Lee's New Hat

posted by Lee McKenzie

Everyone who knows me well knows I have a lot of hats, but this summer I needed a new one.


What was the occasion? An afternoon at the Kentucky Derby? High tea with the Queen? No, nothing so mundane as those.

This all started when my son announced that he and his beautiful girlfriend were getting married. This special day would be all about the two of them, of course, but a son’s wedding is a momentous event for the parents, too. Right? When I shared the news with my co-workers and commented that I had no idea what the mother of the groom is supposed to do, one of them said, “She’s supposed to buy a new hat.”

So I treated myself to a shopping trip to Roberta’s Hats, which is one of my favorite stores in the world. To see why, click on the store name and take a tour!

Once I found the perfect hat, the rest of my outfit came together easily...but enough about me.


Weddings are about the newlyweds and the happily ever after. Weddings are especially about the bride, and I love our beautiful daughter-in-law's classic style. I'm also delighted that they chose to have an intimate, informal and untraditional wedding in the backyard of the bride's family home. It made for a stress-free day, the attention truly was on them, and best of all they were able to relax and enjoy themselves.


And second-best of all, I had a really good reason to buy a new hat!

Thank you for joining me here today. Everyone has a favorite wedding story and I would love to hear yours! And I'll be making a random draw from all commenters and giving away another Magnolia Bakery shopping bag along with a copy of The Parent Trap to one reader.


The winner's name will be posted in the comments section here on Friday, September 25 and in next month's edition of my newsletter, Life in the Slow Lane.


Happy reading!

Until next time,
Lee
xoxo

Lee McKenzie...writing fifty shades of pink
To Catch a Wife (Harlequin Heartwarming, May 2016)


Comments

  1. Congratulations and very best wishes to your son and new daughter-in-law, Lee!

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  2. Your hat is gorgeous, Lee! And, agreed, your daughter-in-law is beautiful with the best taste. My wedding story is one I still giggle about. We had a large wedding and many guests were people that were better known to and associates of our parents. When the videographer circled the room and asked seated guests to congratulate us, a lot of them didn't even know Greg's name so they'd say, "Congratulations, Karen and Craig" or Congratulations, Gavin and Kara" stuff like that! Of course the open bar and bottles of red and white on the table didn't help either so the rest of their toasts were just as funny. It's one of my favorite parts of that video!

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    1. Too funny, Karen! Or should I call you Kara? LOL! Thank you for sharing this!

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    2. Karen, that is such a great story. I'm laughing. Out. Loud.

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  3. Lee, you look very chic in your new hat. Love the photos. Best wishes to your son and new daughter-in-law. More people should have lovely back-yard, less-stress weddings.

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    1. Thank you, Roz! The real photographer has shared a few of her photos with us and they are stunning. Can't wait till she has the whole wedding album ready for us to see. And I agree...less stress is definitely the way to go.

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  4. What lovely pictures and your new hat is fantastic. Back in the day when I wore hats, I attended my cousin’s wedding and was quite impressed. Everyone wore white. The bridesmaids wore red sashes on their white gowns and carried red roses. I wore a black hat that looked like a replica of Abraham Lincoln’s stovetop hat. Wonder whatever happened to that hat.

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    1. Marion, I've seen weddings where the whole bridal party wore white or white and black. The splash of red is a lovely touch, too. Very classic and classy.

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    2. And I would love to see that hat!

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  5. First off, love the hat! Second, my son had a destination wedding in Maui. It was just family and was lovely. We had the ceremony on the beach and some snorkelers swam up to the tide pools on one side - it was very untraditional, but everyone was okay with that.

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    1. Destination weddings are so popular these days and I'm quite envious of them. However, I hate to fly and I don't do well in the sun so I'm glad my children are willing to indulge my eccentricities and forgo such things :)

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  6. You sure know how to pick a hat, Lee. It's beautiful. How did you ever decide from such a huge selection? I think you should open up a hat shop. :) Congratulations to your son and daughter-in-law.

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    1. Thank you, Jill! I'm sure I tried on half the hats in the store before I spotted that one. I knew it was the hat before the saleswoman had even lifted it off the hat stand.

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  7. I wish I could wear a hat as well as you! It's beautiful and so is your daughter-in-love. A stress-free wedding is what they all should be about. Congratulations to them both!

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    1. Patricia, I firmly believe there's a hat style for everyone. I mostly wear wide-brimmed or cloche hats. I adore pillbox hats and caps with visors, but I look dreadful in them.

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  8. Lee - you look gorgeous! I used to have a lot of hats when we had to wear them to church, but now that we don't, I never think about them. But yours is so cool, I may have to rethink. That hat is the perfect 'Mother of the Groom' statement.

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    1. Muriel, that's exactly what I was hoping for! Thank you! And yes, I think everyone should rethink hats ;) Wonderful accessories that tame the wind, keep the sun off in summer and can even serve to some extent as an umbrella in the west coast winter rain.

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  9. Congrataltions! Beautiful pictures

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  10. Congratulations to everyone--and I love the hat!

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  11. Congratulations to everyone! Lee, your hat was fabulous and I loved your dress, too. You looked absolutely picture perfect. My mother wore lots of hats with such great aplomb. I wish I did. Hats haven't been my "thing"...but I'm thinking...maybe the time has come! PS. I ADORE at home weddings. They are so meaningful, so romantic. So personal.

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    1. Many wonderful memories were made that day, Catherine. Thanks for the compliments on the dress. I probably shouldn't confess this here, but it's a Calvin Klein thrift store find.

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  12. Congratulations to you, Lee, and to the bride and groom! Beautiful hat and bride's dress :).

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    1. The bride's dress is perfect, isn't it, Rula? There's a beautiful gold-leaf belt at the empire waist, which doesn't show up well in the photo but it matches the band in her hair. Very pretty.

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  13. At a recent wedding I attended, we all thought the bride, while at the altar, had changed her mind. She started saying "No, no" after the Reverend asked if she accepted her fiancee. The audience did not know that at the time, Brenda was trying to shoo away a couple of bees that had flown out of her bouquet. We were informed by the Reverend that indeed, she did accept her husband. We all had a good laugh afterwards. The bees finally left and the ceremony proceeded.
    jwisley8(at)me(dot)com

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    1. LOL, Joye! That's one of the funniest wedding stories I've ever heard! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. I do love a wedding. Having it in the backyard is such a great idea.

    LOVE your hat.

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  15. What a lovely wedding and LOVE that hat!!

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  17. Congratulations, Lee, to your son and new daughter! They are a very cute couple and I wish them all the happiness, thanks for sharing the photos. I have to say that in the first half of your post, you reminded me a lot of Lucy from "I Love Lucy" - she and her never-ending love of and reason to buy new hats! :) I'd say you picked a winner and it looks like a really neat store, too!

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    1. Krissie, I really did lol when I read your comment comparing me to Lucy! That's a first for me, but some days very close to the mark!

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    2. That's the first thing that I thought of when I saw the photo of your lovely hat, actually :) And then the hat store sealed it! Your husband doesn't happen to be a Cuban band leader, does he? ;)

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    3. Not even close, Krissie! He's a high school teacher of Irish heritage.

      And I'm delighted to tell you that you've won my giveaway this month! Please send me an email via my website with your mailing address.

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  18. Beautiful wedding, beautiful hat!!!! The night we married, my hubs was so nervous the thought people were surely hearing his knees knocking together. That was forty years ago next month!

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    1. Happy anniversary, Melanie! Celebrate your milestone!

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  19. Thanks, everyone, for joining me this month. Here we go...the winner of this month's giveaway, as chosen bt Random.org, is Krissie McMakin. Congrats, Krissie! Please drop by my website and send me an email with your mailing address. I'm looking forward to "seeing" some of you on my next blog day...October 20th!

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