Notes from the Mother of the Bride (M.O.B.)

by Sherri Goodall

Overview

The Mother of the Bride's Essential Guide

You may be producing the largest party of your life, so here's the magic formula that allows you to remain sane and sensible, both during the planning process and on the great day itself. Professional event planner and wedding day ­veteran Sherri Goodall guides you through it all, including:

• Advice to save your sanity
• The Ten Commandments for the Mother of the Groom
• Checklists and tips, plus a bonus section of Really Useful Tips!
• Worksheets for budgeting and organizing it all

Know the secrets of:

• When to speak up, when not to
• Surviving the guest list
• Staying on good terms with the bride

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402250538
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	05/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	697 KB

About the Author

Sherri Goodall knows from whence she speaks. She owned a party store for several years in Tulsa and was a sought-after party ­planner. The ultimate test came when she planned her daughter's wedding in 1994. Utilizing her creativity to the maximum, she unearthed the most efficient and effective ideas and resources necessary to produce a wedding unique to the bridal couple…a wedding with panache, dazzle, sophistication, and originality.

Goodall was among the wedding-planning veterans on wedding details.com. Her expert M.O.B. advice was sought by hundreds of inquiring brides, their moms, their grooms, and others concerned with the M.E. (the Main Event). Goodall is the Editorial Advisor and a Contributing Editor for Oklahoma Bride Magazine, which debuted in January 1999. In August of 1998, Goodall became a M.O.G. (Mother of the Groom) and found that she could wear beige, but keeping her mouth shut was a stretch. (There is a well-known maxim among wedding literati that mothers of the groom are expected to wear beige and keep their mouths shut.) Goodall is a freelance writer, specializing in travel. Her articles have appeared in several publications including Departures, Travel News, Nostalgia, and Tycoon magazines. She writes for Tulsa People, Tulsa Kids, and Tulsa Woman. A grandmother of three, Goodall has written several humorous essays on grandmotherhood, which have appeared in 50 Plus, Metrofamily, 55 and Better!, and Senior Magazine, to name a few. "I have ridden elephants in Chiang Mai, tuk tuks in Bangkok, hot-air balloons over Kenya, camels in Eilat, rafts on the Colorado River, the Eastern Oriental Express through Malaysia, cabs in reverse in Mexico City (when the transmission ran in one direction only—reverse)," says Goodall, "but the most thrilling ride of all was the one in the elevator down to my daughter's wedding!"

Sherri Goodall knows from whence she speaks. She owned a party store for several years in Tulsa and was a sought-after party ­planner. The ultimate test came when she planned her daughter’s wedding in 1994. Utilizing her creativity to the maximum, she unearthed the most efficient and effective ideas and resources necessary to produce a wedding unique to the bridal couple…a wedding with panache, dazzle, sophistication, and originality.

Goodall was among the wedding-planning veterans on wedding details.com. Her expert M.O.B. advice was sought by hundreds of inquiring brides, their moms, their grooms, and others concerned with the M.E. (the Main Event).

Goodall is the Editorial Advisor and a Contributing Editor for Oklahoma Bride Magazine, which debuted in January 1999.

In August of 1998, Goodall became a M.O.G. (Mother of the Groom) and found that she could wear beige, but keeping her mouth shut was a stretch. (There is a well-known maxim among wedding literati that mothers of the groom are expected to wear beige and keep their mouths shut.)

Goodall is a freelance writer, specializing in travel. Her articles have appeared in several publications including Departures, Travel News, Nostalgia, and Tycoon magazines. She writes for Tulsa People, Tulsa Kids, and Tulsa Woman. A grandmother of three, Goodall has written several humorous essays on grandmotherhood, which have appeared in 50 Plus, Metrofamily, 55 and Better!, and Senior Magazine, to name a few.

“I have ridden elephants in Chiang Mai, tuk tuks in Bangkok, hot-air balloons over Kenya, camels in Eilat, rafts on the Colorado River, the Eastern Oriental Express through Malaysia, cabs in reverse in Mexico City (when the transmission ran in one direction only—reverse),” says Goodall, “but the most thrilling ride of all was the one in the elevator down to my daughter’s wedding!”

Read an Excerpt

The Challenge
My work is cut out for me

It's ninety degrees in Oklahoma. The special candy from New York is being shipped. "Dry ice in October...what, are you crazy?" from the mouth of the C.O.W. (Candy-Maker of the Wedding). So it goes.
I continue to write and laugh in hopes that this little tome will provide a few sorely needed chuckles and lots of helpful advice for other M.O.B.s.

Table of Contents

Introduction -

Chapter One: The Challenge
My Work Is Cut Out for Me -

Chapter Two: Sense and Sensibility
The Sensible Wedding, As Opposed to the Blind, Excessive, Orgiastic Blowout Gala -

Chapter Three: My First Suggestion
Get Prepared for the Mother of All Plan-a-Thons -

Chapter Four: Get Organized!
Book, Buy, Boss, and the Planning Process -

Chapter Five: The Boss
Are You Talking to Me? -

Chapter Six: The Guest List
If You Survive This, the Rest Will Be a Piece of Cake -

Chapter Seven: The Band
A Dizzying Weekend in Dallas in Search of The Band -

Chapter Eight: The Wedding Gown
"Something Borrowed..." -

Chapter Nine: The Kleinfeld Experience
The Marathon of All Searches: The Wedding Gown -

Chapter Ten: The Big Picture
Trying to Stay Focused While Flinging Away Money -

Chapter Eleven: Getting It into Perspective
What to Spend Where -

Chapter Twelve: Flowers, Food, Champagne
...and Other Necessary Evils -

Chapter Thirteen: The Dead-Silence Routine
So Much for the M.O.B.'s Opinion -

Chapter Fourteen: Email and the Fax
The Easiest Way to Do Tables and Cure Insomnia -

Chapter Fifteen: Ten Commandments for the M.O.G. (Mother of the Groom)
Thou Shalt Wear Beige and Keep Thy Mouth Shut -

Chapter Sixteen: Ten Commandments for the F.O.B. (Father of the Bride)
Making a Fashion Statement Has Its Price -

Chapter Seventeen: Travels of the Prenuptial Dress
Earning More Miles than I Have -

Chapter Eighteen: The Order and Wait Game
If You Need It Next Month, You'll Receive It Tomorrow. If You Need It Tomorrow, You'll Receive It Next Year. -

Chapter Nineteen: M.O.B. Underwear
An Exasperating But Necessary Experience -

Chapter Twenty: Bonding-Binding?
A Strange Twenty-First-Century Ritual -

Chapter Twenty-One: One Week Prior to the M.E. (Main Event)
The Point of No Return -

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Rehearsal
Who Are All These People? -

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Chuppah
The Wedding Canopy: A Lesson in Creative Genius -

Chapter Twenty-Four: Twenty-Four Hours to Go
Things Have Gone Too Smoothly... -

Chapter Twenty-Five: The M.E.:
The Wedding Day
An Out-of-Body Experience -

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Morning After
"Mom, Where's All My Stuff?"-The New Missus -

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Post-M.E.
Observations
If I Had It to Do Over, I Could Still Make the Same Mistakes

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Post-M.E.
Lost and Found Department
You Don't Really Want to Know -

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Afterthoughts...
...While Hooked Up to My Memories Like an Intravenous Line -

Chapter Thirty: The Good Stuff
The Thoughts That Stay in Your Heart Forever -

Chapter Thirty-One: R.U.T.s (Really Useful Tips)
Finally, the Helpful Stuff -

Chapter Thirty-Two: My Last Suggestion
A Main Event to Remember -

Figure 1: Wedding Budget Breakdown -

Figure 2: Bride's Budget Planner -

Figure 3: Groom's Budget Planner -

Figure 4: Floral Budget -

Figure 5: Sample Monthly "To Do" List -

Figure 6: Where It All Began -

Figure 7: Sample Letter to Out-of-Town Guests -

Figure 8: Sample Schedule of Events -

About the Author