8 COBB LIFE | MAY 2020
Letter from the EDITOR
For most brides, the statement piece is the wedding
dress. For my mother, though, it was all about the veil.
As family lore goes, my mother was wedding dress
shopping with my grandmother (affectionately known as
Mama Ruth by her grandchildren) and my mother’s
sister and maid of honor, my Aunt Vicki (Johnson), at
The Wedding Bell Shop in Rome. Finding the dress was
actually quite easy - it was within budget, and just
perfect, as my mother once told me.
But a mother-daughter battle royale took place on
the floor of that little shop when my mother was resolute
that this expensive veil made of a lace cap, a tulle bow
and layers upon layers of tulle had to be hers. The lace
and tulle in the veil matched the lace and the tulle in the
dress and, being the lifelong fashionista that she was,
Mom was not walking out of that store without that veil.
“Mama Ruth didn’t want to buy it because she
thought it was too expensive,” Aunt Vicki explained.
“Your mother wanted it, and, guess who won that
argument. Your mother usually got what she wanted
(including your Dad).”
When Mama Ruth moved a few years ago, she gave
me my mother’s wedding dress, still delicately preserved
in its original dress box. As I was unpacking boxes in
March after my own move, I came across that large, gold
box and decided to open it. The dress had a few wrinkles
and stains as time will do, but it looked nearly untouched.
As I was about to put the dress back in the box, I noticed
that her veil had been hiding under it, sweetly folded. I
pulled it out, sat on the floor in front of a large mirror that
had yet to be hung and, in my sweat pants, t-shirt, bare
feet and makeup-free face, I put the veil on and smiled,
thinking of my mother and her strong, sweet will.
Someday, if I decide to get married, I might even
wear it, or have it altered, or simply keep it in my room
as I dress to have a little bit of her there with me.
Not everything on a wedding day will be perfect, as
you’ll find in the stories we have shared in this issue. But
sometimes, it’s the little things that make all the difference.