Oldest Daughter is Getting Married in 6 weeks!!!

[Marilyn]

Just wanted to let you all know one reason I've not been on here much lately. A little over a week ago we learned that our oldest daughter is getting married December 22nd. Her fiance is in the Navy. He's corpsman assigned as a medic with the Marines at Twentynine Palms, California. They've known each other for 2 or 3 years and have been maintaining a long distance relationship for almost a year. She's going to college in San Antonio. He's scheduled to be deployed to Afganistan in April but may go as early as February. They were going to wait until after his first deployment, but have decided not to wait. He has 2 weeks leave beginning Dec. 18th, and they did not want to wait unil the Saturday after Christmas, so are getting married at 6:30 p.m. on the 22nd.

Dec. 22nd is our 36th wedding anniversary, so we won't have any probem remembering theirs. They are getting married in a historic old church building. Supposedly, Stephen F. Austin worshiped there. It's now used as a chapel.

We found her a dress on Saturday. It is absolutely beautiful. It's a soft light ivory with clear jewel accents. The fabric looks antique, and so appropriate for a evening wedding so close to Christmas. We're having about 160 guests, so are very busy booking florist, caterer, planning decorations. There is literally so very much to do and so little time. She ordered the invitations today and they should be here the end of the week or early next.

We don't have time to stress over decisions, so they are being made very quickly. The groom's family is handling the music for the ceremony. His dad is worship leader and in charge of the music at their church. The groom and his dad are both musicians. The music for the wedding will all be recorded, but I'm sure it will be awesome. It will be soft rock, and the wedding march will be some 5 guitar arrangement. This will be very different of us. The music in our church is all accapella. Many of the young people are marrying in chapels or other locations so they can have instruments. There is no problem with intruments at a wedding since it is not a worship service, but most of our church buildings do not allow instrumental music so as not to cause confusion with people's perception of the church and the position on instruments.

After the wedding, our daughter will be moving to Calif and transferring to a college there. I'm a bit concerned about her being way out there alone while he is deployed. She says that she will be home over the summer, and she will have a brother-in-law two hours away in San Diego, should something happen to her husband while he is in Afganistan. This is a real concern for us that he will be injured or worse and we can't get to her, even by plane, for several hours. I'm sure though that the miliary must have a good support network for spouses of deployed soldiers.

Please keep us in your prayers through all of this. She's marrying a fine young man, and they love each other, so we feel pretty good about them. We just pray that all will be well with them through his deployment.

I'll try to check in and see how all of you are doing from time to time.

[Shada]

How exciting! You are going to be a busy lady!
Sounds like she has a wonderful man.
I hope only the best for them, that his time in service will be safe.

Give them my well wishes... congratulations!!

[paula1961]

Wow Marilyn! Sounds exciting! Her dress sounds just gorgeous! 160 guests! That's a BIG wedding. Thank goodness you have lots of help with planning. I think it's just wonderful that they will be married on your anniversary. Very special! I wish them many many years of happiness together.:)

[Blueyes]

Congratulations Marilyn! How exciting! I'm glad your daughter has found a wonderful man to spend her life with.

[Lindsey]

Wow that's exciting! Good luck with the planning Marilyn! I'm sure it will be a beautiful wedding!

[Janet]

Congratulations to the new bride! Sounds like it will be a lovely wedding.

[DianaB]

I've been wondering where you were at! I thought that work was keeping you busy with the new computer change. How exciting!!! A wedding........a very quick wedding!!!! Since you've found the right dress that's a big decision made already!! The dress sounds beautiful!! The music sounds like it will be wonderful too. I'm sure that nobody will complain about having music when so many other couples have been doing it this way. And it sounds like his family will do tasteful music.....not the blaring stuff that you hear sometimes.

Enjoy your time with your daughter because she is going to be far away....but phone calls and the internet are great ways to keep in touch. Can she not stay where she is until he gets back home? It would probably be easier and safer for her then she can move when he gets back home.

We know that you're going to be very, very busy but drop in once in a while and let us know how you're doing!!! I'm sure that everything will be just beautiful!!! Take lots of pictures for us!!! Hugs!!!

[gja1000]

WOW! No wonder you have been busy. Good luck with everything - in my opinion this is the way to do it - just go for it and there is no need to stress about things for a year or so!

Hope things go well!

[Marilyn]

Can she not stay where she is until he gets back home? It would probably be easier and safer for her then she can move when he gets back home.

Diana, they actually talked about this, but with the uncertainty of when he will be deployed, they don't want to be apart. What's the point of being married if they can't be together. If he is deployed, at the end of the semester, she will take summer off from school and come back to Texas for the summer. He's with the Marines, and their deployments are usually 7 months or less. She could be home 3 of the 7 months. There is so much uncertainty right now with troop levels over there, who knows what will happen.

We're concerned about what effect a deployment will have on him. We've heard some not so good stories about the guys when they return. He's a very nice young man though. Hopefully he will handle things well, or won't be in a position to see too much of the bad things. Being a medic though, it could get rough.

[2tiredmom]

Congrats Marilyn. Enjoy and post lots of picture.

[Gina]

Marilyn I overlooked this post. I am soo happy to read this post.. Wow your daughter is getting married soon. I know that your doing everything that you possibly can to make this wedding so special. Her gown sounds beautiful and the man that she is marrying sounds like a great guy and he is getting a wonderful wife too.

My best to you and your family , God bless and watch over him while he is away. Congratulations and we do expect lots of pictures when the day comes.. Good luck !

[judy]

Congratulations Marilyn! This is so exciting! I'm sure he is a wonderful young man, and that they will be very happy for many, many years to come. I will be praying for his safety during his deployment. I have always admired the Marines. It speaks so well of his character.

What a whirlwind wedding! I'm sure it will be perfect. Enjoy the planning, and post pictures along the way, if you can.

Take a deep breath every now and then, Marilyn!

Love and hugs to you:1luvu:

[DianaB]

Diana, they actually talked about this, but with the uncertainty of when he will be deployed, they don't want to be apart. What's the point of being married if they can't be together. If he is deployed, at the end of the semester, she will take summer off from school and come back to Texas for the summer. He's with the Marines, and their deployments are usually 7 months or less. She could be home 3 of the 7 months. There is so much uncertainty right now with troop levels over there, who knows what will happen.

We're concerned about what effect a deployment will have on him. We've heard some not so good stories about the guys when they return. He's a very nice young man though. Hopefully he will handle things well, or won't be in a position to see too much of the bad things. Being a medic though, it could get rough.

I was just concerned about Karen being so far from home and mostly alone. I'm sure that they've talked everything over and have planned out the best thing for them. I wish them all the best.

I know that you're worried about his deployment and the effects it could have. Just keep him covered in prayer. My new SIL was over there and did some fighting and he had some problems when he and Dae Lynn first got married but we've prayed for peace and for the nightmares to go away and, praise the Lord, they have gotten so much better. The Fourth of July is really hard on him with the fireworks going off so they usually spend the night out here. I hope that he's in a place where he doesn't have these kinds of problems.

[Marilyn]

Thank you all for your so kind words. Everything so far is falling into place. We interviewed two florists today and they both had very nice ideas to accomplish the look that Karen wants. Her bridesmaids are wearing black and will carry white and ivory flowers, probably roses with some other white accent flowers and touches of light green with black and green ribbon wrapping the stems. Karen will carry a mixture of ivory and pink roses with either white hydrangia or white orchids and white berry accents with light greenery. The stems will be wrapped with antique white ribbon and pearls.

We went to look at the church building at 6:30 this evening to see how it would look at night, and a family was there decorating it for a wedding tomorrow, so we got to see it all lit up and decorated their way. The building, being so old and historic though a very simple design, is decoration in itself. It has an old piano at the front in one corner and a pump organ in the other. The only decorations we are going to use inside are some ivory candle groupings on the piano and organ. Not the tall thin candles, probably ones that are 3" in diameter and at different heights. They had pew bows, an arch and two candelabras, but Karen is more for simple and elegant. Karen will have a matron of honor (Melissa) and 3 bridesmaids, so with the men, there will be 8 people plus the bride and groom at the front. She feels that the people and the flowers they will carry and few candles are decoration enough. We will decorate the railings on the steps and the porch in front. It's not a big porch, so a little greenery, a few ivory silk roses and some ribbon will be enough.

We are also working on the decorations for the hall. To decorate the dining tables, we rented white linen table cloths and for centerpieces we are using old style embossed square metal ceiling tiles that we are painting black. On the tiles we will place a 3" dia., 8" tall ivory candle with a pink or white silk lily laying at the base of the candle with a couple of smooth river rocks. The tables are 8' x 30" so between the centerpiece and each end, there will be some kind of container with the smooth river rocks and some tiny green silk wax flowers. For a table runner under the centerpieces we hope to use ribbon about 3" wide. We will alternate black and light green ribbons on the tables.

For flowers on the cake and punch table, we will use clear glass vases with some ivory and green ribbon tied around them and put the bridal bouquet and bridesmaids flowers in the vases. We did this at Melissa's wedding and it gave the girls a place to put their flowers and saved us buying more flower arrangements.

We're feeling better about everything. God's providence has been so evident in our lives lately that all we can do is pray and have faith that all will be well for our soon to be newlyweds. All Karen wants is a simple but nice wedding with her family and close friends and to be his wife. She has a very strong faith in God that grounds her. What more can we want!?

[Marilyn]

I was just concerned about Karen being so far from home and mostly alone. I'm sure that they've talked everything over and have planned out the best thing for them. I wish them all the best.

Diana, thank you so much for your concern. They want to live in our RV to save money so we are moving it to California for them. There is an RV park on base where we would like for them to be, but right now it is full. They are on the waiting list. The park they will probably live in is one frequented by snowbirds with lots of amenities. It's a little higher than they want to pay, so we are going to subsidize it the amount over what the standard RV park rent is so she will be in a more secure location. She has decided that if he is deployed prior to the end of the Spring semester, that as soon as the semester ends, she will move back home until he returns. We may be moving the RV back and forth a bit, but that's why they are on wheels.

[judy]

The flowers and arrangements sound beautiful! So elegant, Marilyn. I hope it continues to go as smoothly as it has.

I'd love to see pictures!

[gja1000]

Marilyn, I can tell from pix you have posted (Christmas, etc) that you have a real "flair" for decorating so I just know that everything will be beautiful!!!

[Blueyes]

It sounds wonderful Marilyn! It's refreshing to hear of a young woman more focused on her marriage than her wedding. I know you must be so proud of her!

[DianaB]

Oh Marilyn, I'm so happy to hear that everything is running smoothly!! It sounds so beautiful!! You'll have to post pictures!!! It certainly sounds like Karen knows what she's wanting! I love soft and romantic weddings.

[Marilyn]

Whew, we had quite a weekend, but a very productive one.

1. We interviewed two florists. One gave us their price, which was much lower than we expected :cheer: and we are waiting on the other to make the decision, but that's almost done.

2. Karen met with the preacher who will be marrying them and worked out a plan for counseling. Usually he requires at least 6 premarital counseling sessions, but with her fiance in the military and getting here just in time for the wedding, they had to get a little creative.

3. Hobby Lobby had a lot of the decorating materials that we needed on sale for 50% off, so we bought most of what we will need.:cheer:

4. Tux's are selected and we're making progress getting guys measured.

5. Bridesmaids have dresses ordered with the exception of one who lives a few hours away. She will have to go on her own to select her dress.

6. We met with and selected the caterer and got the details of the food lined out. The caterer is providing all the plates, napkins, tea, coffee, linens for serving tables, etc. It sounds like the presentation will be very nice, and the price was better than we were expecting!! Yaaaaa!!!:cheer:

7. Rex is working on how to light up the outside areas for parking and such around the church building and hall. The facilities are in a park and the lighting at night is not good. We bought a couple of tiki torches and set them up in our backyard and they put out enough light and lasted long enough, we just have to see if they are allowed in the park. We hope to use clear twinkle lights along the sides of the path joining the two buildings, if they are allowed. The Tiki torches are for the parking areas.

8. We picked out some pictures of Karen to scan for the groom's family. They are putting together a slide show of Karen and Carlton from birth to now to have playing on a monitor at the reception.

9. We also went to Bed Bath and Beyond and got her registered there. She is also registered at Target. She thinks she can get all she needs at those two stores. She's very practical.

We still have lots of details to attend to, but are definitely making progress!! Back to work tomorrow to get some rest. LOL

[Janet]

Wow.....I'm exhausted just reading your post....lol. Looks like things are running smoothly. How exciting for everyone.

[paula1961]

Wow! Sounds like everything is coming together just wonderfully!! It all sounds like alot of work but so much fun as well:)

[judy]

Isn't it amazing how much can get done when you have no choice? I think you will need at least a weekend in bed (or in a nice spa) afterward.

It is sounding wonderful, Marilyn! You have a great family. It seems that you all join together.

[DianaB]

Wow!! You've definitely been busy!! I was thinking while I was reading your list that I'm going to be doing all of that stuff soon too!!

[pope1982]

Congratulations (((((hugs))))), can't wait to see pictures Marilyn!

Sounds like you guys are handling the crunch well. You've really got a lot done!

[Marilyn]

Wow!! You've definitely been busy!! I was thinking while I was reading your list that I'm going to be doing all of that stuff soon too!!

This is your last one, too, Diana. So hope you get to enjoy every minute!!! Being the mother of the bride is such a special experience. I'm so glad that our daughters want us to be involved. Some daughters don't and the mother is treated like just another guest. We are so blessed!!

Things are still coming together. We are having Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, then the weekend will be spent finishing details on decorations and such.

She ordered the groom's wedding ring today, and I made her hair appointments. She's having a trial run with the stylist on Dec. 4th to see how it turns out. We had hoped to take some bridal portraits that day, but she is taking her dress for hemming and bustling tomorrow, and it may not be ready in time. If it's not, we may have her hair done again a little later in Dec. and take some pics then. Our next door neighbor took her niece's bridal portraits in our front yard, and they turned out beautiful. We thought I'd just take them with my Nikon D60, and hopefully they will turn out nice. We are saving the professional photographer for the wedding day since the time is so tight and we are having to be flexible due to things like getting the dress ready.

Our church family is having a wedding shower brunch for her on Dec. 5th. I don't know if the groom's family is having a shower for them or not. No one has said, so this may be the only shower, which is fine. They will get plenty of wedding gift's I'm sure. Melissa & Garrett received more than they needed and have been regifting since some of their friends are getting married and funds are really tight for them, so the extra gifts are coming in very handy.

We got all the things fixed that were needing attention on our RV that they will be living in. Just have to clean it, and when the gifts start coming, we can start setting up her kitchen, bedding and such. It will be nice that we can get it all ready here and then it will be delivered to them in California pretty much ready to go.

Still lots to do, but since we did so much so quickly up front, it's not so stressful right now. Whew..!!

[DianaB]

Yes, this is my last one and I've never had to plan a large wedding before. Amy had just a really small wedding and Dae Lynn, you know, eloped and we ended up having a small renewal of the vows and the reception so this one will definitely be different for me.

It sounds like you've gotten so much accomplished in such a short time. Hopefully, you'll have time to take a breather, to enjoy the wedding, and not worry about missing any details.

[Blueyes]

I don't have a daughter, but my dil's both involved me heavily in their weddings! I'm glad you're getting so much done. Don't forget to take care of yourself a bit in the middle of the madness:)

[flantee09]

jimmy and i bought my ring yesterday

it comes in in 4-5 weeks, then it will be official

we plan on getting married early june next year



"Always believe in the power of your dreams"