With minutes to spare before time for the big moment, Beth glances back over her shoulder at her daughter, Alicia, who strikes a dramatic pose to coax a smile from her mom, who would later shed copious tears of joy.
If you’ve been to a big, blow-out wedding lately you know that they are somewhat expensive, and yes, that was said tongue-in-cheek. In fact, they can quickly balloon into one of the biggest expenses (non-housing related) that families face, just short of a college education, if not carefully budgeted.
Elizabeth Self Glasscock was determined that she was not going to break the bank by having a deluxe, all-inclusive wedding, since the newly blended family includes two teens still at home, and a younger child.
“Both Charlee, 9, and Carley, who just turned 18, live with us, along with my daughter, Alicia, who turned 18 about six weeks after Carley,” said Glasscock.
Michael has four children: Cassie Haney, 24 (husband Chris and 15-month-old daughter Allie); Corey Glasscock, 21 (wife Emily and 5-week-old daughter Blakely); in addition to Carley and Charlee.
Beth’s children are Andrew Self, 21 and Alicia Self, 18.
The first decision Beth made was to hold the ceremony at the Festhalle, which is family-friendly, easy to locate and perfectly priced for those on a budget.
“It costs $200 to rent Festhalle,” said Beth. “That's less expensive than most any indoor space, and it's one of the few covered outdoor spaces available. Outdoor weddings can be nerve wracking since you can't predict the weather. It also includes the table and chairs which you would need to rent if you chose to marry outdoors at someone's home.”
At first she didn’t really even want a formal wedding, but the children protested, and won out on that decision. “They all wanted to be bridesmaids,” Beth laughed.
Always practical, Beth ordered her dress from Amazon, after reading many reviews. “It cost $29.99 with free shipping!” she chuckled. “I ordered it back in July just in case it didn't work, but I was very pleased with how pretty it turned out to be.”
Another way Beth saved and still had great cakes was to let her baking friends do their thing with several cakes of different flavors.
“I had planned to make a cake myself, but ran out of time,” said Beth, who works for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. “I decided that I wanted to do something different than the traditional wedding cake and asked some friends and family if they would bake a cake in lieu of buying a gift,” she explained. “I told them they could make whatever they wanted, but most wanted me to choose. I've actually made wedding cakes as gifts for several friends over the years and I thought this turned out great!
“These amazing people were so generous to do this for us; the devil's food with seven-minute frosting was made by Raydonna Sims, co-worker and friend; a carrot cake, Cathy and Jerry Collins, my sister and brother-in-law; spice cake with apple cider frosting, my friend, Ellen Hall; the sour cream coconut cake with cream cheese frosting was made by Patricia Harris, Michael's mom. Patti Cantrell made the strawberry cupcakes, while a German chocolate cake was made by Emma Thornton, another co-worker and friend, and an apple bundt cake was provided by friends, Cynthia and Sybil Tubbs.”
Beth made the apple orchard punch and the coffee slush punch served at the reception herself.
Beth’s centerpieces were bouquets of fresh-cut fall flowers from Publix, taken apart and combined with greenery from a friend’s garden. They were displayed in canvas bags of taupe and white, which blended well with the brown craft paper table covers, ordered from Amazon. “And I got free shipping,” added Beth.
Music was carefully scripted to reflect the personalities of the bride, groom and wedding party, which consisted of the couple’s six children. Beth and her bridesmaids walked down the aisle to Beth’s favorite version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by a Hawaiian–born Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. The song played during the wedding was "All of Me" by John Legend. The last song, to which the couple danced mid-aisle, was "At Last" by Etta James. The lilting melodies perfectly reflected the mood of the day, which was one of lighthearted affection and love.
Beth’s son, Andrew, married the couple, another savings, but also a very special and sentimental choice.
The children all wore matching T-shirts with “son” or “daughter” emblazoned on the back, which turned out to be the most expensive items of the day.
“We special-ordered the T-shirts from Heart of Dixie Printers in Hanceville,” said Beth. “The owner, Renee Walker is Michael's cousin and she gave us a great deal. We ended up ordering 14 shirts which was more than we had expected, but they were so cute and really helpful to the guests in sorting out all the kids!”
After the formal ceremony, the couple repeated personalized vows reflecting their love for each other and their children. Following the ceremony each child and the bride and groom transferred a flower from one vintage jar to another, symbolizing their newly blended family.
“I wanted this to be very simple, but very special,” said Beth, moments before walking down the sidewalk to the makeshift aisle in the center of the Festhalle’s towering open air timber frame structure.
It was surprisingly easy to decorate. Tables were set out along the north end of the pavilion, chairs on each side of the paper lined aisle afforded guests a close-up view of the nuptials. The décor was accomplished with the help of friends and family, in about three hours.
Beth started planning the event back when she and Michael Glasscock were officially engaged in April. “We asked my parents if they minded for us to marry on Oct. 23, which was their 66th anniversary, and reserved the Festhalle then, but otherwise I didn't do much planning until late September.”
Even then, they knew that they wanted something with little stress and not much glitz and glam. It was not a first marriage for either of them, and they wanted to have a memorable day, but one without the headaches and financial strain that goes along with most weddings.
The hardest thing for both Michael and Beth was squeezing in time for a wedding while working full-time, with kids in school, and combining households.
“After Carley's cancer diagnosis in January and the five months of treatment that followed, the wedding was really a celebration of our family,” said Beth. “I really didn't want to have a wedding, but the girls were really excited about being in it, so that was what mattered to me.”
Of course, even the best laid plans sometimes go awry, and that almost derailed the music.
“Back when the Farmer's Market first opened it had a sound system and I just assumed it still worked,” recalled Beth. “We found out the night before that it didn’t! Fortunately, Michael was able to get his stereo hooked up and connected it to his iPhone which held the playlist he had created.”
Another unexpected turn of events was a poignant one for Beth. “I didn't expect to be so emotional,” she admitted. “I cried several times and my nose turned red.”
The best part of the whole experience for the newlyweds was sharing the day with friends and family, especially their parents. “We feel incredibly blessed to have found each other and have a second chance at love,” Beth said softly.
At the end of the day, Michael and Beth were happily married with friends and family looking on. Later, there was dancing, many tears of joy and much laughter. Beth’s plan worked beautifully…
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