Help me include my mom!

Hi! I live in New York and am getting married in Jamaica. My mom lives in my home state 1200 miles away.

 

Because so many things are done over the phone and online in destination planning, and because it won't logistically be able for my mom to come up and help with things like dress shopping here, I'm having a hard time including her.

 

Even though she's keeping a brave face, I can tell she's disappointed that she can't be as much a part of the wedding planning as she'd like. I've emailed a couple of pictures just for the sake of letting her give an opinion on something.

 

On a selfish note from my end, I would like having my mom's help too. My bridesmaids are scattered across the country as well, so i'm short on helping hands.

 

I'm sure many of you ladies are in similar situations. What kinds of ways are you getting your moms (and long distance bridesmaids) involved?

instant messenger. my sister (moh) lives 2 hrs away, so not across the country, but it was hard to meet during the school year. i always made her sign on and sent link after link after link for opinions. or, give her a task, such as "find a veil to go w/ my dress". i'd have her send me links or pics.

great idea lauren!

I think it's great that you are sending her emails and pictures to give her opinion on. My mom was really excited when she picked out what she was wearing for the wedding. (Your mom is attending right?) Also, mailing her a nice card that says exactly how you feel about it. Tell her that you wish she could be closer to help you plan, and you totally value her opinions and want her help even though you are so far away from eachother. Heck, you could even make a cute little planning video and send too. Spread everything out and narrate for her and show her everything you've been working on. She could keep it forever and I'm sure she would love it!

As a Mom, I was in charge of the OOT bags - buying everything (after getting Mandy's final approval), packing and hauling the stuff and then completing the bags when we arrived in Mexico. It was really fun for me to do, I enjoyed it, and it was one less thing Mandy had to stress about. I also made really nice welcome books to add to the bags: http://bestdestinationwedding.com/forum/t22106

 

Also, another way to get your mom involved is to have her sign up for BDW. Mandy recommended BDW to me, and we both have loved being on the forum together. Plus, I found so many great ideas on here for the OOT bags, books, fans, etc., and Mandy and I are always talking about forum stuff even now after the wedding. There are quite a few moms on the forum, so she might really enjoy all the wedding talk.

I gave my mom a couple of projects. She's making jewelry bags for my unofficial BMs, and I put her in charge of a couple of other things.

 

Are you doing fans? Could your mom do the ribbon on the handles? Maybe you do one color and she does the other? Dunno. Just thoughts. Give her something. There's stuff that will just stress you out in the end. Pass it off if your mom is willing.

These are all great ideas!!!

It's hard to get MOM involved especially when you have wedding planners & travel agents taking care of most everything!

Thanks for the info, I now have a better idea on how to get my mom involved!

My mum lives in Australia, and she doesn't have time to come over for a bit to help.

 

We shop together online! We make a time for both of us to be on the phone together, and then I send her links through msn, we make decisions, and buy the stuff online together.

Sure it's not the same as having your mum around, but it's still pretty close!

My mom lives in Australia too!

One of my sisters is there and the other one is there for a visit, so the three of them will be going BM dress shopping. If that doesn't work, my mom is going to sew them their dresses.

She is also going to sew her own dress, so she has sent me pics and colours to discuss that.

I think I may have to get her a bit more involved in terms of help too, so maybe I'll ask for some help with the OOT bags too. There may be some fun items she can find there (tropical type stuff).

Great ideas!

Wow! Thanks guys. These are really good ideas. I see a few I'm definitely going to try out and i'll let you know how they work!