I remember the night my sister got engaged. Not because I was there. Or I was in on the plan. (Which is a different story *cough*.) But because we were having a farewell dinner with our really good friends before we moved to Tennessee.
And, I’ll admit it : I just could not stop looking at my phone. My husband’s phone was almost dead. My phone was almost dead. And I just kept pulling it out to check it, even though I didn’t get a call or text or even an email the entire night.
Until just after 10, my phone rang once, I checked the caller ID, saw my sister’s name, and couldn’t answer it before my phone died. 10 pm? Friday night? My Spidey-Senses were a-tingling as I ran out to the kitchen and asked to borrow a phone to call her back. And that’s when I got the good news about the engagement and how he asked her and about the ring.
A couple weeks later, even after we’d talked about dresses and flowers and dates, I got a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates in the mail that said “Be Mine?” and on the inside “Matron of Honor that is.” I had just found out I was pregnant and now I had a delicious box of chocolates to enjoy and oh yeah, I got to be my sister’s MOH and I was excited.
But can I tell you a little secret? I’ve been tucking away little MOH ideas for my sister since…..well probably years. And when she and her fiance started going steady, I started actively saving ideas on Pinterest and putting edges around what some things might look like or her shower.
Five years ago, when I got married, she threw me an awesome shower, right where I lived so I wouldn’t have to go anywhere. And honestly I always worried a little bit that anything I did for her would have toddlers fingerprints – literally and figuratively – as I tried to put together a classy shower with two toddlers in the house who love to help and love their aunt even more.
As I searched for shower games that weren’t super overdone and found dress backs and centerpieces and other fun and different wedding goodies, I also found a list of MOH duties. Thinking that I would probably hit and miss, I opened it.
I found out that I was missing WAY more than I was hitting according to the popular wedding website WeddingWire. I scored right around a 40%. I haven’t been a teacher for a few years now, but I think that’s still an F? Right?
For example, I was doing a great job at lending my ear, well usually my thumbs as we do most of our communication via text message. And as I said before I was heading up the shower planning committee.
But I didn’t attend every shower or every fitting. There will be no bachelorette party and as far being a “point person” I mostly annoyed encouraged my sister about choosing a wedding hashtag. Because, you know, priorities.
So according to the wedding experts, I’m failing.
And sometimes I definitely feel like I’m failing at this too.
Like when I addressed and mailed all of the shower invites, and I found out that my sister didn’t get invited to her own shower. For an entire extra week. Because I forgot her zip code. Geeze.
And then someone else didn’t get their invite and I got to tail-between-my-legs to everyone I had invited and ask if they had gotten their invites or not.
Or when my aunt who is letting me have the shower at her house asked what I had planned for decorations and I said, “Ugh, what decorations?”
And of course there’s this that happened today:
Yes, that’s the food for the shower after it fell off the garage steps and went sprawling across the garage floor. (Please note that only 4 eggs were lost during this little accident.)
So Pinterest thinks I’m the WORST MOH Ever.
But my sister, whose opinion actually matters on this one, thinks I’m doing ok.
I have some insider info on her that makes it so that I can win even when I’m not always winning.
Like I know that she loves my kids’ artwork so the few invitations that looked like they helped, she thought were cute.
And she loves brunch and breakfast food (because come on who doesn’t?) so after trying to convince her to have a brunch reception, I just did a brunch bridal shower.
And also she thinks my whims and crazy ideas are funny so she’ll think the simultaneous two themes of her shower will be charming. (But who will even know without decorations really?)
I guess what I’m saying is it’s way more important as the Matron of Honor to fail at the Pinterest checklist, as long as I’m winning at what my sister needs from me or asks me to take care of.
And if that’s not calling wedding vendors and instead creating awesome wedding hashtags, that’s fine by me.
P.S. Next week I’ll show you all the shower stuff but for now, it has to stay a surprise so my sister can see it first. But it’s good stuff. There will be lots of pictures. 🙂
Leave a Reply