Tiffany and John's Wedding

Today's post probably won't be of interest to anyone except family and close friends. Thank you for indulging me as I share photos of the wedding of our first-born granddaughter, Tiffany, to John De Pasquale on August 14th.

Tiffany asked her Papa to make the Unity Cross for their ceremony, so I snapped a photo of him working on it.

The rehearsal, wedding ceremony, and reception were at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial. The Renaissance mansion was built in 1910 as a residence for Russell [Jr.] and Marion Alger and their three children. [Russell Alger, Jr. was the son of Michigan's 20th Governor.] In the spring of 1949 Mrs. Alger deeded the house and grounds to the Grosse Pointe War Memorial Association where it is a living memorial to veterans [it helped that her Papa is a veteran having the wedding there]. The front circular brick courtyard and fountain faces Lake Shore Drive.

John and Tiffany by the fountain before the wedding rehearsal.

Back of the mansion where the outdoor ceremony was held which overlooks Lake St. Clair.

 Garden to the right of the mansion.

Our youngest son, Jeremy, with his wife, Samantha, and their three children - Isabella, Landon, and Ellie, sitting on the Lake St. Clair breakwall.  Landon was ring bearer in the wedding.

The rehearsal dinner was at the Village Grille on Kercheval Avenue in Grosse Pointe

Jeremy and family stayed overnight at our house after the rehearsal, and we went to breakfast the morning of the wedding.  Papa with his two granddarlings!

Jeremy giving Landon a helping hand getting ready.  He was so proud of his tux!

Isabella all dressed and ready to go to the wedding.

~ Tiffany and her attendants inside Alger House ~

[Photo courtesy of Jessie Speelman Photography]

~ Mother-of-the-Bride, our daughter, Lori ~

Thunderstorms were forecast, and there was thunder before the ceremony began, but the rain held off until it was over.  [Thank you, Jesus!]

~ Pre-ceremony photos ~

~ Landon and Hope - John's niece ~

~ Jeremy, Samantha, Isabella, Ellie and Landon ~

~ Steve, Sharon and Brooke ~

~ Grandson Brandon and his girlfriend Vanessa ~

~ Ceremony in progress - Bridesmaid Brianna [granddaughter]~

~ Hope and Landon [giving his mom a wave] ~

John is eagerly looking for his bride! 





~ Tiffany and John wrote their own vows, and they were beautiful! ~

~ Unity Cross ~

~ John's sister, Linda, sang Always Forever ~

~ Prayer of Blessing ~

Mr. & Mrs. John De Pasquale

Tiffany was a beautiful bride.  If you look closely you'll see a rainbow behind her.



Post-ceremony and reception photos tomorrow.

Grandmother of the Bride Outfit

I've been so busy this spring/summer with traveling, speaking presentations, and the living room renovation project that I got off to a very slow start in shopping for my outfit for Tiffany's wedding. As grandmother, the impetus is a little more laid back than when I was mother of the bride.

Knowing I had to get moving, I pushed myself out the door last Saturday in the direction of the mall with a definite purpose and mission.  Fortunately, I found an outfit I liked suitable for a 'mature' woman, and it's a petite so no alterations are needed. Hooray!

Since none of you will be at the wedding, here's a peek!  The mauve colored under dress has a gray sequined lace overlay.  I'm not a glitzy person, so the sequins aren't gaudy.  To me it met the criteria ascribed to Jackie Kennedy's clothing - 'simple elegance' - minus a haute couture designer label, and a much more affordable price tag! ;-)  Amazingly, Jackie's 1947 Debutante of the Year tulle gown was a $59 off-the-rack, department store purchase, and dubbed a 'designer's dream.' She made it look like a million bucks. [The 1947 price tag of $59 wasn't exactly cheap though. The amount is equivalent to $719 in today's economy.] But back to the grandmother of the bride...  ;-)

The tea length hemline is scalloped to match the scalloped edging on the jacket.

~ Silver shoes and purse to match ~

I'll probably be the only lady there wearing gloves, but it's an appropriate occasion to wear them, so I went for it.

I didn't, however, want to be the only lady in attendance wearing a hat, so I opted for a small clip fascinator.

So now you know what Tiffany's nana will be wearing on August 14th.  The clock is ticking, and the wedding will be here before we know it.  You can be sure there'll be a blog post about it!  Grandma's have bragging rights! ;-)  I told a girlfriend, "Just think, next year at this time I could possibly be a great-grandmother."  Yikes! How can that be?  ;-)

Wedding Countdown

Only 22 days remaining until my granddaughter Tiffany's wedding.  

Tiffany asked her Papa to make the Unity Cross for their wedding ceremony.  It's a new tradition as an alternative to the Unity Candle.  I had never heard of it until Tiffany told us about it, and it's a beautiful concept.  Below is an example from the Internet.  The one my hubby makes will be a bit different.

The Bible engraved with their names for their White Bible Ceremony was ordered and arrived, but finding an available date on their calendar is a challenge. The ceremony is supposed to be held within a couple of days of the wedding.

The silver tussie-mussie flower holder [specific flowers are an integral part of the ceremony] was a gift from a thoughtful friend when my mother passed to symbolize her presence at the ceremony.  

A while back I saw these adorable engagement ring napkin holders, and couldn't resist purchasing them. It's past Tiffany's engagement dinner, but there will be other granddaughter's engagements when they can be used.

Aren't they cute?