Wedding of the Month – MOTB Edition

We often feature brides from fabulous Little Nell weddings in our “Wedding of the Month” highlights, but this June, we thought we would spice things up a bit! Nancy Brown, an MOTB (mother-of-the-bride), was kind enough to answer all our questions and talk candidly about her experience helping to plan a wedding at The Little Nell and enjoying her daughter Allison’s wedding to the fullest. 

What was the first thing that came to your mind when your daughter told you she was getting married?
“Oh thank goodness!” After all these years of living in Aspen, I might actually have a chance to plan my own daughter’s wedding in this amazing place!

Did you help plan the wedding? In what ways were you involved?
I would say that I was the behind-the-scenes good fairy that helped do all of the tasks that no one thinks about like formatting the place cards, designing the menus, facilitating the design and printing of the programs, and coordinating the various parties and hotel stays. I tried to make any transitions flawless. The bottom line on the planning was that my daughter and her fiancé had definite ideas of what they wanted, and I just served as an adjunct to the actual vision. I learned to think before I offered my opinion.

Did you provide any heirloom pieces for the wedding or tokens from your own special day?
I suggested that Allison think about wearing my veil, which was stunning. She was not very interested at the beginning, but after she tried it on, it was a lovely part of the ensemble. It really was a “wow” item.

How did you decide what to wear?
I thought about the colors from the bridesmaids’ dresses and pashminas and then decided that since I knew that the groom’s mother wanted to wear a dress, I would wear dressy pants – thus giving guests the go-ahead to wear whatever was comfortable for them.

Were there any issues with the wedding, such as personality conflicts/disagreements on who to invite/etiquette on paying for the wedding?
Well, my daughter wanted to invite 250 people! That was not financially feasible, nor could the Aspen Mountain Club accommodate that many guests. We aimed for about 100 people, which was perfect. I am divorced from my husband, and he has another family. We were not sure he would be involved financially but he was, and the groom’s parents also contributed to some of the expenses. Though there was a religious difference in the family, everyone just assumed a laid-back position, and there were no conflicts. You really just have to roll with the situations as they present themselves!

What advice do you have for other mothers of the bride?
The biggest piece of advice I would offer is to remember that it is the couple’s wedding. They have ideas and preferences, and your ideas from the sixties or seventies are not important. When I thought that I had terrific choices for invitations or items for the gift bags or even input on the vows, I was so out of the loop that it was embarrassing. I soon learned just to keep my antiquated thoughts to myself! The bride and groom had fun and creative ideas, and the wedding was such an expression of their personalities.

Now that the wedding is over, would you change anything?
Not a single detail. It was flawless. Service supreme, food amazing in taste and presentation and flowers over the top. The Little Nell Wedding Team made sure that there was not a single “t” left uncrossed.

What was your favorite part of the wedding day?
Just looking around at all of the perfection in the details and the smiles on everyone’s faces. Allison and Rob were as in love and happy as any two people could be!

Check out Allison and Rob’s highlights from their wedding (courtesy of FuseMedia Wedding Films)
[vimeo 43913322 w=400 h=300]