Oldest Daughter is Getting Married in 6 weeks!!!

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

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]

Originally Posted by DianaB

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 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.

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!!!

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