A Wedding Day Bridal Brunch
/It Was Time to Kiss the Miss Goodbye ~ Miss Chloe was getting married!
We awoke to a crystal clear “something blue sky” with birds chirping loudly at the crack of dawn! It’s WEDDING DAY! We just couldn’t believe it was finally here. It was the BIG day, and day #5 of a week of celebration on the island of Nantucket.
The house was in order; flowers flooded every room, the dining room table was set, music billowed softly through the house. There was a beautiful early morning quiet, as the only other person in the house was the bride. Asleep. As tradition has it, we did not want the groom to see his bride after midnight! The morning progressed with a calm, yet spirited, tempo. Our open-door policy soon gave way to a bevy of family and friends coming in and out of the front and back doors with fresh baked goods, iced coffee lattes and lots of excited chatter. The very large bridal party of 13 bridesmaids made for a festive event in and of itself, with all of them coming and going as they excitedly prepared to skirt around the island to various salons to have their hair styled. We had a stylist come to our home for the bride, her Matron of Honor, our other daughter, and me.
Tip #1: Mother-of-the-Bride and Bride should never leave the house on the wedding day! It was important for us to have a sense of relaxation and feel in control of command central, even though we had 3 wedding planners running the show!
The bride gifted her bridesmaids with lovely floral nightshirts for getting ready and for picture-taking after hair and make-up, being careful not to don their beautiful white dresses for this all-white wedding, too early. They chatted and laughed and cried. They all contributed to the creation of a beautiful and sentimental scrapbook for the bride, which was ongoing at the kitchen table throughout the morning. Each and every one of these beautiful young women, classmates hailing from Kent boarding school and the University of Virginia, were all so near and dear to Chloe.
Then it was time for brunch! All I kept thinking was we need to feed these beauties before this very long day begins…No fainting at the altar! We were 20 for brunch with guests, wedding party, bride, mother-of-the-groom and me. Classical music played softly throughout the house helping to maintain a sense of calm….until things began to rev up with the realization that this was it! The bridesmaids began dancing and pop music began blasting!
Tip #2: The wedding day is the most special day of a girl’s life. Let it just be organic.
I had set the dining room table up the evening before with everything pink, silver and crystal! Though the wedding theme was all white, I just felt that pink was feminine and bridal. I used my vintage (1982) Marie Claire dishes with large cabbage roses in shades of pink. When I bought them 27 years ago, my dream was to use them for one of my children’s weddings. And FINALLY it was happening!
I set out two large rectangular mirrors on which I placed a silver ice bucket filled with bottles of Veuve Clicquot Rose and filled champagne glasses. The mirrors reflected the pink bubbly, the chandelier above and the candles all over the table.
The menu was delicate and light, but plentiful, with food presentation at varying heights. As this was no time for me to be cooking, we joyfully had it catered by a lovely organic, natural food eatery. Though I must admit, it was very hard for me to give up control!
Tip #3: Try to keep “task” activity in your home to a minimum. You never want to appear stressed or over-worked on THE wedding day. And besides, you don’t want to mess up your manicure…
The girls lounged outside taking photos post-brunch, laughing and hugging. Right before the bride was ready to don her wedding gown, they all sat and watched a video made especially for her by all of her friends. It was tearful, emotional, dramatic and so very, very special. Video complete…the girls were dressed and on their way to church in the wedding vans, and we were left to help dress the bride. Once again, a quiet fell over the house. This was the moment we’d all been waiting for. Looking breath-taking in her wedding gown and veil, she put on her white gloves, was handed her bouquet and smiled at my husband and me as she made her way to the 1954 Rolls Royce waiting for us. We were escorting our baby to church to get married …. It’s just one of those moments a mother can’t put into words.
Menu
Heart-Shaped Tea Sandwiches (egg salad with cucumber, hummus with vegetables, Herbed chicken salad)
Shrimp Cocktail
Cajun Shrimp
Lobster Salad
Fruit Salad
Farro Salad with Roasted Veggies
Sushi (California Rolls)
Pink Champagne (Veuve Clicquot Rose)
Coffee & Herbal Teas
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
Mimosas
La Croix Waters in varying flavors