(photo by Lori Elizabeth)
(photo by Lori Elizabeth)
(photo by Lori Elizabeth)
(photo by Lori Elizabeth)
Larkspur must have said, “I’m so excited!” dozens of times in the last few days, in anticipation of her First Holy Communion. We spent the last couple of weeks attending to details, and I hoped that doing so would add to her knowledge of how special her upcoming day was. We began searching for a dress months ago. On my own time I spent quite a bit of time searching online and to my dismay, found that my favorite dress cost three hundred dollars. Of course Larkspur, outside of my influence, chose the same favorite as me, a handmade dress in Irish linen. As special as a First Holy Communion is, I couldn’t really fathom spending that much money on a dress that would be worn once (Bea is much smaller than Lark and won’t wear the same size next year when it’s her turn), and not just because we couldn’t afford it. So we landed on a plan that involved me sewing her dress. This despite the fact that I haven’t sewn a dress in a very long time, and I have evidently acquired a mental block regarding sewing. I figured I would get over it, because I would have to.
Larkspur and I both have pretty simple taste. We chose a pattern from Oliver + S and made plans to lengthen and dress it up a little. I called on my friend Elizabeth for help with fabric. She graciously offered to go shopping for me, because I don’t have a nearby fabric store that carries the sort of fabric I was envisioning. About a month ago she made a special trip to find a pretty white cotton for me, calling from the store to go over my options. I completely trust her judgement and after her descriptions asked her to buy up several yards of a fabric that she thought was pretty. It arrived in the mail about a week later, and it was perfect. I’ve been gazing at it sitting on my dresser, partially wrapped in pretty polka dotted tissue paper, for weeks. I meant to start tracing pattern pieces two weeks ago, but everyday there was something that stopped me. I lamented to another mom at baseball practice that I was supposed to sew a First Holy Communion dress and I just wasn’t feeling up to the task. She immediately replied, “I have a raw silk dress hanging in a closet that was never worn. I bought it on sale thinking that one of my daughters might choose it someday. It’s very simple though, and none of them ever liked it. Maybe Larkspur would? You can have it if you want.” I declined, saying that I really was going to sew the dress, that I already had the pattern and the fabric.
About a week ago, I ran into her husband at a baseball game. With an edge of desperation in my voice I asked him, “Could you please tell Cindy that I would like to have that First Holy Communion dress?” He brought it to the game the next day. I promised Larkspur that if she didn’t like it, or if it didn’t fit, that I would sew her dress. Thankfully, we both loved it at first sight. It was simple with elegant details, just our style. When we got home she washed off the baseball grime before we carefully removed the dress from it’s bag and slipped it over her head. It fit perfectly. I sent an email thanking our friends who had given us the dress telling them that we loved it and I believe I capitalized the words, “I AM OFF THE HOOK!” It wasn’t that I didn’t want to sew Lark’s dress. It wasn’t that I didn’t care enough to do so. It’s just that I didn’t have the physical or mental space to do so.
Larkspur and I went shopping for shoes and visited a local florist to have a wreath of roses specially made for her to wear on her big day. I took her for a manicure and pale pink polish the night before, an extremely rare treat.
This year, rather than having the children receiving First Holy Communion sit separately from their parents into a large group, our church spread the children out over Masses spanning about six weeks time. Rather than sit with a group, they simply sit with their parents and walk up with them when it’s time for communion. I really loved that. The children that receive First Holy Communion are recognized at the end of Mass. She looked so sweet and so nervous as she walked to the front. There were only three other children that received during the same Mass with Larkspur.
It was a truly beautiful Mass, with many of our closest friends in attendance. The closing hymn was “Sing with all the Saints in Glory” and I truly felt like we were surrounded. I’m so thankful for my precious daughter, and so thankful that I was able to share this beautiful day with her and all the saints.
congratulations Larkspur on your first holy communion! Your dress is beautiful! God Bless x
Aww how sweet! Congratulations Larkspur! Her dress is lovely (and your timeline was making ME panic, so I’m glad you got off the hook).
gorgeous dress, gorgeous daughter and I love the way your church did the ceremony, as a family. How exciting to have a confirmation and a holy communion in one spring!! Bet you’ve been quite busy with that happening.
Congratulations! She looks happy and pretty. Lucky you to have such an adorable daugther and lucky her to have shuc a wonderful family!
So lovely. Thank you for sharing Lark’s day with us, and everything that led up to us. As for the fabric, someday you’ll come up with the perfect use for it. Fabric is like that. It hangs around and finds its place.
What a beautiful day!
Wonderful! She looks beautiful.
What a sweet dress! Congratulations to Larkspur on her big day!! She was lovely and looks so happy. Ginny, maybe the white fabric can be for Bea’s dress?
A beautiful very special day.
God bless, ♥
Larkspur looks so happy and sweet. Gorgeous dress. Such a wonderful time indeed. God bless her!
Congratulations to Larkspur from the bottom of my heart….I very much like the way she received Holy Communion, next to her family. This is the way we do at our parish here in Durham, NH and my son received it last year. It was not the way we did it in my parish back in Italy and I find it is a lot less distracting and more intimate for the child. She is really lovely in her dress, you couldn’t have fing a better one. In my parish yesterday the last group of children received Holy Communion and among them there was a red headed little one called Ella. She had a beautiful wreath in her hair and she looked to me like a preraffaelite beauty! I really like the wreath so much better than the veil!
Lovely!!
Lark looks beautiful…..it is the perfect dress. My granddaughter’s first communion is this weekend; we’re all excited, too! Traveling 5 1/2 hours to be with her; wouldn’t miss it for anything.
How special for her and for your family. Larkspur looks so beautiful with her wreath of roses and she looks so happy. 🙂
So pretty!! Congrats she looks so pretty in her dress, love the rosary!
Oh Larkspur how beautiful you looked on your First Holy Communion Day, not just the dress but your beauty was shining from the inside out. Your crown of white roses…stunning. I remember my First Communion over 50 years ago and what a special day that was for me too. Congratulations, you are a beautiful sweet girl. Ginny you looked so happy and beautiful too.
Congratulations Larkspur!! The dress is beautiful and so is the crown of flowers!
I remember my First Holy Communion and honestly I was really scared!…but, I do
remember being so excited to get all dressed up in white….still have photos of it all
somewhere……beautiful occasion…happy for you all!
Gods blessings,
Corinne
congratulations to Larkspur! she looks radiant and sweet, you look so proud and happy. wonderful!
What a wonderful story, and such beautiful photos. Larkspur looks radiant! Congratulations to her. I love the picture of you two in the church!
Beautiful! As I was looking at the pictures I kept thinking how gorgeous her dress was! What a perfect story about the dress – it all just works out. I love your dress as well – where did you get it? I am all about simple. 🙂
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. All of it! I was going to say “my favorite picture is the one…” but I can’t, I like them all :). Happy for her and for you!
Perfect dress. You guys look great! Congratulations, Larkspur!
Larkspur looks absolutely beautiful. I love her flower crown. (Congratulations to you, Larkspur!) My daughter Violet, had hers on the 19th and her excitement and faith was just lovely.
As to dresses, I’m quite positive we loved a similar one. It was so beautiful, but I just couldn’t pay that much for a dress that would only be worn once. I ended up finding another that was a very different style but that turned out perfectly (because I can’t sew at all).
Congratulations to Larkspur! What beautiful photos of your beautiful girl on her special day. I LOVE that your parish let the children sit with their families for their First Communion Mass! Ginny, do you do your children’s RE at home as part of your homeschooling?
By the way, I am floored by the price of dresses there! I mean, I know it was nice, but my mom keeps showing me dresses from shops there and I find them so expensive. I thought I had seen a pretty one recently, so I went to look for it: http://www.magellys.com/robes-filles/355-robe-blanche-6-8-10-12-14-ans-pour-1ere-communion-ceremonie-a-smocks-du-6-ans-au-14-ans-2132558959665.html
40 euros with hand smocking! Beatrix would be so darling in it. I really don’t know if it’s something you would like, but if you did like it I could order and send it as a gift to save on shipping and duty taxes.
Sometimes I think things just “work out” they way they were meant to. Maybe you didn’t have the mental/physical space to make the dress because her dress was simply hanging in a friend’s closet, unworn and lonely, waiting for it’s big day. She got a dress she truly loved and looked beautiful in, and you were probably a little more “refreshed” than if you had spent all that time making it. Really, what are the odds?
Congratulations Larkspur! Two beautiful ladies. I love that she (and others) received her Holy First Communion as part of the parishioners, as opposed to as a separate group of just students. Just beautiful!
So beautiful! Congratulations to Larkspur!
Such a special moment for Larkspur! I love all the photos! And the dress is just perfect. God bless you, Larkspur!
how did Bea react? is she able to wait ’till the next year? 🙂
That photo of both of you is so beautiful…
Larkspur looks lovely and the dress was perfect. Sounds a lovely way for your church to do First Holy communion with the children sitting with parents, friends and family.
I love the silly faces!
The dress is very elegant — just what I would choose. In fact, it looks a lot like my wedding dress — though I would have loved that neckline!
She looks quite tall. My youngest, who is 9 1/2 is 1m49 (um, lemme look that up: 4’10.6″!).
She also looks like a total sweetheart. I always think about something you wrote or something someone commented here: “I can’t see Lark in your childhood.” You’re such an amazing mama! I can’t see my girls in my childhood, either.
Our faith is beautiful ! First Holy Communion always brings a happy blessed tear to my eye and so did your post. Congratulations!
Such lovely photos. Can yo tell me where the rosary is from?
She looked beautiful. I loved reading about your journey with the dress. The dress from your friends was a perfect solution. You can still make a dress for Bea if time allows. Larkspur looks so proud. I loved making First Communion and remember it like it was yesterday. We did it as a large group (I like your church’s way a lot more!), and they chose a few kids to bring gifts to the altar as part of the mass. I was chosen to carry sheaves of wheat. I remember having little bits of wheat stuck all over the lacy part of my dress but I was so proud I didn’t care! I even had my picture taken with the beloved priest, with my sheaves in my arms. Hope you have a good week, Ginny.
That second to last photo….she truly looks like a “young woman” and not a “little girl”. Beautiful! I am sorry if that made your mama heart ache a bit!
A beautiful moment to treasure, congratulations.
Beautiful! And the dress is absolutely lovely. It seems to have worked out exactly as it should. The wreath of roses is a lovely touch. And your daughter’s light truly shines!
She’s beautiful and I love the dress. What a happy time!
My daughter has her first communion next week along with 2 of my older boys. My husband & I just entered the church last Easter. I’m a bit of a wreck clothing all 3 of them.
The pictures are just beautiful. I just love your story with all the details. It must be a woman thing. It drives my husband nuts when I want to “travel” through the story and sometimes he will sit and listen patiently and other times snap, “just get to the point”. I’m so glad you don’t just “get to the point” as I feel I’m right there going through it with you. I love the picture of you two together and the one where you can see the entire outfit. It is so perfect!
Gwen
I too love to read a story that travels or meanders along its path. My husband however once told a friend that I have “no short stories, only novels” so your husband is not the only one!
The dress is beautiful and really suits her. I know what you mean about sewing a dress yourself. It’s hard to explain but I would feel the same.
beautiful
Oh, congratulations to her! It may be simple, but it is made so beautiful by her glowing face and that delicate flower crown. The photo of the back of her head among the crown and her standing by the tree are absolutely lovely 🙂
Beautiful!(Both the dress and Larkspur!) I love how special these important occasions are for your children, and I think it’s wonderful that they treasure them!
The crown of flowers is breathtaking! How beautiful and special. I’m so glad you found a dress just right. I know the pressure of getting something sewn and sometimes God has an escape just waiting for you.
What a touching moment for you and your family. I am so familiar with feeling like you don’t have the physical or mental space to accomplish a task you really feel compelled to do. Thank goodness for friends who come through! Congratulations, Lark.
What a special day! Congratulations to Larkspur! (and she is beautiful, the fresh flowers are such a lovely touch). 🙂
Beautiful dress and beautiful girl! So glad it all turned out ok. I have the same problem with sewing. And I don’t want to sew until summer time and not on a rainy day!
I love the picture of Larkspur with that great grin on her face!
that’s so very lovely!!! I am so happy for you all!! God bless you and always care for you and your beautiful young Larkspur!! such a special beautiful day for you all!
The dress is lovely and suits her beautifully. You look lovely as well Ginny! Congratulations Larkspur! I hope you have a happy week!