I glance around my house and it appears a bridal bomb has exploded inside. Boxes and Wedding
leftovers scattered throughout my home. The Wedding had come and gone and I stood in the middle of all the mementos we would
save to cherish that wonderful day, October 18th, 2003; my daughter's wedding day.
My thoughts drift back in time to all that brought us to this point. I smile. I know deep in my heart that Tabi is happy.
Tabitha met Brad while both were in college at UT Martin. Both were working on campus while attending there. In August, 2000
Tabi introduced me to her new flame. I could tell right off this guy was different. I saw the sparks between them that I'd
not seen in my daughter's life before. The romance blossomed.
Late winter
of 2001 the news greeted us that I would become a grandmother soon. Spring brought Brad's graduation from UTM with a bachelor's
of science degree in health and human performance. he had accepted a graduate assistantship at Valdosta State University
in Valdosta, GA.
August 3rd we moved Tabi (7 months pregnant) and Brad
600 miles away to Valdosta, GA. Tabi planned to sit out the fall semester, have the baby and then enroll along with Brad
at VSU after the holidays. With my work schedule I was able to visit Valdosta every other weekend leaving on Thursday and
returning on Sunday. I enjoyed those weekends even though it meant 11 hours one way.
Ryleigh Denise Herrin was born on Sept. 26th, 2001. She filled all of our lives with sunshine. Her Mommy and Daddy welcomed
her into a home full of love.
It wasn't easy raising a newborn while in
college 600 miles away from home and family but Brad and Tabi did it without complaints of any kind. They juggled their class
and work schedules around Ryleigh. She spent very few hours in daycare. I gained alot of respect for Brad and Tabi as
I saw their commitment to each other and to their daughter.
Christmas of 2002
Brad and Tabi (after living in GA for 17 months) surprised us with a most wonderful gift. They had moved to Murfreesboro,
TN and both would attend MTSU after the holidays. This was only 150 miles away from home! We were overjoyed!
Christmas night Brad took Tabi outside at my parents' home, down to the front porch of the log cabin
that my brother, dad and grampa had built. He got down on one knee and proposed to my little girl.
They set the wedding date as October 18th, 2003. their entire family was overjoyed with the news. We had
witnessed their journey together, their daily commitment to each other and now they would make it permanant.
Tabi has been through a lot in her short life and happiness has not always shown on her sweet face.
To see it radiate with love and happiness now ignited the desire in all of us to make this the wedding of her dreams. Her
dad and I divorced when she was 14 and he remarried five years before Brad purposed. Although it did take a while
for everyone to adjust to our new roles in such a situation, we all seem to have gained a bit of respect for each other and
all took up the attitude of putting the past in the past and moving on beyone that. None of us wanted to miss out on these
joyous events or darken the Bridal season with a cloud from the painful past.
Tabitha's dad and I had an understanding that since I had helped them financially when they moved to GA, the wedding
expense would have to come from him. He and his wife, Linda sat down with Tabi and Brad and sketched out a budget. Although
I would not have the financial burden, there were several things I wanted to contribute to the wedding. I mean, this is my
only daughter. With Linda and me working together closely we cut all corners possible.
Winter of 2003 was filled with scanning Bridal books, magazines and websites. If it was out there, we
saw it. Tabi's idea of a dream wedding began to take shape; a fall outdoor wedding with grapevines and grape clusters
as the theme.
There were two possible wedding sites; my brother's
house or her dad's house. They decided on Tabi's dad's newly built house. The large front porch with collumns
decorated with grapevines lent a hint of "gone with the wind", one of Tabi's favorite movies. The soft, easy
pond in their front lawn provided a romantic backdrop for the ceremony. For months we dreamed, worked and prepared for October
18th.
Tabi has a big heart. She has so many people who
has touched her life in a special way. She wanted all of them in her wedding. Brad was the same, having many he felt close
to. Their wedding party ended up consisting of two best men, a matron of honor, a maid of honor, 6 groomsmen, 6 bridesmaids,
2 jr groomsmen, 2 jr bridesmaids, 2 flowergirls and 1 ring bearer. Whew!
Tabi found a bridal shop she loved called "The Bride's Story" in Murfreesboro. They had the wedding gown and
bridesmaid outfits she liked the best along with many other needed items. She chose 3 colors for the Bridesmaids to wear;
Champaigne, Palemano and Mocha. The Jr. Bridesmaids would wear deep eggplant.
Tabi's wedding gown was a beautiful flowing ivory strapless gown with a long bridal train. It was accented with a metalic
vinelike stitching. The back laced up in a victorian corset style very becoming to her perfect figure.
As the wedding plans began to take shape my schedule became filled with either working on wedding
projects or shopping for just the right items for the projects. One of the first projects was favors. Since Tabi
had decided on using lots of candles at her wedding (Bridesmaids carrying hurricane lamps) we decided labeled votive candles
would be nice. I bought the candles at Big Lots on sale and printed the labels on decorative paper from Wal-Mart. The labels
said "Thank you for sharing our special day. Tabitha & Brad 10-18-03". I made 184 for approximately $25.00.
Tabi and Brad made it clar that this day was about the union between the two of them, not just getting
married because they had Ryleigh. We focused our wedding thoughts in this manner. We did want to include Ryleigh in a special
way because she is indeed the sunshine to both of her parents. We decided that along with the labeled votive candle
favors to have matching labeled tiny candy bars. The candy bar wrappers said, "Thanks for coming... Ryleigh". Her
own little thank you to the guests of her mommy & daddy's wedding. I printed the labels from my computer just as I
had for the candles, using the same paper. My only expense; the candy bars. I glued the labels using a liquid glue stick.
One stick lasted through the entire wedding craft season.
Tabi had a mound of wedding
information she was quickly collecting. I bought her a simple green zippered notebook organizer, glued ivory flat lace across
the middle of it and this became her wedding Bible. she did not go anywhere without it!
I found a pretty taupe satin fabric that Tabi and I fell in love with. I used this for the Ring bearer's pillow. I made
a heart shaped design of ribbon embrodrey using ivory, taupe, and eggplant colored ribbon. The edge of the pillow was accented
with taupe lace.
We had a long search for the flower girl baskets. We wanted
them to look rustic as made out of grapevines. I finally found them and lined the inside with the taupe satin fabric accenting
each side with a simple ivory ribbon tied in a bow on the handle. I also used the taupe satin as a cuff on a set of ivory
pillow cases I made Tabi for one of her showers.
I bought a white mailbox and
decorated it with white and ivory lace, ribbon, sequins and perals giving it a bridal look. She used this at her showers and
reception to collect gift cards. On the inside of the door I glued an ivory doiley to dress up the interior. After the wedding
we donated the mail box to our church for use at all the Teas the Church gives.
Patience! more story to come!!
