S07.E16: I Do... Again!

[jnymph]

Mine was in '76 and totally fucking hi-jacked by my family & his; stupid $500 on sale dress my Mom insisted on is still in a box in a closet somewhere.  Blech!!!  I never wanted to get married, but agreed to do the nude beach or mountain meadow barefoot with flowers in my hair stuff, replete with potluck picnic & Tubular Bells ... next thing you know, awkward '70s wedding.

 

BWAH! walnutqueen, that is just all kinds of awesome.  Myself and Mr . jnymph had a 1985 Billy Idol "White Wedding" complete with ascots, turquoise bridesmaid dresses, perms(!) on both genders and my wedding gown looked like something the "artist formerly known as Prince" (or whatever his name is now) would wear on a BAD day.

 

Didn't Bill say at their original wedding they danced to "White Wedding"?   LOL    Which reminds me, I really enjoyed seeing the pics from their "original" wedding, the joy was just BEAMING off of both their faces.   Much like the vow renewal !!!!

 

Oh, also forgot to say, I was nervous about Jen walking on the strappy silver sandals too.   I wonder if she took them off once she got down to the beach sand? 

[Fostersmom]

I don't know if she took them off at the beach, but she was wearing what looked to be turquoise flip flops at the reception. I found the episode pretty boring and I don't believe for a second Jen came up with those vows off the top of her head. They were memorized and rehearsed. 

[4leafclover]

@walnutqueen--I got such a chuckle imagining an all nude beach wedding while your mom sits on the sand, sobbing loudly--not over the fact that her daughter is getting married--naked and sunburned--but over the $500 dress she bought on sale that will be forever stuck in a closet!  Thanks for that!

[Limelight]

I finally sat down to watch this episode because I was working so much this week and what a treat it was. 

I have to confess that I don't really like weddings.  I know I'm supposed to be all teary eyed and happy about the couple's future but for me, once I see the wedding dress, I'm ready for the reception.  They're just sort of boring. (I know I'm horrible)

What I loved about Bill and Jen's renewal ceremony was you saw the dress, which was lovely but the actual ceremony itself was about 15 minutes, then off to the reception, that's my kind of wedding!

I loved the vows, they were so heartfelt and filled with all the joys and trials of that amazing year they just had.  What a wonderful way to cap off that time, confess in front of your friends and family how much you love and value each other and then throw a big party with a yummy looking cake!

Best of luck to them, hope the show gets renewed, I'd love to follow this charming, accomplished family into the future.

[BradandJanet]

Jen's dress even covered her PICC line. That was a detail that she appreciated.

 

If I ever have a wedding vow renewal ceremony--unlikely--this would be it.

[CousinAmy]

I'd been carrying around the huge sealed box with my magnificent 1969 wedding gown for more than 40 years. I finally got to the point where my curiosity got the best of me - and I gently opened up the hermetically-sealed box, to find that it hadn't been hermetically-sealed, at all, just in a closed box! 

 

And when I took out the gown, I found a dress that was so much smaller than I had remembered (because I was so much smaller then). It was still just as pretty, though. Now it's sealed in a clear plastic Space Bag and I can look at it anytime I want.

[Limelight]

I thought Jen's dress for her actual wedding was timeless and elegant, she looked like a princess. 

I've always loved duchess satin but my sister put me off that when she had a duchess satin wedding dress and it creased mercilessly.
The dress looked great as she was being fitted and even in the box but as soon as she exited the car to go into the church, there was a heavy crease in the back from the ground all the way up to her rear end.  It looked like a big, wedding dress wedgie!  We were able to steam it out but she was so nervous it would reappear she moved very stiffly throughout the ceremony.
I decided to go the with the traditional lace wedding dress since it doesn't crease or wrinkle up quite as much.  The problem I had was that I was married on an unseasonably hot and humid day and the lace just stuck to me and was so itchy!  I just wanted to scratch my way through the whole ceremony.  I took the dress off after pictures were taken, I just couldn't stand it anymore.
Fortunately for both of us, our marriages turned out better than the ceremonies that started them off, I was glad that the dresses weren't omens for the future!

[4leafclover]

When Chloe Dao was fitting Jen in the hotel room, the camera was behind Jen and I saw a scar from her hairline all the way down her spine.  It made me realize how much she and Bill have been through with their many surgeries and how fortunate they were to be in that moment, that day. 

Edited June 21, 2014 by 4leafclover

[casey65]

Jen's dress even covered her PICC line. That was a detail that she appreciated.

 

If I ever have a wedding vow renewal ceremony--unlikely--this would be it.

Jen has a port, not a PICC line, they're very different. But it was very considerate of Bill to mention the idea of covering it to Chloe Dao. The dress was perfect for her.

[Limelight]

I read an article where Chloe Dao mentioned that Bill said he wanted her to make a dress that Jen could wear to their wedding and also to their child's baptism. I thought that was very thoughtful and thrifty too. Why not use a pretty dress like that for more than one occasion?

[BradandJanet]

I stand corrected on the port. Jen calls it that in the show too. 

 

I also noticed the scar on the back of her neck. I believe both she and Bill have had hip surgery (replacements?) too. I admire them for embracing life so fully and cheerfully in the face of ongoing physical pain. 

[walnutqueen]

Yes, I'd imagine they are both a mass of scars; I think Jen's Mom said Jen has had 30 surgeries (many of those were in childhood).  Hell, I'm 60 and have never had surgery other than dental and one outpatient arthroscopy (so most of my scars are emotional).  :-)

[BradandJanet]

I just had a hip replacement. The operation itself wasn't too bad (thank you, modern medicine) but involved a long recovery with hours of physical therapy.  However, the condition leading up to the surgery was months of pure agony. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone. I'm sure Bill and Jen know it well.

[LazyToaster]

I was with my sister-in-law when she had hip replacement surgery and was amazed that she felt better immediately after the surgery than she had right before. Talk about dramatic difference. She still had recovery etc, but she said that was so much better than the pain before.

[BradandJanet]

The replacement surgery can make a huge difference. I think I read that Jen had had both hips done between 2001 and 2009. She has a slight limp or wobble when she walks. I notice it because the condition is on my radar now. However, she has also had spinal alignment issues. Thirty surgeries is simply amazing. 

Edited June 23, 2014 by BradandJanet

[eributterfly]

The way Bill read his vows was less than romantic. He sounded like he was giving a motivational speech. The words were sweet just the delivery was off. It was really sweet, but I am not buying that she was in the dark, maybe she was because all the laughing was enough to make me throw my shoe at the tv.