Before the Mane Event: BBC Part 2

As I mentioned earlier, Sister Lioness coined the phrase "BBC" (a polite name for some people...better cry) to describe her goals for her rehearsal dinner slideshow.  What she meant by this was that she really wanted her slideshow to tug at our guests' heartstrings.  She spent months collecting baby pictures from parents, deciding on music, and playing on iMovie.  When we saw the final result, there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Fortunately, Sister Lioness decided to post this slideshow on YouTube...so you get to watch it too!  As long as you promise not to laugh at how nerdy I was as a kid.  Promise?  Well, okay...


Do you think you'll incorporate some kind of multimedia into your rehearsal dinner?

Before the Mane Event: BBC

In the final weeks leading up to our wedding, Sister Lioness was busy putting the finishing touches on a slideshow that she had prepared to show during our rehearsal dinner.  Every text, every post, every tweet that I received from her during this time had one phrase repeating throughout: BBC.  Or, in the tweets, it was #BBC.  Yep, she tried to get it to trend.  What does "BBC" stand for?  Well, it refers to our wedding guests and what she hoped they would do.  She hoped that they would be so overcome with joy and emotion that they would cry.  The conversation went something like this:

Lioness: Is the slideshow sappy?

Sister Lioness: Heck yes it is!  They'd better cry. [Insert very tactful pet name for our collective rehearsal dinner guests] better cry!

Thus, BBC was born.  Alas, I was just as guilty of helping it to stick.

The first BBC moment at our rehearsal dinner occurred during Papa Lioness' toast.  He is a good speaker.  He does it for a living.  He's always had a way with words, and on top of that, he's a total sap.  After our guests finished eating, he stepped in front of our projection screen (more on that later...it's basically just our photobooth backdrop with a sheet over it) and asked for the floor.

What's that?  You'd like to hear the speech?  Well, fortunately, Papa Lioness emailed it over to me shortly after the wedding.  Enjoy!

It’s customary at these occasions for people to tell tales about one or the other of the happy couple, to ensure that each knows all they need to in order to take that next step in their relationship.  I will not be an exception.  While I cannot relate anything about David – he has been quite effective in not sharing any of his deep, dark secrets – I can tell volumes about Julia.

As parents, we are fascinated by our children, especially as we watch their personalities develop.  When Julia was about 1 ½, I recall watching her, feeling great pride as she did something, which would cause me to say “that’s me”, only to recoil in horror, as I realized, omg, that’s ME, and, if there was one thing I could change about my personality, that would be it.

Let me give you an example.  In Julia’s world – and mine – there is only one way to do something: the right way, which just happens to be her way.  Any other way of doing such a task is simply wrong.  Further, those who do things wrong are not just mistaken, often, they are of inferior, well, we’ll just leave it at that.  Have any of you observed Julia behind the wheel of a car?  Did she comment upon the behavior of other drivers, that was, of course, wrong?  Errant?  Perhaps even stupid?  Did she indicate her displeasure with any words or specific gestures?  If so, it’s not really her fault; it’s all me.

When she was an infant, we lived in suburban Washington DC.  While we had little money, we did have cable.  I was determined to make her into a fan of my teams.  Whenever the Orioles played, and their hero would come to the plate, I would bounce her on my knee, chanting “Eddie, Eddie”.  While she smiled, there was no recognition.  During college football, I taught her the words to the fight song of my beloved Oklahoma Sooners, both of them.  Nothing.  When college basketball rolled around, I explained what a Hoya was, what Hoya Saxa meant, so she could grow up to annoy all her friends, armed with this impressive knowledge.  Still nothing. 

Imagine my surprise when, years later, she goes off to college to become this rabid Florida Gator fan.  It was never just We Are the Boys; nope, it was pure good  versus pure evil.  Florida State?  At least they have a circus.  Georgia?  Ach, their coeds wear jean shorts with their pearls.  But, the greatest of all were her sainted Red Sox and, you guessed it, the devil itself, those New York Yankees. 

A few years later, I got the call that every daughter’s father dreads.  “Hi Dad; I have a new boyfriend, but you’re not going to like him”.  Realizing that I have no more than four seconds to come up with a respectful response, here’s what went through my mind: oh my god, he’s got ink from head to toe.  Or, maybe piercings all over, even in places that I don’t want to think about.  Or, his pants are so far down his backside that he’s exposing 4 or 6 inches of tidie whities. 

Finally, I said: “Gee, Julz, why not”?  She said “he’s a Yankees’ fan”.  My response was immediate and visceral: “I don’t think I could ever accept that”.  You see, I was raised in a household where my father once said that rooting for the Yankees was like hoping oil companies make more profit.  Certainly, no good could come of this.

Fast forward a few more years, to their first apartment.  In their dining room, they each had a desk, with their shrines over them: she with Red Sox, he with Yankees memorabilia.  I was hopeful; if they could work through this conflict of values, this good versus evil, this Red Sox/Yankees thing, there was a chance for this relationship.  Really, their zeal for their respective teams was more about loyalty and how they were raised than anything else.

But then, I thought about what they had in common: this love for the game of baseball.  I think if they lived in a minor league city, they would become avid fans of their team.  To them, baseball is a game of geometric precision, of tradition, of nuance, of inches.  It’s a game played in a park, in an urban setting during the lazy days of summer and has not changed much, except for a few minor tweaks, for over 150 years.  It’s a sport in which there is no clock, nor is the position of the ball over a designated spot always the determinant of scoring.  The individual’s effort on behalf of the concept of team is essential for success; World Series winners are full of them.  When the individual places self over team, you’ve got anti-harmony types like Manny Ramirez.  Each season begins with such optimism, as every team (this week) is in first place, with a shot at taking it all.

So, Julia and David, my congratulations.  May you continue to celebrate your successes yet not lord over another’s setbacks.  May your passion for this grand old game pale in comparison to the passions you share.  May you win lots of world series and may every day of your lives together feel like opening day, full of optimism and hope for what the day will bring to you.

  {Evan Hampton Photography}

I can seriously pick out the sentence that is being spoken during each of those shots!  I especially like how Mama Lioness is looking at me and Mr. Lion in that last one...she's so psyched.  BBC indeed!

Do you think you'll tear up during your wedding weekend?  Or are you not the crying type?

They Were Right

You know how people say that things can and will go wrong at your wedding?  The unexpected happens, and there's absolutely nothing you can do to make it better?  Well, we've had our fair share of that lately.

First of all, we met with our venue the other day to discuss final numbers.  Guess what?  They brought up the how-do-we-serve-cake debate, or "Cupcake Wars" as I have now nicknamed it, again.  I thought we had come to the compromise of serving the cupcakes and groom's cake family style so that our guests could choose, but we wouldn't end up paying for too much cake.  Well, they brought it up again because they thought I had made the "wrong" decision.  Yep.  That's the word they used.  Wrong.  I won the argument again, but I have a feeling I won't be so nice about it if it's brought up a third time.

Secondly, I'm down a bridesmaid.  Mr. Lion's sister has decided not to attend our wedding.  My FMIL is still very upset about it, so I don't want to go into it out of respect for her.  I'm actually okay with it.  I figure, if someone doesn't want to be there, I don't want them to be either.  Besides, being a bridesmaid is an honor.  If she doesn't want that honor, I don't want to give it to her.  It feels like I'd be taking something away from the other five girls who have truly been there for me.

Then yesterday, my FMIL sent me this text: "I can't get a hold of Coco Loco [the rehearsal dinner venue].  The phone just rings and rings, and the email says it's no longer in service.  I don't mean to scare you, but I have a bad feeling about this."  Shit.

Then, on a hunch, FMIL Lion googled "Coco Loco" and "closed."  She found an article that said that the restaurant, which has been open for 20 years, closed permanently last week.  Last week, as in three weeks before our wedding.  Like Miss Sloth, we no longer had a rehearsal dinner venue.  Unlike Miss Sloth, these guys didn't have the courtesy to tell us.  We found out from a newspaper article, and only because FMIL Lion's intuition is that awesome.  Can you imagine if she had ignored that hunch?!  We might have showed up after rehearsal waiting to eat food!

As you can imagine, I hyperventilated.  But only for about 30 seconds.  I thought to myself, "You don't have time to panic anymore.  That's a luxury you can't squeeze in anymore.  You need to be efficient right now."  And I moved on.  Mr. Lion and I tried a new Cuban restaurant last night, and made up a list of questions for FMIL Lion to ask today.  If it doesn't work out at this new place, we'll keep looking.

Yeah, this kind of stuff happens.  When you're planning something as detailed and as involved as a wedding, it's more likely than not that something bad will happen.  It's out of your control, but your reaction to it is within your control.  And your reaction is what matters.  I just wanted to let y'all know that I think a big reason why I didn't completely freek out is because of you, Hive.  I've read about your drama.  I've commented on how strong you are, and how much I admire your ability to push through it.  When I got that text from FMIL Lion, all I thought about were people like Mrs. Trail Mix and Mrs. Socks, who didn't let wedding-related disasters get to them, no matter how big or how small.  They focused on the marriage, and knew it would work out eventually.  I just wanted to thank all of you for being such positive role models.  You have no idea how much you inspire me.

Your turn!  Let's hear your most recent wedding vents :)

Freeking Charming

A while ago, I posted about finding a unique way to memorialize my cousin Mark at our wedding.  I decided to create bouquet charms using the logo for Freekware, Mark's clothing company.  To me, Freekware symbolizes positivity and love, themes that we definitely want incorporated into our wedding day!

I recently sat down with my glass pendant kit by Annie Howes and put together my bouquet charms.

Ah, a personalized note and some candy.  Love me some Etsy sellers!

One of the greatest things about Annie Howes' kits is that she includes tutorials on her website.  I printed out some Freekware logos and followed the tutorial step by step.

First, I covered the textured side of the glass tile with glaze, which was included in the kit.

I flipped the tile over and pressed down firmly to eliminate air bubbles.  Then, I waited for them to dry.

Once dry, I used crafting scissors and cuticle trimmers to separate each tile.  I applied a coat of glaze to the back of the charm.  Then, I attached the hardware onto the tile with the included glue.

Then, I had my finished product!

{all personal photos}

I have to say, this was probably my favorite DIY project thus far.  It was so nice to think about each of my bridesmaids walking down the aisle with this charm attached to their bouquets.  The sentiment behind it was in my mind during the entire time I was making the charms, and that left a smile on my face.

Are you making something to memorialize loved ones at your wedding?

The Guests Get Creative

Obviously, our wedding has a bit of a whimsical theme interlaced throughout the vintage and Southern and garden decor.  We tried to get the guests on board with the whimsy with a little message in our invitations.  You see, the bottom of the response card read, "Please use the reverse side of this card to provide marriage advice, whimsical doodles, flattering caricatures and/or well wishes!"  The back of the card was blank.  We have now received about a third of our RSVPs, and the entertainment only continues!

We received a special response card in the mail today...from none other than Sister Lioness, who designed the invitations in the first place!  Sister Lioness lives in NYC, and her boyfriend lives in Florida.  I sent one invitation addressed to both of them, and Sister Lioness informed me that they planned to open it "together" via Skype.

Their response card included a YouTube link, so I'll let the video do the talking from here.  You really should watch the whole thing because they are hilaaarious.  But, if you only have a couple of minutes, skip to about 7:25.  That's when you can really start to see the wheels turning inside Sister Lioness' head!


They weren't kidding, either:

That reminds me, Lioness guests.  The other 2/3 of you?  Yeah, you've got two more weeks to get those RSVPs in!  So, yeah!

We'll have to do something fun with the backs of these cards, but what?  Any ideas?

The Big D (And I Don't Mean Dallas)

Mr. Lion and I both come from divorced families.  And you know what?  I don't really think it's that big of a deal...but I've noticed that it can be in the wedding world.  (I'm not really the type of gal who gripes about how silly society can be, but here goes.)  I've run across this expectation that my parents and Mr. Lion's parents should join together as our two families unite.  Well, that a little tough to do if our individual families aren't even united.  Besides, what if that's not what we want?  Why is that the expectation?  I have friends who grew up behind a white picket fence in upper middle class suburbia.  I also have friends who grew up overseas in the middle of a civil war.  I have friends who grew up in households with traditional marriages, I have friends who have same-sex families, I even have a friend who has lived with her significant other for decades and (gasp) just doesn't want to get married.

The "weird" has become a heck of a lot more normal.  Maybe some of the psychology or sociology Bees out there can shed some light as to why, but all I know is that the "unusual" is actually pretty common.  In my opinion, the same holds true for the opposite.  When I think of a "normal" family with two heterosexual married parents, 2.5 kids, and a pet or two, the first image that comes to mind is far from normal:

Source

I don't mind that my parents are divorced.  In fact, I kinda like it better this way.  I still have a wonderful relationship with each of my parents...and they're happier separate than they were together.  What makes it awkward are random wedding traditions, such as the anniversary dance.

Source

Don't get me wrong, the anniversary dance can be so cute.  I can certainly see the appeal.  At our wedding, however, I think all it would do is make people feel uncomfortable.  This brings me to some excellent advice that I received from one of the Lioness Bmaids: You can celebrate your own love without reflecting on everyone else's.

Maybe I'm being selfish, but I want this wedding to be solely about our love.  Not just Mr. Lion's and my love for one another, but our love, friendship, and gratitude towards all of our guests.  Every single person we're inviting means so much to us...but frankly my dear, I don't give a damn about their relationships with one another.  Not on that day, at least.

Keeping with this "our love only" philosophy, we will not be merging families.  Unfortunately, this does make many wedding traditions difficult.  Here are a few examples of how we've chosen to go the less traditional route: 

Invitations - "Mr. and Mrs. Lioness proudly present their daughter as dowry to Mr. Lion, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lion" could not be further from us.  Even if my parents were still married, Mama Lioness freeks out at the thought of someone being called Mrs. HisFirst HisLast.  I thought about doing "Mr. Lioness and Ms. Lioness invite you to blah blah blah," but even that felt a little too...ummm...married.  I wanted my parents to be presented as separate individuals right from the start.  Then I had a thought: "Why should my parents get to do the inviting?  We're paying for most of the wedding ourselves!"  So, we took ownership or our invitations and came up with this little number:

We, Lioness and Lion, together with our parents, invite you to blah blah blah...

Programs - We definitely can't list "Parents of the Bride" and "Parents of the Groom" on our program.  Why not list "The Moms" and "The Dads?"  It's not as formal, but neither is our outdoor-daytime wedding!

Seating - Our reception seating chart will be my ultimate organizational masterpiece.  We're not there yet, but I plan to seat Mama Lioness with her side of the family and Papa Lioness with his.  The same goes for Mr. Lion's family.  As far as the ceremony goes, I didn't want to have a bride's side and a groom's side (again with the two families merging).  Instead, we're skipping the ushers and we plan to have a sign that says something along the lines of "Don't choose a side; choose a seat!  We're all about unity here."  I'm hoping that will help make things a little less divisive.

Do you have a less traditional family? Any other tips you'd like to share?

In Memory of Awesomeness

Unfortunately, Mr. Lion and I have both experienced loss and grief in our lives.  We would both like to include those loved ones in our wedding somehow, so we started exploring some options.  I've seen "In Memory" sections in programs, but that didn't seem personal enough to me.  I've always thought memorial candles are really beautiful, but I still had one reservation.  These options seemed perfectly appropriate for grandparents, great aunts, older adults.  What if one of the people missing from your wedding was someone younger?  It just didn't seem to fit.

I've mentioned before that my cousins and I are close, almost like extended siblings, and my cousin Mark was the big brother to us all.  I grew up worshiping him.  He was hilarious, he was kind, and he was never too cool to play with his little cousins.

Personal photo, circa 1987 (I'm the one in the floaties!)

At one of our favorite places in the world (10 points if you can name it!) in 2003

Mark passed away about five years ago after battling Hodgkin's lymphoma.  I hate to sound cliche, but not a day goes by that I don't miss him.  I knew I had to think of something besides a memorial candle to include Mark in our wedding.  If my grandfather knew that he would be memorialized with a candle, he would think it was nice.  If Mark knew that he would be memorialized with a candle, he would say, "Dude.  Seriously?"  His sister did something unique for him on her wedding day, and I knew I needed to do the same.

One of the things I admired most about Mark was his creativity.  He always had these crazy schemes, but he usually didn't follow through with them.  The one idea he did actually put into action was designing his own clothing company.  It's not exactly in stores (yet), but he did design and print a few items.  The company is called Freekware, and its intention was to celebrate the uniqueness inside each individual through positivity and inspiration.  The logo is supposed to look like a surfer on a wave...also, (according to Mark) it's apparently an "F" on it side.

Source

The Freekware logo has become a part of the Lioness clan's culture.  It represents so much of what we're all about and, more importantly, it represents someone who was such an important part of our lives.  Every time my cousins and I get together, someone's bound to wear it.  Mark's sisters have since taken over the company, and I can't wait to see what they do with it!  They recently distributed a new line of designs, which each of us threw on immediately:

Yeah, we make matching and coordinated family reunions look cool.

The symbolism behind the Freekware logo made it the perfect tribute.  But how to incorporate it into our wedding?  Allow me to introduce you to the bouquet charm:

 Source: HyStudio via OffBeatBride

It's amazing to me how something so subtle and dainty can come across so powerfully in photos.  I knew I had found my solution.  I found all kinds of bouquet charms on Etsy, but most of them were a little over budget.  Then, I stumbled upon Mrs. Crab Cake's post on bouquet charms, where she discusses the DIY option.  I followed her advice and looked into Etsy seller AnnieHows.  She did not disappoint.

Source

A DIY kit to make six bouquet charms with your own image...for $14.  For a reasonable price, not only can I represent Freekware (and Mark), my bridesmaids can too!  I can't wait to show y'all the final product.

How have you chosen to remember loved ones who couldn't be with you on your wedding day?

The Truth

Right after we got engaged, I moved to Boston for a three-month clinical affiliation.  Though my patients made fun of me for saying "y'all," I felt right at home.  My family is from New England, even though they moved to the South before having me.  Though I've spent most of my life below the Mason-Dixon line, I've been fortunate enough to visit Massachusetts dozens of times.  You see, there's this little beach town on the South Shore where my family has been summering for four generations...pretty much since we've been in this country.  I grew up playing on that beach, fishing off of the North Atlantic rocks, and taking ferry rides into town for a Sox game.  I have lots of extended family who still live in Boston and the surrounding area and every time I see them, it's like revisiting years of wonderful vacations.

My mom has a cousin who lives with her husband in Cambridge, and they were generous enough to let me stay with them during my clinical affiliation.  Their apartment was walking distance to my hospital, and there were about three Dunkin D's along the way.  A temporary transplant couldn't ask for anything more.  Cambridge cousin's sister and her husband live in Arlington, and they were generous enough to let my car live there for those three months.  This made day trips to the Cape possible.  Both of these cousins have an incredible mother, my Great Aunt Dotty.  Dotty is my grandfather's sister and she is one of the most interesting people I've ever known.  Her 85th birthday party happened to fall during my stay in Boston, so I was able to celebrate it with her and the rest of my New England family.

Personal photo: With the birthday girl

Earlier this summer, we found out that Dotty had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, just as her brother had been over a decade ago.  Her oncologist had given her months to live.  I was shocked at how sudden the onset had been, and I was worried about my mom's cousins who had been so wonderful to me so recently.  Dotty decided not to hang on for too long.  She passed away within two weeks, and I took solace in the fact that she was reunited with her brother.

My mom's cousins decided that with family scattered all over the country, it would be silly to have a memorial service with a reunion (our wedding) right around the corner.  I was approached and asked if I was okay with sharing my wedding weekend with Dotty's memory.  Was it okay to have a belated memorial service that same weekend?  In my mind, I was deeply offended.  How could I share MY weekend with a funeral?  If the funeral was before the wedding, people would be sad at my wedding.  If the funeral was after my wedding, people would be sad in anticipation of the upcoming funeral.  I didn't want to share my wedding weekend with sadness!

What's funny though, is that when I opened my mouth to express my concerns about this idea, none of those concerns came out.  I simply said, "I would be honored to share our wedding weekend with Dotty's memory.  I can't wait to celebrate her life with my family, and I look forward to raising a glass to her."  And I meant it.  The truth came out, regardless of what I was thinking.  I really am looking forward to toasting her memory that day.

Have you ever had the truth come out when you least expected it to?

Mamasita of the Bride

I've mentioned before that my mom is not your typical Mother of the Bride.  After surviving breast cancer and a divorce, it's safe to say that she has a fresh new outlook on life.  Add that to her Latina background, along with living in one of the most dynamic areas in the nation...let's just say she wasn't planning on wearing this to our wedding:

Source: The Bride's Heart

We chatted about it and decided on a few things before she started shopping.  I wanted her dress to be pool blue.  My bridesmaids would be wearing green, so I wanted my mom to be in our other wedding color.  She said she didn't want to look "old."  I said I didn't want her to look too conservative, but I didn't want her to dress too young.  She said she wanted something that would "twirl well while dancing."

Armed with a fair set of rules, we took a little trip to Formally Yours, the salon where I found my wedding dress.  At the sight of dark, dreary colors and oversized boleros, she immediately vetoed the entire Mother of the Bride section.  We decided to take a little detour and check out the bridesmaids' section instead.  Lo and behold, we found a pool blue chiffon dress that was absolutely stunning:

Personal photo: looking age appropriate but sassy...Stacy and Clinton would be proud!

How perfect is that?!  She loved it.  I loved it.  We had a winner.

How did your mom find her dress?  Is anyone else using a bridesmaid dress instead of a Mother of the Bride dress?

Good News!

Not only have I now graduated (Dr. Gringa?) but after two months of studying, I was FINALLY granted permission to take the boards.  It's a long application process, and not a very efficient one at that.  I took my exam this past Thursday on a computer at a testing center, and they told me that I should have my results by the weekend.  As soon as I woke up Friday morning, I checked the status online and saw this:

Source

So I should be able to start work within the next week because I am an officially licensed physical therapist!  Additionally, now that I'm no longer studying 24/7, I can be devoting full time to floating blogging (sorry, Disney references sneak into my diction every now and then).  Thank goodness, because I have a LOT to update you on!

Since this is the good news post though, I figure I should share some more good news: we got our first wedding present in the mail!  We still have eight months to go, so we were pretty surprised.  In fact, I was certain that there had to be some kind of mistake!  I'm a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding next weekend, and we had just purchased a gift for them from their registry at Bed Bath & Beyond.  So when the UPS man showed up at our doorstep with a Bed Bath & Beyond box, I was pretty sure that I had clicked "ship to billing address" instead of "ship to registered address!"  Sr Groom insisted that we open it just in case.

We opened the box to find a very large, very heavy, gift-wrapped box.  We got our friends some lightweight bakeware, so I was starting to think that this large box might actually be for us.

Sr. Groom and Miss Corgi looking VERY confused

We found a note that said it was from my mom's cousins, the lovely people who were generous enough to let me stay with them during my clinical affiliation in Boston.  Now, we had just sent out our Save the Dates (more on that soon!), which had our website listed on it, which lists our registries.  I suppose this means people are officially aware of our registries now, but I still couldn't understand why someone would get us a wedding gift this early unless they wanted to make sure they were able to grab something REALLY special before it got fulfilled by someone else.  But the only thing THAT special on our registry was...GASP.

I couldn't take pictures of what came next because I was simply too busy jumping up and down and squealing.

The.  Kitchen Aid.  Stand.  Mixer.

This was a few days before boards, so I told myself that I would leave it in it's box and play with it if and when I passed.  Well, as I mentioned earlier, I passed...so I rewarded myself.

I named it "The Glacier" because it's ice blue.

Sugar cookies with cream cheese buttercream frosting...and the frosting matches!  Oh, and so does my apron.

Miss Corgi's usual place, under my feet while I'm cooking.

I have to say, as far as first gifts go, this one was pretty stellar.  What made it even better was the timing of it.  It led to some long overdue fun, and it meant so much to me because we received it from such wonderful people.

What was your first wedding gift?  How was it significant to you?

Meet Me Halfway

Mama Lioness is the antithesis of Mother of the Bride.  I grew up in the South and view myself as a Southern Belle, but that certainly doesn't mean I have a Southern family.  My family is from New England, but my mom grew up overseas.  My grandfather was a diplomat, so she lived all over...mostly in South America and the Caribbean.  Yes, Mama Lioness is actually more latina than gringa.  Hey, maybe that's why I ended up with a Cubano!

I'm Southern, so I grew up dreaming of grande romances comparable to Scarlett & Rhett's.  I'm Floridian, so I grew up dreaming of Prince Charming whisking me away as woodland creatures frolicked about.  She's slightly more practical than I am.  She loves Mr. Lion, she loves that we're happy, and she's super excited about the wedding.  But when it comes to every detail and every ridiculous expense, it's hard for her to see why it's important to me.

On the one hand, it's nice having her a bit removed.  I'm a control freak and I would not function well with an overbearing mother trying to be too involved in my decisions.  On the other hand, sometimes I wished she understood why the smallest, dumbest traditions were so important to me.

Fortunately, I've found a way to solve this problem.  Mama Lioness is super creative.  I figured if I could find ways to incorporate her creativity and her individuality, she could be the Mother of the Bride that I wanted her to be without changing who she is.  I've made an effort to stick to that plan, and so far it's been quite successful and I think she really appreciates it!  This is my first act of compromise:

 Source: Paperback Swap

This book was PERFECT for my mom.  It's dry, original, and realistic, yet still heartwarming.  She loved it, and it made me really happy to give it to her!

Did you find a fun way to get a family member involved in your planning process?