Mom of the Bride - Whirlwind trip to North Carolina

Bridal Party
Everything you'll ever need to know about getting married and planning a wedding in the Washington, DC area.

Mom of the Bride: A Whirlwind Trip to North Carolina

Amanda hits the road with her daughter to get some important things in place.

By Amanda Warrington Published Tuesday, April 21, 2009

With two months to go before their wedding, some brides might be in a panic over not having a vendor for their cake or florist. But in North Carolina, it’s nothing but a thang. No problem, no worry.

We recently went to North Carolina to meet with various vendors and scheduled two appointments for one day and six (that’s right, six) for the following day. While driving down, we came up with a list of questions and expectations for a coordinator, talked about music selections, the seating chart, and any one-off groupings that we wanted the photographer to catch. We were on a whirlwind mission. Our weekend went something like this:

Friday:
6:45 a.m.: “Amanda, get up, Tiffany’s here” my husband shaking me when he hears Tiffy’s race truck rumble to a stop in front of the house. When did she become such an early bird?!
8:00 a.m.: We picked up Debbie, Tiffy’s future mother in law, load up and the three of us head down the road.
12:00 noon: “Hey, we are making good time. Maybe Douglass [cake lady] can meet with us earlier than 4.”
12:02 p.m.: Phone rings – Douglass has had a pipe burst and needs to reschedule for Saturday.
12:04 p.m.: “Hey, maybe our 6:00 appointment can meet with us at 3:00”
3:00 p.m.: We meet with the first of two coordinators we are scheduled with for the weekend.
5:00 p.m.: We arrive at my aunt and uncle’s house in Beaufort where we are spending the night.

Saturday:
7:15 a.m.: “Mom, get up, Aunt Sonda’s making breakfast”
9:00 a.m.: We meet with a cake lady.
10:00 a.m.: We try to meet with a florist but she has forgotten our appointment. Next . . .
11:00 a.m.: We meet with Naomi and Janine and finalize arrangements for them to do the bridal parties hair and make up on the day of the wedding.
12:00 noon: We meet the caterer at the aquarium for a walk through of the space.
2:30 p.m.: Tiffany and Debbie meet with a florist.
3:00 p.m.: I meet with a second coordinator.
4:30 p.m.: We meet with Douglass Ann – the coolest cake lady ever.
7:00 p.m.: We arrive in Chocowinity at my in-laws house where we are spending the night.

I consider the trip a success because we finalized hair and makeup, the cake, and the coordinator. I feel confident that Tiffany will hire the florist she met with. With all of the vendors in place, we just have to focus on the final details.In these weeks leading to the wedding, I realize that my biggest issue is simply this: I can’t believe that my Tiffany is getting married. That she will be a wife. With a husband. It’s just so weird!

Amanda, a local mother of the bride, writes occasionally about helping to plan her daughter's wedding, which will be in the spring. To read about her adventures from the beginning, click here.

As a side note to this blog - for whatever reason, the editor at Washingtonian heavily edited this blog. I thought the edits actually made the blog on Washingtonian not make sense. And the edits certainly change the voice.