These dresses were all labeled 'courthouse couture' which would be a misnomer for most Neels weddings--but the fashions (better if in tweed) are suitably 'rushed down the aisle' to work for our purposes. We've discussed engagements before, I think, but this is more than just a quick 2 month waiting period. This is 6 days warning we're talking about. But no one is fussed (or whispering about due dates) when the hero holds his wedding without telling or inviting his family and doesn't wait for preliminaries (whatever they are).
So how do we feel about this? Is it romantic (but only in a book)? Is it ill-advised? What kind of in-law relations would this lead to? Thoughts?
I'm not overly fussed about the speed of the weddings but I just don't get how cavalier The Great Betty was in terms of inviting relations to weddings. The Canon is rife with examples of RDDs who have plenty 'o family but who don't bother to even invite their parents to the nuptials. As a parent I would be a little put out.
ReplyDeleteI think the second dress from the left on the top row is the classic Neels suit for a low key wedding. If I had to marry again, I would also pick the intimate wedding version over the yards of white tulle extravaganza. I'm not saying mine was extravagant ($500 budget in '82), but I certainly had to meet some unwritten local criteria.
ReplyDeleteI've seen marriages with long engagements where one set of parents didn't show for one reason or another (my own m-i-l - said she didn't have a ride. Didn't let anyone know, but hey...) And my niece was married with 2 weeks notice (so she could go with her Marine hubby to his next posting in Hawaii!) that had all the bells and whistles and both sets of parents, and still bad inlaw relations. To be fair, both mothers were lousy mothers.
ReplyDeleteBTW, my niece had a white gown, 4 attendants in matching dresses and dyed shoes, printed napkins (and matchbooks - who does THAT these days??) and a catered reception, with a band! My super-organized eldest sister called a Sister Meeting (there were five us then) and had her little memo pad lists organized - ripped a sheet from it for each sister and we were off and running. By the end of the first week we were having a bridal shower for 200 people.
We got that wedding organized and it came off without a hitch...except Leroy's posting was changed and he went to Okinawa and she wasn't allowed to go anyway! :)
What a great story! I've always hoped that I'll turn into one of those mothers who meet their daughter's eccentric wedding plans with aplomb and a notepad.
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