Mother of the Bride

Writing a weddings blog about Mother’s Day is, I admit, a bit of a stretch. Not counting Greek heroes and Irish people, I can’t think of anyone who’d like to marry their mother. Apart from the obvious legal, moral and personal deterrents, there’s also something terrifying about a woman who knows you better than you know yourself. We all like to think of ourselves as unique, as enigmas bound on bones of self…only, your mother remembers when you couldn’t tie your shoelaces. Which was about five years ago in my case.

For all couples with weddings in 2021 (or any other year)

Perhaps Mothering Sunday is a good time to think about the mother of the bride. It’s definitely a good time to give her some sympathy, because it’s a much harder than people realise. She’s a part of the audience, but also running the show. She’s both passenger and pilot, both St. George and (more often) the dragon.

A nice thing about blank canvas wedding venues is that you can give her some space. With such freedom to structure your day and layout, you could have a sort of “free range” mother of the bride. Send her into the meadow of your guests, armed with a half-gallon of champagne and all her natural charms; under such circumstances are mothers at their very best.

If you’re looking at planning a barn wedding in the near future, your mother will be an invaluable resource. They have a lot of ideas on how to do things right, and a lot of ideas on how to do things wrong, so you know they’ll give your wedding day some variety. Best of all, they’ll be there to support both of you, whatever the adventures of planning a wedding (and, afterwards, a marriage) may throw at you. Here’s to mothers everywhere!