I just got the jpeg from my publisher today for my first book cover! The Everything Mother of the Bride Book, 2nd Edition! I am thrilled to share the cover with my avid blog readers first! Well, my publicist did tweet about it first – sorry! She’s my publicist – what can I say? We are pretty excited over here!
Your emails have been so supportive. I just wanted to to send a big thanks to all of you!
So…I thought I would announce my first blog contest with this book cover announcement!!!!!!
Make a comment here about why your mom is the best mother of the bride. The best comment (judging based on what my mom and I think) will get the following:
- A signed copy of my book
- $250 to go towards to your wedding budget
We have some time before my book gets here – so I am going to leave the contest open until March 15th. Spread the word and start making comments. Good Luck!
When you leave a comment, I automatically have access to your email address – so be careful to write the right email address when asked so I can contact you if you win.
Stay tuned for Wednesday’s post! If you haven’t heard or seen: Every Wednesday my mom (Claudia Van Veen) comes on my blog and has a weekly Mother of the Bride Guest Post! Super helpful for any mom prepping for a wedding.
Happy Planning!
~Katie Martin
UPDATE: Thank you for all your comments! We found our winner!
My mother has been wonderful in our wedding planning process. My fiance and I had only a few thousand dollars and my parents have given us money towards the wedding, but we are still on a tight budget. My mother has been activly garage sailing for vintage hankies for wedding favours and has been helpful to give her oppinion when asked for it, but money has not meant interferance here, which is apprciated. My mother is a wonderful, loving woman and I’d use the extra money to treat her to her Mother-of-the-bride outfit because she deserves the treat!
My Mom is my closest friend and living far apart while planning a wedding has been hard on both of us. She wasn’t able to be there when I chose my dress or for my first fitting. I sent pictures, but it isn’t the same. We’ve filled each others email inboxes with online finds and ‘oooo, look at this’ or ‘What do you think of this?’ I only wish we could have had this time in person. I want to use the $250 towards her plane ticket so she can be at my final fitting in person.
Make a comment here about why your mom is the best mother of the bride. The best comment (judging based on what my mom and I think) will get the following:
I can’t believe how important my mom is to me during this process. I always thought I had it all under control – and living 6 hours away from my mom wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But alas – all I want is my mom by my side! During every researching and decision making moment! She’s been a wonderful mother of the bride though through the distance. She always makes sure to email me good ideas and reminders, gives her opinion when asked and we’re looking forward to many trips to each other’s homes for shopping trips! She’s working hard to try to contribute what she can to the wedding financially – and this prize money would make us all a bit more comfortable. She’s my one and only mom and I’m thrilled to go through this with her by my side!
Love these comments so far – My mom is so wonderful and is always ready and willing to give amazing advice to me. She will be here next week to give more advice for more. I am sure she will pop on here and leave a few comments as well! Looking forward to seeing more comments from brides!
Well, she knows me well! The comments above fill my heart and I’m sure will make your moms get a tear or two trickling down their cheeks!
Emotions really do run the whole gamut for the bride and the mom and believe it or not for the groom’s mom as well. Long distance does make it hard. My own wedding was long distance planning and it really upset my mother that she couldn’t be here for everything…we didn’t have email and cell phones back then. But she was a trooper and told me she loved everything I’d planned (whether she did or not! :>)
My mom is the best mother of the bride because my dad is on disability and can’t work, and so my mom is the sole bread-winner in the house, yet she is still helping us pay for the wedding …she just wants us to have our dream wedding and I am so thankful to have a mom who loves me so much.
Ok – so this is a little different. I am both a Bride and a Mother-of-the-Bride!
I announced my engagement on July 4th and waited until early August to announce our wedding date of October 2nd, 2010.
My daughter called me on her birthday, August 25th to tell me she got engaged on the top of Mt. Washington. She was getting married in May, 2010. I was so elated!! She wanted a destination wedding, would I come, would I help, was I happy for her??? Yes, yes, yes, of course, this is fabulous, this is wonderful, this is exciting….
This is scary as hell!
Scary, but counting my blessings every day!
My Mother in Law is a wonderful Mother and I am very happy she is helping me plan our wedding. She has been very involved and interested in the details and I am just so happy to be sharing this special time with her!
My Mom has been my rock and support throughout the wedding process. She is the only person that I can always talk to, who will always listen. Even she can’t always relate to what I’m going through – she and my Dad had a very small courthouse wedding on the other side of the Atlantic, she embraced the process wholeheartedly, making her not just a great mother-of-the-bride, but a wonderful Mom overall.
I am so excited about all of the entries…Would love to also hear how people are finding the contest! Please leave a little note about that to give props to them!
I found it thru http://www.brendasweddingblog.com. I am a regular there!
My mom is the best! Growing up, I considered my mom a good friend, however after graduating from college our relationship had been more touch and go. We often fought more than we actually got along. It was a significant source of stress in both of our lives. Since my engagement, our relationship is actually back on track. We’re getting along really well and I often ask myself (and my mom) if everything’s okay. Things seem too good to be true. We have very similar tastes, so she’s been a great resource for all the important questions and very supportive of all of my decisions. We’re also both very Type A personalities- I’ve been very on top of things in planning, and it’s been so comforting to share my neuroses with my mom, she’s just as bad as I am (while she’s already stressing about finding a weekend for a bachelorette party and shower for my 9/25/10 wedding, I’m worried that our invitations haven’t been printed yet). We complement each other well and I’m hoping that going through this process with my mom will lead us to a more stable relationship for our future.
Lordy, I thought my Katie was writing this. You two will be just fine…especially if you can find things to laugh about. Laughing at oneself is just the best relaxer ever – well, a little vodka helps too.
My mom is the best mother of the bride because she is not only my mom but also my best friend.She is actually my Aunt.She is my dad’s sister.My biological mother left me after I was born in 1976.My Aunt and her husband took me in and cared for me like their very own with out any help from my real parents.I was passed around from my father who then gave me to his parents but they were both battling Cancer so they thought it was best that my Aunt cared for me.They never had kids of their own.They stuck by me through thick and thin even when they should of washed their hands of me when i started to rebel as a teen.They taught me respect and instilled manners in me that i cherish and are apart of me today.They showered me with love,kept a roof over my head,clothed me and instilled biblical values in me.I am so blessed to of been raised with both a mother and a father in the same home.She even stood by me when i became a teen mother.She promised my Grandmother on her dying bed that she would raise me and keep me safe.Cancer took my grandmother when i was about 2.I got married at 17 and years later continued my search for my real mother which my Aunt supported me the whole way without a jealous streak in her bones.I found my mom in 98 and we both had a chance to connect with my biological mother.Years later after a painful divorce all i ever wanted in my life was to have a life like my Aunt.Her and my dad have been married for 40 yrs.For better and for worst and in sickness in health.When i got out the military and times were hard i had just had a baby and she took my 2 oldest boys in and kept them for 3 yrs until she got sick.Never not once asking for any help whatsoever.She just turned 71 on the 11th and she lives in CA and i still reside in WA.My parents were not in good health to make it to my bootcamp graduation in 02 which was very important to me since my dad that raised me is a retired chief.I finally have a real good man in my life and we plan to get married here in WA July 17th and now my mom is having serious issues with her kidneys and most likely will not be able to be present to my wedding.I keep hoping and praying and wishing she will be there.My mother will forever be my favorite woman in the world because in my book she is the best mother and Grandmother in the world.I hope my marriage last as long as hers.When my mother gets real sick she refuses to complain.She just keeps it in and keeps on pushing.She is strong..loving..God fearing..compassionate..beautiful..wise..i can go on for days.I love her with all my heart and she is my inspiration to keep on in this world full of it’s ups and downs and obstacles.She has showed me that you only have one life and to live your life to the fullest since we all know tomorrow is not promised to anybody.Any female can give birth to a child but it takes a real woman to raise one.My mom is now a proud Grandma to 4 kids!yay!i love her so much and i hope she lives until past 100!I hadn’t seen my mom since 04 due to my finances but this past 4th of July my fiance drove me home to CA and it was a tear jerking reunion.My mom had a chance to meet her last 2 grandkids and my fiance.They instantly loved eachother.Although there is a big age gap between my mom and I we are extremely close and i tell her everything some things some women would not dare to tell their mom but eventhough she may not agree with everything i do she supports me in every way and loves me unconditionally.I call her several times a day with my wedding ideas wishing she was closer but she is here in spirit.My mom has the internet but doesn’t know how to use it.She has a cell phone with numerous features but only knows how to dial a number.Technology these days! lol…It would be a dream come true and a answered prayer if she makes it to my wedding.That would be sooo special to me.My mom no longer has good eyesight and no longer drives so her hands are tied with literally helping me with the wedding but that is ok because I am thankful she is still alive and breathing and her opinions and encouragement is what helps me the most.Thanks for this giveaway oppurtunity.
My mom is the best mother of the bride because she balances her excitement about our wedding and desire to help plan with a calming and completely nonjudgmental presence. Planning a DC wedding while living in San Francisco has been a challenge, but my mom is always there, willing to take time out of her schedule to do walk-throughs with the caterer or research and book the rehearsal dinner venue (and my dad has been great too – gotta give him some of the credit!). However, through all of it she has supported my fiance and I in our preferences and desires for our day. For example, we have very difference senses of style. When I was picking out dresses, she made me feel like I got the most beautiful dress – even though I know she would have picked something completely different. My dad and her are supporting (financially and emotionally) us in the wedding of our dreams that when they got married for $300 was something they could only dream of.
My mom is the very best. This is going to be my second engagement but first wedding. My mom has supported me through it all. When my grandmother died she left some money to my mom and my aunt. Instead of spending any of the money given to her she immediately put what little there was into a savings account for use on my wedding only. My mom is a high school teacher and not only is her salary not the greatest but she has to deal with stress on a daily basis. My brother and I are both living with our mother right now due to unfortunate circumstances and she is supporting us both. My brother is 30 and bipolar, his medication is terribly expensive and he cannot get a job at the moment. I was enrolled in law school but had to withdraw when I was diagnosed with Chronic fatigue syndrom at the age of 23. I cannot get a job while undergoing treatment for this either so my mom is scraping by and falling heavily into debt. I would love to be able to give her this gift to show her just how much I appreciate her sacrifices and to show her how much I love her. My fiancee is in the military and set to deploy a few short months after our wedding and my mother has vowed to be with me throughout that stressful period as well – I want to do whatever I can to help her because she is honestly one of the strongest and most wonderful person I have ever met.
Wow some of these stories are amazing!
Why my mom is the best…..
About 5 years ago my mom had a catastrophic brain aneurysm. We were in the process of planning our wedding, but put it on hold because we just couldn’t see paying so much when my life is too short. Amazing as it is my Mom is back to normal but it took a long time and sacrifices from all of us. We had to move 2 hours away to help my Mom so she could recover in a familiar environment. After about a year my Mom recovered and we moved back to our home. Then 2 years ago we got the worst news that I ever thought was possible. My Mom had Stage 3 Breast Cancer. My world just fell apart. I kept thinking why my Mom? Well let me just say she is amazing, through all the surgeries, Chemotherapy, and Radiation she just would smile and laugh (except when she lost her hair she was not very happy with that). In the middle of all this we were blessed with a handsome son. After my son was born my Mom asked so when are you getting married, I just laughed and said that’s a lot of money to spend on something that only lasts 6 hours and when you got sick the first time we decided that it wasn’t worth it. My Mom couldn’t believe it she explained to me how this day would be one of the best days of our life and is worth every penny we spend. My Mom is an amazing woman so strong and courageous, she is truly my hero. Now that we are planning my wedding my Mom has been such a tremendous help. My Mom has been put on some hard times due to the housing market and her illnesses, but even though she can’t really afford to help pay for our wedding she is. My Mom bought my amazing Wedding dress and Cake! I know we would not be having this wonderful wedding if my Mom didn’t tell me just how special it would be. I just can’t imagine what the planning process would be like without my Mom’s help there is just so much to do. My wedding planning has been going smooth because of my Mom, we are getting married in less than 9 months and I am not stressed and I owe that all to my Mom. And now I can’t wait to have my parent’s walk me down the aisle and for my Mom to see something special I have planned for her! I thank my lucky stars everyday that my Mom is still here with me, because without her I would be lost.
My mother IS the best mother of the bride… acutally just best mother in general. Throughout my entire life she has supported me with my crazy sometimes stupid ideas including my random decision to move to IL from CT to be with my fiance who was only a boyfriend at the time. Now we are 16.5 hours apart and I have realized how important family is in your life because every time I hear her voice I wish I could just jump in the car and go visit her. Last week she sent me a text message that said: “You know I really love when you call me all the time. You are such a wonderful daughter and you always make me happy.” I read the text and tried not to let my fiance see me shed a tear. THAT truely is the best mom in the world.