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mama bears w r it te n by | AS H L E E N I C H OL S ON , T R E ASU R E D H E A RT EV E N T S photos by | AV E RY E A R L P HO T O G R A P H Y
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shoppi ng for my d au g hte r’s we d d i ng dre ss and f i nd i ng s ome t h i ng t hat she was just ove r- t he mo on ab out !
T he tou g he st p ar t was st ay ing
u nd e r bu d ge t , as I wante d he r to have e ve r yt hing t hat she wante d for he r bi g d ay! My big ge st pi e c e of a dv i c e is to re me mb e r t hat it is your d au g hte r’s we d d i ng , not you r ow n . Ti me s have d e f i n itely change d f rom w he n I got mar r ie d, s o I He y Mama B e ars! L et’s have a qu i ck chat ! Whet her it is you r d au g hte r or you r s on t hat is ab out to s ay “I D o”, I c an on ly i mag i ne t he emot ions you are exp er ienc i ng! As a s e as one d we d d ing pl anner ( and not to me nt i on a re c e nt br id e my s el f ! ) I of ten get t he pr iv i l e ge of gu i d i ng
"Being included in the planning process created memories I will cherish forever!"
Mot hers of t he Br id e and Gro om t h rou g h w hat is u nd oubte d ly an ama zing mome nt — t he mome nt you get to w atch you r ch i l d mar r y t he i r abs olute b est f r iend ! For s ome of you, t h is is you r f i rst ch i l d to get mar r ie d, w h ich br i ngs ab out an ent irely ne w rol e for you ! I’m he re to help ! T he re are t h re e main asp e c t s of a we d d i ng t hat I have fou nd c an b e a bit over w hel mi ng for moms . I have en l iste d t he exp er ienc e of my ow n s we e t Mot her and Mot her-In-L aw to help she d s ome l ig ht on t hes e subj e c t s! I’ve a ls o a d d e d my ow n p ersp e c t ive as a br id e and we d d i ng pl an ne r for a more hol ist ic v ie w of w hat to e x p e c t ! BEFORE THE WEDDING From the Mothe r of the B R I DE : “ T he mo st
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ha d to b e OK w it h not b e i ng s o t ra d it i ona l ab out d oi ng t h i ngs t he way I d i d t he m 3 0 ye ars ago. It is OK to su g ge st t h i ngs , but b e pre p are d for your d au g hte r to s ay no to you r su g ge st i ons. Eve n if you are t he one p ay i ng for t he we d ding , your d au g hte r shou l d have he r d re am we d d i ng not t he one t hat you e nv is i on for he r. B e supp or t ive of any and a l l d e c is i ons t hat she ma ke s dur ing t he we d d i ng pl an n i ng pro c e ss .” From the Mothe r of the G RO OM : “I l ove d t hat my d au g hte r- i n - l aw i nv ite d me to t h i ngs such as d re ss shoppi ng , c a ke t ast i ng , f l owe r me e t ings, and t he l i ke. B e i ng i nclu d e d i n t he pl an n ing pro c e ss c re ate d me mor i e s I w i l l che r ish fore ve r ! I h i g h ly re c omme nd re s e r v i ng a rehe ars a l din ne r l o c at i on as s o on as p o ss ibl e. We wante d to ma ke t he d i n ne r sp e c i a l for t he br i d e and g ro om w it h a fe w su r pr is e s ! We ha d a v i d e o t hat include d photo s of t he br i d e and g ro om g row i ng up, but we a ls o i nclu d e d fo ot age of i nte r v i e ws w it h b ot h s e t s of p are nt s , and e ve n f ami ly me mb e rs t hat c ou l d n’t ma ke it to t he we d d i ng . It made for
