it’s the little things that count

Posted by Cobi on Monday June 14, 2010 at 06:00 AM
Comments (1)

I love weddings, and we've been lucky enough to be invited to a few this year. I'm always interested to see how the bride makes the event 'her own'. The little personal touches that you know were discussed, rehearsed, researched and no doubt worried about ad nauseum.

When I appeared on the Steven & Chris show this past spring, I brought with me a little memento of my parents wedding.

At their 50th Wedding Anniversary party a few years ago, we opened my mother's wedding gown that had been stored in a brown box with green garbage bags covering it for 50 years. It had been moved from house to house and was covered in dust and so we were interested to get it out and see what shape it was in. I decided to make 'the opening' a part of the party and so with all of her bridesmaids around we opened the box.... And guess what? It was perfect! Makes you wonder about all of those expensive 'preserving boxes' doesn't it? And it was so wonderful to see the women plumping and primping it just like they would have 50 years earlier.

Anyway, when we got the dress out a few other things fell out of the box that I found fascinating...have a look....

There was a miniature version of the wedding party (unfortunately one man is missing) that an older woman my mother knew, had carefully made out of scraps of the wedding party dresses. What a beautiful memento and really something special to see 50 years later. I am so glad I have them and keep them in a box in my dining room.

I know that kind of creative work is time consuming and intricate for today's busy life, but it got me thinking how lovely the idea, if you are closely involved in a wedding, to do something with the extra material of the girl's dresses. Even something very simple. No doubt the dresses will make their way to the recycling over time, but something small and sweet can be tucked in a box or drawer for years and years.

Maybe a little sachet....

Or a pretty drawstring purse. If you aren't a sewer yourself, this would be an easy job to pay someone to make up.

These eye pillows would be a fun gift for each bridesmaid...

As would a jewellery pouch ...

Or cosmetic bag...

It's just one of those little personal ideas that makes a wedding meaningful. And how many things can you do nowadays that will be even more precious 50 years later? Think of a new generation - daughters, granddaughters - many years down the road, finding your little surprise and imagining a special day that happened 50 years ago...