Wedding for the middle aged bride

Hi, I'm Renee, although I've posted a couple of replies here, I'm new here. I'm 46, my fiance (feels strange calling him that) is 48. I've never been married, he's divorced. I have 1 and he has 2 adult children and a grandchild. I'm an educator and he's hi-level military. Don't laugh when I tell you how we met-through an online dating service! While goofing around with some friends we signed up at a service and I never intended to take it seriously but I met my fiance, discovered we knew some of the same people and things just jumped from there. At first I was a little wary because I guess we've all heard horror stories about meeting men online but I realized he was the real thing. We've been together for 2 yrs now and I really still can't believe this has happened.
Anyhoo, I would appreciate some ideas on a small wedding for 2 middle aged people. We would like to keep the guest list small which won't be easy. We both come from large families, and have lots of friends. Also, at my age I think I'd look kinda silly in a big old gown and veil. I have a location picked out. It's in a veranda that's situated in the middle of a lake with 4 bridges. There's also a very beautiful place there for the reception. The only attendants we'll have will be my and his daughters-both adults, my sister as MOA, his son and 2 of his bros. My goddaughter and his grandson will serve as FG and RB. Give me some ideas on what I should wear.The date hasn't been set but we're going for sometime in May. TIA

[quote="soontobebride"]Girlllll, you are going to be a wife! That's a wonderful thing no matter is your 25 or 45! So if you want that big cinderalla wedding dress...by all means....get it! The saying on this website is your day your way. Listen to people's opinions, but don't let their opinions dictate what you can and cannot do on your wedding day! Oh yeah...and welcome to you
[/quote]

STBS, my daughter has offered to pay for my dress so I just might try something a little fancy without the train because I want an outdoor ceremony. And thanks for the encouragement, welcomes and congrats to all of you also. BTW, STBS I'm a Smithite;-)

[quote="FutureMrsKeepUp"]Welcome to the board! I think I read in the weight loss post you want to get back to a curvacious size 16. How about a mermaid style dress with a small sweep train?
[/quote]

Thanx for the idea Future Mrs. I've already got the legs for that and maybe a strapless bodice. FH loves my shoulders.

Miss Future, when you said mermaid gown I had something else in mind. I googled mermaid gowns and found this site with some beautiful mermaid gowns. I really like the demetrios-ilissa, the maggie sotero, and the michelle roth. This style also puts some emphasis on the "junk"! I like the style and I'll email this page to my daughter too. Thanx for the suggestion. You know I've thought about it-this will be my only wedding and marriage so I'm going to make this day as special as it can be!

for some reason that last link didn't work. I'll try it again. Check out the michelle roth, maggie sottero, and demetrios~illissa.

Mermaid Gowns

[quote="Ginoue"]Renee, this is your wedding!!! Another exciting point is that this will be your first wedding (even if it weren't), you can have whatever you dream of having.

Now, I understand that you may not want a royal cathedral train (more than 12 feet long) but you could have a wonderful dress with a chapel train. It's much smaller. You want to look back on your wedding day without regret. Therefore, have that Ivory mermaid dress with chapel train, instead of a veil, have an elegant hairdo secured by a Tiara. You mentioned that your FH and yourself have a large family, show off your love, show off your pride, have as many attendants as you've dreamed of having. THIS IS YOUR DAY. YOU DESERVE TO HAVE IT YOUR WAY!!!

Good luck with the planning and we're all here for you.

Congrats again
[/quote]

Y'all are so sweet here!! Encouraging the old girl on like that! I tried to get that link to work but it wouldn't. If you'd like to see it try google mermaid gowns and check out the iVillage site. I'd like the Demetrios-Ilissa gown. I sent my FH the link and he's so silly! He called and said "Baby, you'd look damn good in that!" My daughter liked it too and we're going to start looking for a gown next week. She's making comments about how she needs to get with it because I'm getting married before her! I still can't believe it's happening!

[quote="Bumblebeekee"]Welcome Renee (Sorry I'm late). First of all congrats on your decision to get married. As you can see all the ladies here are great with ideas, so if you ever feel down, you will always find encouragement here.
I just want to say that I think its cool for you to be stepping into marriage despite your age...My mom is 52 and we are getting ready to plan a wedding for her and her BF (46 yrs). She has been married before to my dad which she often is still bitter about how it ended, so she is a little sluggish about the idea of being a married woman. but her and her BF love each other and have been together for about 12 years now. We are working on it even more now because me and my brother both got married this year and we all still have wedding fever, so while we are revved up, we are working on it. I think she is just scared and worried about her age, etc, etc. I don't think she should because really, my mom is hip, she wears dreads, has a belly ring, and can easily pass for 35 or younger...I am just so happy for you and was thinking about my mom because she would also feel weird about calling her BF her fiance too.
[/quote]

HI, BBK! Thanks for your encouragement. I like your mom too! sounds like somebody I could hang out with! Since I've lost some weight, I've started wearing short skirts and halters again and have been considering getting something pierced as a honeymoon surprise for FH. Tell mom I said this: stop feeling weird about calling him FH. Flaunt it! Especially since he's a younger man! The haters will be all over it! I'm going to attend a reunion for my HS Orchestra in a few weeks and I'm going to enjoy flashing this major bling I'm wearing and showing off my ultrafine USAF Major to those catty,saggy, witches! You're a good daughter as is mine and I'm sure your mom is as appreciative and proud of you as I am of mine. Thanx!