Every woman dreams of one day wearing  the much coveted, flowing white dress.  the dress itself is often the main reason why so many ladies opt for a fancy wedding. They want to be the center of attention , if only for a day. Truthfully, the ceremony should be designed to accommodate the dress. The dress sets the theme and tone of the wedding.

 

My Granny felt great pride in her life knowing that she had an Aunt who was a wedding dress maker. So when my cousin Sherleen announced she was getting married. Granny rose to the occasion and enlisted Aunt Franny to make the most elegant and beautiful dress that would bring many to their knees with envy.

 

Granny did not want my cousin Sherleen to experience the agony and stress of searching for the perfect wedding dress. Sherleen was always a very "neat and fine" individual, someone who sought perfection in every little task.

 

Granny and Aunt Franny searched for days for imported lace from Spain and organza from France. Finally, they found a lady named Naomi Rathshuller who had a dress shop on a secluded avenue downtown. Naomi Rathshuller was a woman who was about 4 ft. tall, but she knew about fabrics, decorations and accessories. Naomi , Granny and Auntie Franny took to each other like fish in water. Naomi provided Aunt Franny with the materials to make the wedding dress, while Granny looked for days up and down King Street to find the perfect headpiece, and sequins be sewn on the dress.

 

Eventually she embarked on a "Curiosity Shoppe" that carried estate jewelry. In this shop she found the most exquisite Austrian sequins. Granny instantly fell in love with the sequins and decided that Sherleen's dress would not be complete without the sequins. As luck would have it Granny also found the headpiece in the Curiosity Shoppe, apparently it was a tiara belonging to Anastasia, the lost Russian Princess.

 

Granny did not hesitate for a moment to purchase the headpiece for Sherleen, it was a perfect complement to her train that would be made of imported Spanish lace. A tiara for one of the many Princeses in her life.

 

The details of Sherleen's gown were decided and the dress was on its way to being made. Granny then turned her attentions  to the theme of the wedding. She wanted it to be old, fashioned romance. Granny had the gardner working overtime to create the most ideal landscape, of movie star roses, lillies and violets. Granny instructed the gardner to create a tressle filled with baby's breath and forget-me-nots. She placed the menu order with the caterers and personally selected the music for the wedding. Harps were scheduled to serenade Sherleen and her intended as they sauntered down the aisle. It was going to be as if Angels were entering the gates of Heaven.

 

Granny was ready to "put on the ritz" for this wedding, no expense was going to be spared. Her first grand-daughter was getting married and it had to be a splash.

 

The gown was completed by Aunt Franny in record time. Sherleen had only given Granny and Aunt Franny four weeks to put everything together. She was marrying Charles because he was being shipped overseas by the Navy.

 

As usual, Granny surprised everyone by being up to speed with all the details. Between Granny and Aunt Franny, the dress was made, the decor and ambience had been set and the food was ordered. The wedding was going to take place in Granny's backyard under a huge, white, tent.

Sherleen tried on her gown days before the wedding and was speechless, regarding the endeavors of Granny and Company. The gown had surpassed her expectations.

 

Although she thought Granny and Aunt Franny were too "old biddies" that were not privy to the latest fashions. They astounded her with their fashion sense and attention to every detail.

 

The affair was set to be elegant, however, Granny kept commenting that only one item would make the affair perfect. A chandelier, made of Austrian crystals. Granny looked all over to find a chandelier fitting her imagined description. But much to her chagrin, the chandeliers she found were lacking in "brilliance". Therefore Granny decided to rent a magnificent chandelier from a local Lightolier.

 

The stage was set, Sherleen had something new, her dress, something blue, was a hankerchief from Granny and her something borrowed was the chandelier.

 

On the wedding day, everyone waited in pomp and circumstance at the church. Oddly enough, the Bride arrived before the groom, everyone was startled. Granny made a phone call to Aunt Franny's house to find out where the groom was. Aunt Franny who had been helping him with his boutanierre commented that the groom was having "cold feet".

 

Granny stormed out of the church as if she had heard news, mumbling, "Oh no...! After, I have made this beautiful wedding and Franny make this wonderful dress, he decides to get cold feet. Driver! Take me to Ms. Franny's house."

 

The driver drove Granny to Aunt franny's house like his life depended on it. Granny scolded Charles by telling him to "straighten up and fly righ"t, then she quoted bible verses. After a few minutes with Granny, Charles was back on track, set to marry Sherleen.

 

Most of the guests had become impatient and bothered. They were parading up and down the church aisles. A change of plan had occurred, Granny was set to escort the groom down the aisle, just so that he would not lose his nerve.

 

Sherleen was overjoyed that he showed up, ecstatic that he was able to see her in the very, fabulous gown that her Grandmother and Great Aunt had created. The wedding march had began, the prayers were said. Then the ring bearer, a 3 year old boy decided to run off with the rings. This time, Sherleen herself, ran after the little boy in tears, saying. "I have come too far for you to ruin this day for me....Come here sweetheart bring me the rings."

 

After much negotiations and promising him several pieces of wedding cake. The little rascal gave her the rings. they were pronounced husband and wife and everyone released a sigh of relief. Although Sherleen had the perfect dress, the days and moments leading up to the wedding weren't so worry-free.

 

All the guests arrived at Granny's house and set out for the tent in the backyard. Music was playing, hors'douvres' were being served, and then Mr. & Mrs. Charles Pouissant entered the festivities beginning their first dance as husband and wife.

 

Suddenly, there was a big crash, and people began running for their lives. I wondered what was happening. As I began investigating the matter, I found out that the chandelier had somehow become loose and fell on a guest. The entire tent caved in as a result of the commotion.

Sherleen and her husband managed to escape the melee', but a few guests had been shaken up by the excitement.

 

Sherleen was upset that her wedding day had been messed up by incompetent electricians and technicians, and my cousin who always seems to miss out on everything, runs in screaming, "I heard gun shots...what happened?"

 

Granny said, "Calm down and stop spreading propaganda, the only thing that happened was that the chandelier fell down, and the tent collapsed.."

 

My little cousin Gino commented, "Oh, I thawt somebody did dead...."

 

Everyone exploded in laughter at the little innocent's reply and continued to go indoors for the cutting of the wedding cake and to enjoy the music.

 

As most Jamaicans know, nothing or no one rains on our parades. So everyone came together in unison to preserve the rest of the evening.

 

Granny performed like a champion in the middle of this crisis, she whisked everyone to safety and luckily no one was seriously hurt.

 

At the end of the evening Granny's remarks were, "You see Magsie that's why I always say, If you go a borrowing, you go a sorrowing. The next time I am buying a nice chandelier for special occasions and securing it myself, with the help of God, of course. Anyhow, all's well that ends well."

 

I replied, "That's true Granny, but you have to admit, for that split second when people were running like bulls out of a pen......There was a moment of laughter."

 

Granny affirmed, "Not when you running for your life my child....Praise God no one got hurt.....That's a blessing."