Wedding Weekend

I spent the weekend preparing for my stepson's wedding. It's the closest I'll ever come to being involved in a wedding since I don't have "kids of my own." My stepson's mother is out of the picture, her choice, but still unfortunate. His new wife's mother died when she was young, and her dad never remarried. So my hubby and I tried to help out any way we could.

I am exhausted, but it's a good exhausted. Probably not as exhausted as my dear friend, Em, who did all the flowers and decorations. She's so talented. By the time she was done, it looked liked we'd spent thousands on the flowers and decorations. Em, you are a jewel. Everything was perfect. The wedding was unpretentious but classy. The setting out on Hood Canal was beautiful. The weather was mid-seventies. And the bride and groom looked so in love.

This was probably the nicest wedding I've ever been to, despite it not being the most expensive or the fanciest. It goes to show how far you can go on a budget when friends and family chip in to help. Not only that, but the bride and groom went out of their way to make every guest feel welcome and special.

Weddings are funny things, and unfortunately, good and bad memories can be made depending on how they're organized and who really runs the show. I'm still trying to move beyond a painful and humiliatng experience at a recent wedding which was painstakingly orchestrated to make it obvious we were not welcome there and were not considered part of the family. So you can imagine I was a little guyshy at attending another "family" wedding.

Of course, this wedding was different. I had a hand in raising my stepson, and he considered my new hubby and I part of his family as did his bride. Besides, I was involved in the planning. It was important to me that every guest feel welcome and an essential part of the ceremony despite anyone else's negative history with them.

Congratulations to the bride and groom!!!