Arrangements are really swinging into action now...
I still haven't chosen my MOB dress. In John Lewis I tried on every hat, but they all were too big and rested on my head with brim below ear level. "A fascinator!" you say! I have found one that suited me, but it's horribly similar to the choice of the mother of the groom...
It was really very exciting going to Yorkshire to choose Susannah's wedding dress. I had imagined a Bridal Dress Salon called, say, "Madame Alexandrina", but, my own clothing for the occasion having been critically vetted for suitability by the bride, I was steered through the door of a place called something fairly similar to "Oopsy Whoopsy". Inside, what a revelation! The ground floor was frothing round the edges with tulle, with lace, satin, sparkle, silk, enchantingly beaded bodices and meringue skirts in every shade of white. There were floor-to-ceiling mirrors. There were little ornate gilded chairs for the mothers, and tiny tables loaded with Kleenex ready for weeping moments
A bride was being adjusted into a dress that spoke to me of Tom Jones' Sophia Weston. Three expert ladies fluttered around arranging her train, tightening the corset effect and draping the skirt. Ooh! Ooh!
I have to say that weddings have never been - er - my thing. However, I could feel myself adjusting to the excitement, the glamour, the dressiness, the veils, the glittering tiaras, the whole experience!
Susannah had had about fifteen dresses put to one side in a changing room, into which she retired with Babs, one of the lovely ladies. By now the MOG and I were sitting at a tiny table, being brought delicious coffee, and having our identities confirmed.
"And who's t' Mother of the Bride? I can tell, luv, two peas in a pod; do you reckon Daphne?"
"I do, Crystelle. Two peas in a pod!"
I basked in the reflected glamour of my beautiful daughter. Meanwhile, a Wedding Dress Designer in a frock coat, + his acolytes, brought us Buck's Fizz, and reminded us that any of
his designs, selected that day, would be at a very, very special discount...
Meanwhile there was a rustling from the changing room, and out came Susannah in dress no 1, with Babs fluttering in her wake, draping, cinching adjusting! We all gasped. The dress was very very splendid! How gorgeous she looked! It was an affecting moment and Crystelle thoughtfully patted me and placed the tissues at my elbow.
"She looks so - lovely!" I sniffed. "My baby - ooh - " Daphne and Crystelle made reassuring noises. How kind they were!
Dress after dress came out. I rather took to a dress with the feathery extravagence of an entire production of Swan Lake. The MOG and I were really getting into the swing of it by now. Did we like the Swarowski crystal motif on the train? The beading on the bodice? Earnestly we agreed on the exact fit of a lace shrug... The ladies applied their expertise with practised guidance, encouragement and anecdote.
"We did have a bride in - tried on everything - very particular, weren't she Daphne?"
"Ooh, that she were, Crystelle. But - when I asked her when were t' wedding, she didn't know! Eee, luv, she didn't even have a boyfriend. She just wanted to get organised for when she did get proposed to; to have her dress all ready in t' wardrobe... spent thousands!" I thought what a shock that might be for an earmarked male. Poor thing!
Babs emerged from the changing room, a little flushed from her exertions. Babs thought that this dress might be The One!
"When a bride can't bear to take off the dress, we know that's the right choice" Daphne murmured
sotto voce.
"Remember the bride last week, Crystelle?" Babs confided. "
She couldn't bear to take off her dress. We were still here
an hour after closing time trying to get her unzipped. A bride holds herself different when she's in t' right dress... and then we know..."
The curtain swished open, and there was Miss Susannah, even more beautiful. Ravishing! Exquisite! "That's the one!" we all cried. I reached for the tissues all over again. Even the three ladies were brimming a bit, and Susannah's lovely future mother-in-law was in agreement! Susannah couldn't bear to take off the dress.
The choice was made!
I had to be dragged out of Oopsy Whoopsy. By then I was trying on the tiaras. Why shouldn't the MOB wear a tiara?
*some names have been changed...