Bridal Bouquet

I guess I'm still going through withdrawal.

Last summer, I was afflicted with Wedding Brain.

It's a malady that strikes only Mothers of the Bride.

I had a bad case. When my Sunday paper came, the first thing I turned to was the full-page Hobby Lobby ad.

What was on sale this week at Wedding World? Was there a 40 percent off coupon?

If I drove by a Hobby Lobby, there seemed to be a magnetic draw pulling my car toward the doors. There might be an unadvertised special. There might be something just perfect in the discount aisle.

Were candles on sale? Watch out, world! Mother of the Bride coming through!

Yes, I fully admit, I was a Hobby Lobby addict.

So why, now that I have beaten the affliction, am I seeing bridal bouquets in my backyard?

Do others see it, I wonder? Do you see it?

In truth, it looks nothing like Jill's bouquet. But the spill of delicate flowers on the backyard shrub just says wedding to me.

It's been 9 1/2 months since Jill's wedding. But I guess I'm having a recurrence since I'm seeing things.


I know some moms who are helping to plan weddings this summer. I have offered reference materials from my 3-inch-thick, three-ring notebook of information. (Yes, I really have one!)

One stressed mom has a daughter getting married in June and the other in September. And the kicker? Both weddings are outside.

Outside, I say!?What are you trying to do to your poor Wedding Brain-afflicted mother?

Once upon a time, I probably gave Wedding Brain to my mother, too. Randy & I were married just 10 months after my younger sister.

But as I watched our beautiful daughter walk down the aisle toward a young man we were pleased to welcome to our family, all the planning and worrying and stewing were worth it.

What a fun, beautiful, meaningful day! It was definitely worth my Wedding Brain symptoms.

But watch out, any of you Mothers of the Bride. There may be hallucinations involved, even months after your big event. Case in point? Seeing a bridal bouquet in your backyard.

Wedding Photos by Gina Dreher at Gingeroot Studios, Wichita, KS
http://www.gingerootphoto.com