Just Back from a Glamourous Wedding: Art & Story by Sandra Russell

Wow, so I just experienced a once in a lifetime event. I was the mother of the bride at a wedding in Los Angeles. The bride and groom paid for their own event as they are both mature and independent. I was treated simply as an honored guest, which was quite a treat. The venue quite out of reach and exotic for a country lover such as myself, but I like to think I am flexible (though, the traffic in LA does make me cringe; at least I didn't have to drive).

First of all, I flew cross country. I haven't been further than 150 miles from home for 9 yrs. Then land to meet my future son in law for the first time and get dropped off at an air B&B where I meet old friends and family to share a 4-bedroom house til the wedding. The back yard is filled with fruit trees; figs, oranges, and even pomegranates! I didn't know they grew on trees? I tried to sketch and watercolor a few of them, but again much was going on to draw focus.

I won't bother to mention some of the side trips we took but go straight to the wedding/reception. I shook out my fancy mother of the bride dress and was glad the wrinkles dropped out of it. Wedding planners, and makeup people and photographers told me where to go, and how long to wait. Suddenly it was time to walk down the aisle. My sister and I followed the groom’s mother and father to music from a huge pipe organ, felt like Buckingham palace. My co-mom and I lit two candles then took our seats. After the vows and ring exchanges the couple took the candles we lit and lit a third large candle to seal the union. It was all very elegant.

Then we were driven to the reception where we also stayed the night. The Langham Hotel in Pasadena. This hotel was built between 1915 and finished in the thirties. It is quite glamorous, and the service is fantastic. I found that even with my arthritis and lack of general athleticism, that having a group of friends, a live band, and a meal to dance off, got me up onto the dance floor a few times. I had to laugh at one point as well, when one song came on, two of the girls I was dancing with (now in their mid-forties), I had danced with in our humble old cabin when they were in grade school and high school! Now here we were again, dancing to the same song in a posh hotel filled with flowers and champagne...It was just so sweet; and they were laughing too.

The Langham Hotel, Pasadena California

The courtyard