Category Archives: Mother Of The Bride

“Start Your Family Off Right”

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 I have been listening to Rhea Perry lately on the subject of having an entrepreneurial mindset. This is what I want, and I also want it for my children.

It seems to me we have educated our children and ourselves to become employees.  And for some that’s ok, but… most people I know would rather have their own business and be the one in charge of making the decisions.

People are walking around feeling very unproductive and frustrated with their jobs. Can we love our job? Could getting up in the morning for work be exciting? Don’t get me wrong anything worth doing will take energy and commitment but can’t it also be challenging, productive and give satisfaction?

It’s hard to take a different path. Being an employee seems more safe and secure but it can  also be dull and boring and less than satisfying. Again, this is not everyone. Who are you? Ask yourself what you want to be when you grow up.

We need to start our families off right by getting the entrepreneurial mindset as soon as possible. I’ve noticed that it’s not easy to change my way of thinking.  And,  how can I teach my children this new mindset if I don’t know it myself?

 Rhea Perry is all about showing us how.  She is having  a Home Business Conference in beautiful Destin, Florida on April 15-17. She is also sponsering the Blueprint For Success Contest where someone is going to win $10,000.00.

I have interred this contest. Yes, you read that right. Am I crazy?  Those who are close to me would probably say yes.  My brother has earned the title  ”new plan Stan” and my father was also a person who followed dreams. So… you see I do come by it honestly! :)

You can get the details for the contest here, and join me.  Or you can just keep talking about changing things up in your life. The contest is over Sunday March 13, 2011 so there really isn’t much time left. That could be a good thing. No time to be scared and back out, just time to get it done.

“Start Your Family Off Right”,

 better late than never,

Teri :~)

Are You Ready For A Wedding?

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 I have been through the wedding process with two daughters and it was a joy.  I would like to share a simple planning method that will help you save time, money and your sanity while getting it all done.

We need to be realistic in our planning process, and use tools to keep it simple and in perspective.

The supplies you will need:

- 1 – 2 inch Three-Ring Binder

- Decorative Tab Dividers  5-10

- Wedding Magazines, Library Books

- Flyers form Craft Stores, Fabric Stores, etc.

Instruction:

1. Put the dividers in your binder and Label your tabs: Venues, Officiates, Wedding Dress, Bridesmaids Dress, Tux’s, Photographer, Florist, Music, The Cake, Reception, Decorations, Rehearsal Dinner, Wedding Invitations, etc. Can you think of other categories that are important to you? 

2. Our binder had a plastic slip cover where we put a picture of our couple with the date and time of the wedding on it. What would make the cover special to you?

3. Go through those magazines and flyers and cut out any and everything you are interested in. Put them behind the tab that best represents the picture. Copy your pictures from your books and get them in your binder also. This is the time to dream!

4.Now you should sit down with parents or as a couple and make those hard decisions. What is the budget, do we have a date, where would we like to have the ceremony, how many and who will we invite?

5. Have you made a few of those hard decisions? It’s time to take a good look at what’s most important down to what is least important. Make a list and start visiting perspective venue websites and making phone calls. Set up dates and times to visit places and make those important purchases first.

6. Set up your core group of helpers and start getting those wedding plans in place. This really can be a fun part of the wedding if you choose your helpers carefully. Trust me; things will happen even with the best of planning.  However, if you have a good attitude everything will work out just fine.

I would like to close with a few tips:

When you are setting up those tabs you might want to group some together, that way you won’t need as many tab categories. Please do what makes things simple for you.  We need to keep our wedding planning simple and as stress free as possible so that it remains fun.

I hear all the time from mothers that it was just too much work and they would never plan a wedding again. It doesn’t have to be that way! Get help, you want this to be a celebration for the family too, not just the guests.

I have found this system to be the easiest and most practical. The planners that you purchase from the store are usually too big to carry around with you and have lots of things in them that you don’t need.  You create the three-ring binder so it fits your needs not everyone else’s.

Most brides will do a scrapbook or photo album later. The three-ring binder is more of a workbook than a keep-sake, a collection of needs, wants, and to-do’s. And while you’ll want to keep it as a memento, understand that it will get used and abused. It will be your “go to list” for many months.

Are you ready for a wedding? Of course not… but you will be.

Teri :~)

Wedding Day’s… Always Remembered

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 I remember my daughter’s wedding day like it was yesterday! Why?  Goodness, there are so many reasons… let me start at the beginning though.

The wedding took place in our backyard. I woke that morning in August, early of course, slipped on some comfy clothes knowing I had lots of work to do before a shower and my “mother of the bride” dress would go on. I sneaked out of the house while everyone was still sleeping, headed down to the ceremony area and even sat in the chair I would be seated in that evening.

The sun was just coming up. I felt so blessed, humbled and excited all at the same time. This was the day. Oh how we had planned, organized, purchased, borrowed and all for this special day.  Whew! Here we were at the finale. I could have sat there and reminisced longer but…

From the balcony behind me came the words I love to hear “mom, where are you?”   Ah, it’s started, time to MOVE.  Everyone grabbed a quick breakfast because we had to be out of the kitchen ASAP, my oldest daughter was making the wedding cake for her sister. Of course the cake had been prepared and just the final coat of frosting and embellishments had to be put on.

Meanwhile Grandpa Bob had arrived with his pick-up truck so we headed up to the neighbors to borrow the horse trailer to pick up more chairs and big beautiful potted plants (done in the wedding colors) from Grandma’s house. Picking the flower pots up had to be done at the last minute because we didn’t want the deer to feast on those petunias before the wedding.

Our hair stylist arrived about 9:00am and started making everyone beautiful. This was a really special time because all my girls had on Grandpa Ron button up shirts (easily taken off after hair is styled). My dad or Grandpa Ron had passed away the year before so wearing the shirt had us all reflecting on Grandpa Ron.

About noon I set out rolls and bread, veggie tray, fruit tray and some drinks so everyone could grab and go about their business. Then more special friends started arriving to get tables and chairs set up with linens and table centerpieces.

They were also decorating the backdrop, table for sign-in and a table to hold wedding presents. I even remember Aunt Goldie sewing the ring pillow at the last minute! At 3:30 the photographer arrived and we were all dressed and ready for pictures.

We had planned and organized so well that everyone was able to have a great time. All through the day I heard laughter, joking, discussing what to do and how to do it.  So many memories were made on our wedding day; memories that will always be remembered.

What are some of your sweet memories? Or… maybe not so sweet memories?

Teri :~)

Whew…We Did It!

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 It’s been 11 days since the wedding, time does fly! I’m writing thank you notes today, 15 and I still have a few more to go. It took me 3 days after the wedding to wash all the linens we used. These were borrowed from friends so I wanted to get all the stains out and get them folded nicely.  I still have a few things to return but for the most part we are done.

The first few days after the wedding every time I sat down I just wanted to go to sleep. I think I knew the rush was over and I didn’t HAVE to hurry to get things done anymore, no more time schedule.  Life is returning to normal…whatever that is. I’m still tired and my brain still needs some time to rest.  I want to eat everything in sight, what’s up with that? I did really good before, during and a few days after the wedding but now…ugh! 

The newlyweds are still honeymooning.  When they get home this weekend we will be moving everything in her room to their new house.  I hope to be a bit more rested by then, I just feel kind of in a daze. I need the cobwebs to clear so I can start planning our school year, and… my mother is getting married Aug. 21st. 

I can’t wait until we get all our wedding pictures back so I can share them with you.  So…stay tuned, I’ll be back in full swing by the end of August 2010.  Teri :~)