.

So that dress is out. I tried on a lovely Nicole Miller, but it was too big, and they didn't have anything smaller. I'm in the process of trying desperately to convince my mom to wear something cream-colored or off-white. She's not interested in a wedding "gown," per se, but let's leave the metallics to trashy celebs.