Claire merely wants to be the stylish mother-of-the-bride, but when she finds out that her daughter-in-law is planning a different wedding, she withdraws to concentrate on her own attire, which leads to a confrontation between Alice and Claire on the wedding day. While Claire finds nothing wrong with her actions, Alice believes that Claire has ruined the wedding by taking her dream dress. Who is not correct?

I just wanted to be the bride’s mother. That is all. This is the tale of how my endeavor to make my son’s wedding ideal ended up being a day we’d all rather forget. All I wanted to be was the devoted mother who loved her son beyond all else.

 

 

 

 

 

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I didn’t think Mark would fall in love with Alice when she first came to us. My son Mark works as a lawyer at a prestigious company, having landed the job as soon as he graduated from Stanford.

“I’m going to be a lawyer, Mom,” he told me once when he was still in high school and doing an essay on the career he wanted to get into.

“I could easily see that,” I told him, making him breakfast as he worked away.m

 

 

 

 

 

Mark had big dreams, and I knew that my son was always going to reach for the stars.

Alice, on the other hand, was completely different from my son. Her entire personality was light and carefree, whereas Mark was serious and brooding. Alice was a self-taught coder, who freelanced from their cozy apartment. Their worlds, their politics, their interests didn’t align.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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But they made it work—and they were a sweet couple for the most part. But love, as they say, is blind.

When Mark proposed to Alice, we were all invited to the scene to help surprise her.

“Please, Mom,” Mark said on the phone. “Alice isn’t close to her family, so to see you and Dad there will be good for her. She’ll know that she’s welcomed and supported.”

“Of course, honey,” I told him, already envisioning their wedding in my head.

 

 

 

 

 

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I swallowed my reservations and offered to pay for the wedding. James and I had put money away for Mark’s studies, but he had always gotten bursaries which paid for it all.

“We can just use that money for the wedding, Claire,” my husband said over lunch the day after the proposal.

“It’s the best thing we could do for them,” I agreed. “This way they can save up to move out of that small apartment. I know Mark’s been talking about a house with a garden because he really wants a dog.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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When we told Mark and Alice, I thought that the gesture would bring us closer. I didn’t have any daughters, so I thought that this would be my chance.

I could get to know Alice better—and that would be good for Mark, to know that his wife and his mother got along well. Instead, the wedding planning only highlighted our differences.

 

 

 

 

 

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After a few months into the wedding planning, I met Alice at a coffee shop so that we could go over the details. But we clashed on everything.

“I think roses are timeless,” I said, helping myself to a slice of cake.

“They are, but they’re also overdone in a sense,” Alice said, sipping her tea. “Mark and I want peonies.”

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Our meeting went back and forth a few times—and we were stuck in a space where we just couldn’t agree on anything.

“Okay, how about this?” I asked her. “You go ahead with everything else, and just tell me what color your bridesmaids are wearing, so that there won’t be any clashes.”

“They won’t be wearing green,” she said. “I’m leaning toward pink.”

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I paid the bill and we parted ways with the wedding planning.

But then, one afternoon Alice texted me.

 

 

 

 

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Hi Claire, just picking out my wedding dress with the girls! I’m so excited! I wish you were here!

Attached were photos of her five top wedding dress picks.

I knew that Alice and I were on different ends of what we thought that the wedding should look like, but I wanted to be included in the big things. I wished that she had included me in the wedding dress shopping.

“At least she’s sending you the top picks,” James said as he read the newspaper next to me.

“I know, but it’s not the same,” I said.

“Do they look good?” he asked. “Can I see them?”

Together, we scrolled through the photos of the potential dresses. They were adequate choices, but nothing stood out.

Nothing that would fit the standard of my future daughter-in-law.

The dress that was Alice’s favorite and the first contender for the actual wedding dress wasn’t what I expected.

I typed back, telling Alice that it wasn’t quite the best choice. And I hoped that my financial stake in the wedding would weigh in. James and I hadn’t given the kids a budget. They had everything at their disposal.

Why not consider the second one? It might be more flattering for you.

James chuckled beside me.

“You’re at the point of over-stepping,” he said.

Before I could say anything, my phone pinged with a message from Alice.

Sorry, but I disagree. This is the dress I’m choosing.

That night over dinner, as James was plating our salmon, I shared my frustration with him.

“Alice is not even considering my opinion, and I’m paying for the dress!” I exclaimed.

James tried to mediate; he also texted Mark to make sure that he knew how I felt, too.

“I think you should just leave the wedding planning to them now,” James said. “Put all your attention into yourself and what you’re going to wear.”

But it also turned out that Mark was able to persuade Alice to wear the dress I preferred.

I had to admit, it was the less stressful option, and I hadn’t been able to shop for my dress before that.

So, that’s what I did.