I Got To Be There For Maddie's Big Day

I have been pretty much confined to my home for several months now, even missing the engagement event in Galveston of my granddaughter, Madeline, to Andy Ritter, the love of her life! At that time my focus became not to miss the next big event--the trying on of wedding gowns with Madeline on August 21st.

 I MADE IT!

This is how my day felt to me!

(Thanks, Chat GPT!)

With a little lot of help from my doctors, therapists, caregivers, hair stylist, nail technicians, friends, and mostly from the lovely bride-to-be and her mother, I arrived and was wheeled around smoothly. 

We went to a most iconic place...Neiman Marcus Bridal Salon at the original downtown Dallas store. 

The group. The two beautiful ladies to Susan's left are Andy's mother, Chris, and his grandmother, Jo. And many of you know Shirley, the other half of the "Travelin' Grannies!" We all clicked right off! (I kept saying, "I can't believe I'm here!)

We had a lovely sales person. She caught Madeline's vibe and put her in very desirable gowns. We had so much fun watching her come out in vision after vision. But we ALL knew when she came out in THE ONE. We were all teary eyed, starting with the Bride!

The sign says, "Cheers! I'm a Neiman Marcus bride!"

Followed by lunch in the Zodiac Room! Again, iconic.

The waiter told us how many years he had been serving the same plate as the one we all got. Wanta see?

In chatting with someone in the powder room I discovered that this beautiful store will be closing in September. I am so grateful that Madeline got to have it as part of her bridal experience! The Zodiac Room will relocate to Northpark. That is if "powder room gossip" is accurate!

"I can't believe I got to do this!"

Thank you to everyone who had a part by helping and praying. Especially Susan and Madeline. I had the time of my life!

When Maddie Met Andy...Again!!!

This is going to sound like a fairy tale, and it is. A real, true fairy tale. When a very beautiful Madeline Metzger met a very handsome Andrew Ritter, both were 15 years old. The event was a quinceainera, with connections that made their meeting quite unlikely. Andy went to a Mansfield High school, and Maddie to Martin in Arlington.

But these two noticed each other and even had a dance together. Someone took a picture. Maddie saved the picture, along with a crush on her handsome partner.

Then...for about 14 years, life happened. Andy went to Baylor, and Maddie to UT Austin! Andy played football for Baylor and graduated in 3 years! He went into the corporate world, and had two beautiful daughters, Audrey and Emery. Maddie graduated from UT and immediately moved to New York to pursue her musical theatre dreams! After various touring rolls and two contracts as a performer on Disney Cruise Line, she decided to return to Texas--but not to Arlington. She moved back to Austin.

Guess where Andy Ritter lived? That's right. He is employed by Google, and resides in Austin. Maddie posted a picture of herself on social media as having moved from New York to Austin, and Andy saw it and called her. They both knew very quickly what their future held.

Andy's proposal fits perfectly into the fairy tale. It took place at the magnificent Moody Mansion in Galveston. I'm going to show you a few pictures. My health did not allow me to be there, which was a heart breaker, but I have just "wallowed" in the pictures until I feel like I was there.

So next Friday I get to go to Dallas to see our beloved Madeline try on wedding dresses. Our hopeless romantic. You may be sure they will be glam.

By the way, here is the reenactment of the OG picture, as suggested by Andy at a wedding they attended early on in their courtship!

When Maddie Met Andy...Again