Popup Christmas Wedding
POPUP CHRISTMAS WEDDING – December 21, 2024 – Mt. Prospect, Illinois, USA
Everyone who knew Elsa and Austin agreed they were perfect for each other. Both were kinder and shorter than the average person their age. They often got forgotten during parties but hung around to help clean up after they ended. They met as sophomores during a blood drive at the University of Illinois. After being assigned to the same registration table as student volunteers, they became inseparable.
By the end of their third college year, Elsa and Austin decided they wanted to be married, sooner rather than later. Most of their friends thought getting married at twenty-one sounded crazy. But a few said it sounded romantic and wished they had found such a perfectly cute match. As one of Elsa’s roommates put it, “When you know like they do, why not start spending the rest of your lives together? Those two deserve to have all their dreams come true.”
When the young couple revealed the marriage idea to their families, Austin’s parents were mostly supportive. They adored Elsa and were happy to have her formally join their family, no matter how soon it happened.
Elsa’s parents, Andrea and John Langmuir, saw things differently. Elsa was an only child and her parents had invested huge amounts of time and money to ensure she was as successful as they were. She went to private schools and played on important sports teams that were supposed to make her competitively ambitious. The Langmuirs’ expectations for their daughter did not include marrying so young. And while they thought Austin was a nice enough boy, he did not give off the vibe of an aggressive overachiever.
Andrea Langmuir said about Austin and her daughter, “I don’t think they live in the real world. They have no concept of money or how they’re supposed to get by.” When speaking directly to Elsa, she told her she was naïve and confused. “I know you’re in love and you think that’s all that matters, but those feelings fade and reality sets in.”
Elsa respectfully listened but did not change her mind. The same conversation between her and her parents continued from March until July, with Elsa persuading in a sweetly stubborn way. By the middle of the summer, Andrea and John finally accepted that their daughter was getting married. Then they had to confront her plan to do it before the end of the year. Elsa and Austin sat down with them for an uncomfortable talk about the logistics.
“It doesn’t have to be a big wedding,” Elsa said, trying to sound accommodating. “Maybe I would like a small wedding better.”
“And we’re happy to have it anywhere,” Austin added.
Andrea looked at her daughter and would-be son-in-law like they were children figuring out rules to a board game. “If our only daughter is getting married and we’re paying for it, which I presume we are, then we want an event we can be proud of. Something all our friends can attend.”
“Here in Mt. Prospect?” Elsa asked.
“Of course, here in Mt. Prospect. This is where you grew up. Hundreds of people here know you and would want to attend.”
“That sounds wonderful. I didn’t know if you wanted all the trouble.”
“Well, someone’s got to worry about the details.”
Elsa got a dreamy look in her eye and turned to Austin. “If we had it around Christmas, we could have a Christmas theme. Everything red and green.”
“And Christmas trees and lights,” Austin added.
“No, no, no. A wedding around Christmas is a nightmare,” Andrea said with a shake of her head. “You’re competing with all kinds of holiday parties. Everyone’s so busy. And I know you think a Christmas theme would be cute, but trust me, it’ll be tacky. Like you’re a couple of country bumpkins.”
“But Austin and I are between semesters over Christmas,” Elsa argued. “That’s what’s most convenient for us and it’s our wedding.”
Andrea smiled in a patronizing way. In her professional life, she oversaw a thriving psychiatric practice. She was used to those around her deferring to her opinion and knowing exactly what was running through everyone’s head. She liked to think she completely understood human motivation and was not above mental manipulation to produce a needed result.
Having grown up under her mother’s oversight, Elsa was intimately aware of her mind tricks. She instantly spotted gas lighting, guilt trips, reverse psychology, and attempts at idea inception. In fact, she mastered many of her mother’s skills and her brand of manipulation got delivered in a gentler, less-condescending package. When the two of them disagreed, they knew some compromise was inevitable. While Austin and Elsa’s father did not realize it, compromise over the Christmas wedding had already begun.
Elsa was willing to drop the idea of a Christmas theme. In turn, her mother accepted a wedding date of December 21st, the Saturday before Christmas.
“That’s the Winter Solstice,” Andrea said authoritatively. “I’m thinking the groom in a black tie. White flowers and decorations. Very classy.”
Elsa did not attempt to argue and let her mother talk excitedly about Winter Solstice styling. When the long compromise discussion was over and Elsa was alone with Austin, she said confidentially, “I still think we might get our Christmas wedding. Somehow.”
While Elsa was home for her summer break, she and her mom shopped for a wedding dress and visited possible wedding venues. They agreed on a small hotel that rented a spacious reception building surrounded by gardens and a pond. The space had hardwood floors, a balcony for live musicians, and plenty of guest parking. Very classy.
Mother and daughter also visited with caterers, florists, photographers, and musicians, but only the dress and venue were finalized before Elsa returned to school. Andrea consulted with Elsa on the other details, but since her daughter was 150 miles away and Andrea was paying the deposits, she made the final decisions. By late autumn, the receptionist at Andrea’s psychiatry office knew more about the wedding table settings and flower arrangements than Elsa did. But Elsa trusted her mom’s good taste and decided to be grateful no matter how things worked out.
By the beginning of December, RSVPs had been returned from invited guests. Despite Andrea’s fears, a majority of invitees had carved out time in their holiday schedule for the wedding. There would be a large crowd.
Andrea and Elsa arrived at the reception hall on the morning of the 21st to find employees removing decorations from a Christmas party that had taken place the night before. Tables were covered in red candles and limbs from evergreen trees. Every corner held a Christmas tree and the walls were covered in lights. A large chair for Santa Claus sat on one end of the room.
“Shouldn’t all this be cleared away by now?” Andrea asked the flustered manager.
“We’re moving as fast as we can,” the manager replied.
“Well, move faster. I don’t want my daughter’s wedding spoiled by Christmas decorations.”
Andrea was in a frantic mood when the florist arrived with a box truck. An unfamiliar man with mutton-chop sideburns got out of the driver’s seat and barked orders for his assistants to begin unloading.
“Where’s Marge?” Andrea asked the man.
“She won’t be here today. I’ll take care of everything.”
Andrea sniffed skeptically. “The flowers, the latticework, the lighted stars?”
“Yes, everything.”
A worker carried the first basket of flowers from the truck and Andrea moved in for a closer look. “These aren’t white! These are barely cream colored. Marge and I agreed on white.”
The flower truck driver raised his hands and said, “Look, there’s no such thing as a pure white flower. They’re naturally going to have a yellowish, creamy tint to them.”
Andrea inspected more flowers. “And these have pink lines around the petals. These aren’t what we ordered. I want to talk with the manager.”
“Lady, I’m the owner,” the truck driver replied in a tired way. “It’s December. Not exactly flower growing season around here. I promise you these are the best flowers you can get.”
If Andrea had been sitting calmly in her office, she likely would have read the florist’s mindset perfectly. But in that moment, she miscalculated and assumed that standing firm would somehow produce better flowers. “I want the ones I ordered. Not these,” she said in a demanding voice.
“Fine with me,” replied the florist. He made some quick motions with his hands and his assistants put everything back in the truck. He drove off in less than a minute leaving Andrea standing open-mouthed. She did not even have time to attempt an apology.
Elsa found her mom looking distraught. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“We don’t have any flowers! The florist drove off with them and most of the decorations. What are we going to do?”
Elsa hugged her mom to calm her down. “It’s alright. We’ll figure out something. Let’s talk to the guy from the hotel.”
When they huddled with the venue’s manager and the caterer, they quickly realized there was no possible way to get alternate flowers. “I think you’ll simply have to go with a bare-bones look,” the manager concluded. “White tablecloths. Very simple.”
Andrea cringed. “Six months of planning for nothing but tablecloths? Everyone’s going to wonder what we were thinking. This was supposed to be a Winter Solstice party.”
Almost jokingly, the manager said, “We could bring the Christmas decorations back in.”
Elsa’s face lit up. “That’s a good idea. Cozy and Christmasy sounds better than plain tables. Don’t you think, Mom?”
Andrea turned to the manager. “People won’t think it’s tacky?”
“People love Christmas,” the manager said with a shrug.
Andrea sighed loudly and whispered, “Alright, bring the decorations back in.”
Fortunately, the majority of the Christmas stuff was still in place. By the time Austin arrived in the afternoon, the reception hall looked much like it had the night before.
“Surprised?” Elsa asked him.
“By what?”
“It’s the Christmas theme we wanted all along.”
“Oh. I guess I didn’t realize the difference between that and Winter Solstice.”
The couple got married in the spot where Santa Claus’s chair once stood. None of the guests complained about it looking tacky and very few knew about the last-minute theme change. Elsa assured her mom it was the wedding of her dreams. Everything she hoped for and deserved.
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