Mine at Last: Their Little Girl

We're a team and I was so touched by the many ways that my parents were involved in my marriage preparation. From wise counsel to financial support, they gave of themselves in every way.  I certainly don't want to make anyone feel badly if they don't have this relationship with their parents, but I do want to appreciate our special relationship and give them a small nod.  As I've become more cognizant of the wide spectrum of parental relationships, I've become more and more grateful for my parents.

I particularly loved dancing with my Dad at the recption. It was a small tribute to the deepness of our relationship.

My Dad researched Father/Daughter dances for the better part of a month.  He wanted to hit just the right tone and feature just the right lyrics.  With a little input from me, we finally decided on Steve Kirwan's My Little Girl.  It's not too mainstream, but it's known in some Christian circles.  The lyrics are:

From the moment I first held you
And rocked you to sleep

In my heart I knew
A child is never yours to keep
I knew one day you'd learn to fly
But I never dreamed what I'd feel inside

As I dance the last dance
With my little girl
And the first with the woman
Who's found her place in the world
I see the woman in you
But for my whole life through
You'll always be my little girl

You wrapped me 'round your finger
Your smile made me melt
I wished so many times
I would've told you what I felt
From your first steps
to sweet sixteen
The rush of memories
feels like a dream

Somewhere about half way through the dance, I was singing along with the band and mouthing the words to my Dad when I realized that they were playing the wrong song.  They ended up playing Tim McGraw's My Little Girl.  Serendipitously, my Dad and I had originally liked Tim McGraw's song, but we chose not to go with it due to the one line that says the man in his daughter's life "won't be good enough."  My family loves Mr. Palindrome and didn't want in any way to come across as though they didn't approve.   Mr. Palindrome didn't notice the line and I'm just glad we knew the mistaken song and felt a connection to it!

Also, my mom's presence despite health concerns meant the world to me. I think one of the main reasons she was able to participate is because of the joy pumping through her heart.

She looked killer to boot.  We found the jacket and skirt at Macy's back in October and although at first she wasn't 100% sold, everyone was so complimentary about the avant garde qualities of the jacket that she for sure it was the right choice for the wedding.

Not only was my mom present throughout the ceremony, but she helped shut down the reception as one of the last dancers on the floor.

I wasn't sure how being married would effect my relationship with them.  Before, I talked with them almost everyday, mulling life questions, asking advice, sharing my life.  I was a little worried that everything would change.  To be truthful, it has changed a little bit.  I still talk with them frequently, but Mr. Palindrome and I have been building our relationship as well.  Now that I live with Mr. Palindrome, I have instant access to his thoughts and life, whereas even when we were engaged, I would probably talk to my parents first on my way home from work and then to Mr. Palindrome later before bed.  Part of it is a larger "leave and cleave" kind of phenomenon of starting our own family.  Despite the changes, I still have a strong and vibrant tie with my parents.  I'm still their little girl.

Winter Wraps

Outside of off season discounts, one of the perks of being a winter bride is wearing an amazing wrap. I love this in particular because I know that in regular day to day life, I just can't pull off faux fur in the same way. PalindroMother sent me this list of winter wraps shortly after we had booked our venue.

Faux Fur Mink Wrap/Stole from Advantage Bridal.  I can't actually show you the picture because all of the images are copyrighted.  If you click on the link, it may be obvious why.  Or maybe not.  Either way, the stole itself is lovely and quite large.

Faux Fur Caplet with Ribbon Tie from Perfect Details:

Faux Fur Caplet with Brooch from Silk and Sable:

I suppose a wrap comes in handy especially if the rest of your bodice is see through.

Bridal Caplet with Muff, also from Silk and Sable:

Ivory Faux Fox Fur Bridal Shawl by Mega Faux Furs:

I also found quite a few options through a variety of Etsy sellers.

Ivory Faux Fur Bridal Shrug by SpAZooie:

Ivory Mid Length Faux Fur Trim Satin Bridal Wedding Cloak, also by SpAZooie:

White Mink Faux Fur Cape by Vladana:

Victorian Inspired Felted Wedding Bolero by Tiana Che:

Since then, I've decided to go in a completely different direction for my winter cover up, but I still think about these glorious fur options too!

August showers bring October showers?

If you're in the Tidewater area, and I mean water with capital W, then you may have had the same idea as me. Build an ark and start the gathering the animals by twosies. For real, the rain has come down, the inlets have gone up, and it I don't know when it'll stop. I'll blame it on me not having a TV, although I could easily spend the next 30 seconds looking it up on weather.com. But that would take all the fun out of waking up each morning to see what the weather will be like. No thank you, I'll just keep building my ark and abide by the "How menacing do those clouds look out there?" method.

Anydeluge, I'm also prepping for a shower of another sort. My lovely Palindromaid of Honor and my motherdrome have planned their little hearts out to throw me a Bridal Shower. I just received this darling invitation*:

Well, in person it's darling.  The ghetto fabulous neon graffiti privacy paint doesn't really go with the whole tea theme, but  in this day and age, it's sadly necessary.  Just enjoy the sweet pink damask, the little tea pot that I want to tip over and pour out, and the bridal rhyme.  If this doesn't say, "Come to momma tea and crumpets!" I don't know what does.  Now this is the kind of shower that I could get in to. 

Oh! and if you're in attendance, fatherdrome has informed me that motherdrome has made him clean the house in places he didn't even know existed.  The Palindrome pad is spruced up and tea party ready! 

One lump or two?

*The invites were done by a great Etsy seller, Black and White Adventures.

Legacy

Me: Hi Mom! It's 9/09/09!  How crazy is that?  Did you know this won't happen for another trillion years?  Yeah, I read that on wikipedia.  Anyways, know what else is special?  It's your anniversary!  Congratulations!

Motherdrome: Uh, our anniversary was yesterday.

Riiiiiiight. Anyversary, yesterday (note to self, write that down somewhere), my parents celebrated their 30th anniversary.  In this day and age, it's a mighty proud accomplishment and I couldn't be happier for them. 

The future Mr. Palindrome's parents are also happily married.  And all four sets of our grandparents have honored their vows as well.  It's a huge blessing to us to have so many role models in our lives.  People who have stuck it out for better for worse.  People who have been through sickness and health.  People who have seen richer and poorer.  Some who have seen their vows through as long as they both lived.

It's also a big legacy to live up to.  On the heels of my parents' celebration, I want to give them props for teaching me so many things about marriage.  The following is just a sampling of my favorites:

1. Love continues to grow deeper even when you thought it couldn't get any deeper.
2. The adventure is in the journey together.
3. The vows, committed before God, are life changing.
4. You know it's love when you can toot in front of them and they laugh.

To my parents, to my future in laws, to our grandparents - Thank you.  You all are my marriage heroes.

Share with me your marriage heroes!  Who's inspired you?

Always Yours

I hadn't much thought of a wedding fragrance until I realized that I was a few squirts away from finishing the bottle that the future Mr. Palindrome gifted me for my college graduation over 4 years ago. Huh. Now what?

I thought about just using some body splash that I have on hand and was quite content with that solution. I mean, smelling purty is for the flowers. Then I ran across an ad while thumbing through a wedding mag, otherwise known as the spawn of the wedding industrial complex (WIC). I saw a sparkly bottle. Just like a crow or a hobbit, I moved toward the sparkle.

Source
How could I justify this expense though? I had some nice pear blossom body splash that someone had given me even before my tangle with the college grad gift of Armani Mania. It wasn't like this was my signature scent, or that I'm even the type of girl to have a signature scent. I really like the smell of Old Spice, something about that spicy man smell - Come to momma my Old Spice wearing future Mr. Palindrome!

Then I remembered that back in the day, like the Old Testament day, they prepped Esther with some massive perfume for days before meeting the king in marriage. This was a Biblical investment in my marriage this perfume. Riiiiiight.

I couldn't think of a way to fit it in the wedding budget, so I did the next best thing. I asked my sweet little mom who loves this sort of thing, if perhaps this would make a good present for me somewhere along the way. Gracious as ever, she said, "Of course! Just send me the brand and the name."

"Ralph Lauren, Always Yours," I email her.

"Ahhhhhh - it's the perfect name. I would refuse to buy you one that was named Obsessed or something like that. :)
Mom" She replied.

Isn't she the cutiest?