I'm a So You Think You Can Dance junkie. Judge me if you like, but I am. I watch it every season. I'm even the kind that votes every week. Imagine my surprise when, a month or so ago, I received an email saying they were having auditions in Salt Lake City and this year they are having a live studio audience at auditions. That sounds like an email with random information, but THIS email included a button that said "click here for free tickets"!!! Oh, I clicked, and I clicked FAST!! No WAY was I passing this up!!
This wasn't the first time this type of thing had happened to me. I also got an email like this several years ago, except if was for American Idol (when American Idol was my favorite show). And it wasn't for auditions either - it was to see the actual show in Hollywood. You better believe I clicked then too! My girlfriend & I got in the car and went to Hollywood to see the final 4 compete: Jordan Sparks, the beat-box guy, MY personal favorite Melinda Doolittle, and one other person whose name escapes me. I remember it was Bee Gee's week. I also remember that I fell in love with Ryan Seacrest. He is SO nice. I remember seeing Nygel Lithgo (then producer of American Idol, now producer and judge on So You Think You Can Dance) get his groove on in the back of the studio to one of the songs. I remember lots of things and all of them were great! Then we went to P.F. Chang's for dinner, got a hotel, drove back the next day, and loved every minute of it!! We had a BLAST!
(you can tell I liked it because even though I used WAY too many exclamation marks in that last paragraph, I'm not deleting any of them............!!!!!!!)
Considering my experience with American Idol, I have REALLY been looking forward to the same type of thing with my new favorite show. Enter reality......
For reasons that are unavoidable, this Thursday afternoon and Friday morning is the only time Amber & Mitch can get both their engagement and Bridal photos taken (details are really boring as to why, so I'll skip it). If we go to So You Think You Can Dance we need to be at Capital Theater in Salt Lake on Friday by noon. It's a four hour drive. The engagements are that morning at 9:00 a.m. Translation: I'm not going to So You Think You Can Dance.
How do I feel about that? Let me share a few more details before I answer that...
Leading up to the Bridal's we sent Amber to get her nails done so her hands would feel pretty. We had Amber's hair done today by my best friend, Pam (the same one I went to American Idol with) so she would feel like her hair was incredible (and it was). Once the hair was done we added the veil. Then Pam & I started with the dress: 1st, slip. 2nd, lace up corset. 3rd, petticoat. 4th, skirt. 5th, top blouse that laced up the back. 6th, sash on the side. 7th, 5' electric blue stiletto heels. Add some make up on her beautiful face, and some pearls around her neck to finish it off.
During the last bit of this process, Mitch was ready in his tux waiting in the living room. He had seen nothing of Amber's transformation into the Bride-To-Be. As Amber walked out for Mitch to see her for the first time in her wedding dress, I made sure I positioned myself so I could see the expression on his face. The effect on him gave him the inability to both speak and hear. First, all he could do was stare. Second, he just kept staring. Third, he hugged her so tight, but still kept staring. Then it was time for us to leave for the photographers studio. "Amber and Mitch, it's time to go".... no response..."Amber and Mitch, we still need to go pick up the bouquet. We need to leave or we'll be late".... nothing. They had lost the ability to hear anything except the birds that were undoubtedly chirping and singing inside their little heads. I'm not sure, but I think I actually had to go over and physically start shooing them to the car because they were not hearing a word I said.
We spent the first hour of the photo shoot at the photographers studio. To make it more personal for Amber & Mitch I brought the songs Amber has picked out to play at their reception, and played them while they were having their photographs taken. I know she's my daughter and I already think she is beautiful, but she took my breath away. It was such a special moment.
Kyle couldn't get there right when we started, but was able to arrive about 30 minutes after we started. I had called him and told him he needed to come share this sweet experience. He stayed with us the rest of the time.
When we finished at the studio we went to a back-ally in downtown for some more "rustic" shots, and then up to Pioneer Park for some more dramatic shots on the red rocks. While hiking around in the rocks, Amber slipped on some flat slip-on's (navigating the rocky terrain on those 5' electric blue stilettos would NOT have been fun). When we came to the next location for a picture, Kyle would hold the bouquet while I fluffed her dress, then Mitch would let her balance on him while her dad put those bright blue shoes back on her for the next picture. We all had an amazing, wonderful, and thoroughly fun time. Kyle even became quite proficient at "raining" the bouquet (spritzing it with water to give it a nice glistening look).
We stayed there until the sun had gone down. It was amazing. I know I'm the mom, but I think they are going to end up being some of the most wonderful bridals I've ever seen!!!
We then picked up food at Cafe Rio and came home. Amber & Mitch joined us at Cafe Rio - complete with wedding dress, veil and tux! There wasn't a person there that wasn't staring at them. They were either thinking "This is the loveliest bride I have ever seen!" or, "They just got married. What the heck are they doing at Cafe Rio?!?!?". I'm sure they did not instinctively know that they had NOT just gotten married, but just gotten pictures instead. Cafe Rio even gave them a free dessert :)
So, I am now writing this on Thursday evening. We've had the Bridals done, eaten dinner, relaxed, and now Amber & Mitch are outside playing basketball with Nick & Kylie. The engagement pictures are just about 11 hours away, and there will be no So You Think You Can Dance in my future plans.
As I said earlier, How do I feel about that?
Today I saw my young daughter dress up as the Bride she will be in 79 days. I saw her future husbands breath be taken away when he saw her in her wedding dress. I saw my husband react the same way, and I felt it myself when I saw her standing there with her future husband. I saw my husband not only leave work to be with us for this experience, but carry bouquets, carry shoes, "rain" on flowers, hold her dress up out of the dirt, hold lighting for the photographer, and follow his daughter around and love and admire her and the man that is taking her out of his home. Tomorrow she will go with her future husband and take the picture that will be included in the announcement we send out to those we love to announce the day she becomes a wife.
This is how I feel: Nails, worth it. Hair, worth it. Flowers, worth it. Dress, worth it. My husband there, SO worth it. Translation: If it could guarantee that the memory of this day would never fade as long as I lived, I would never even watch or think of So You Think You Can Dance again.
Amber, at the photographers studio
In the "rustic" setting.... isn't she gorgeous?Why yes, I think she is!
