Ok, I’m starting to feel like all I talk about on here is my best friend’s wedding. However, as you may recall, I took some time off to be able to focus on the big event and it was really a big part of my life last month. I’m still looking back on what a fun time it was. Amy has been to three different schools (Purdue, IU and Princeton) over the past fifteen years, including living in London for a while, so as close as we are, our time together has been spread thin. With all of her friends from all of the different worlds she has lived in coming together and meeting for the first time, it felt like a big family reunion. It was such an amazing group of people. It was like everybody you encountered that weekend was an old friend you hadn’t seen in years, even though we had never met. I’ve never experienced such a thing.

Knowing I wasn’t taking my camera with me on her actual wedding day, I wanted to bring it to the rehearsal dinner and to the salon the morning of her wedding day to capture as much as I could. (Her photographer wasn’t going to be at the salon, so I jumped right in.) Yea, I have to admit that as I walked out the door with bridesmaid dress in hand I paused more than once by my camera, second guessing whether I should leave it at home. I wanted to be fully present for the day and be a part of it, not a fly on the wall. So home it stayed. John had Miles to take to the wedding, so he couldn’t take the camera either. Looking back, I may not have brought my camera, but when it came time for the photographer to come in and photograph Amy in her dress, instead of helping her with it, I was throwing sticks of deodorant, plastic bags, hangers, and Coke cans cluttering the background out of the way so the spot in front of the big mirror would be ready for her and her photographer’s shot. So, even though no camera was on me, it was still on my mind. 😉

Here’s what I do have, a bit of Friday night and Saturday morning, through my eyes. (Except of course, when John took over and snapped a few of Amy’s introduction of me at the dinner before she gave me my bridesmaid gift.)

There was SOOOO much laughter at the rehearsal dinner. It was such an awesome way to kick off the festivities.

Here’s Amy telling the story of how we met. Me, an unlikely addition to the Varsity cheerleading squad my senior year and her, a first timer as well as a junior. We quickly bonded over the fact that we were the only two girls on the squad that didn’t take it as seriously as the rest of the group, and let’s face it, we were the least physically talented among the bunch. We were always placed wayyyyy on the end of the line of cheerleaders (which really stinks because then you can’t watch anybody else’s moves if you don’t remember them. Dang!). So we spent our time on the end talking and would join in on the last couple of rounds of the chants. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We have a mutual admiration for each other’s realness. She is good, good stuff. I LOVE these photos of us. I feel like we could be on the cover of a chick flick movie.

She had seven bridesmaids, so forgive me (or thank me, ha!) for not posting more from the dinner.

July 4th started bright and early at the salon. Look at this GORGEOUS bride.

The flower girl was the SWEETEST thing and so excited to be a princess for a day. (She looked very much in her element!)

We had the whole salon allllll to ourselves, which was so nice and intimate. They even brought us breakfast and coffee. I brought what I always bring to major life events; Twizzlers. (Amy recalls eating them on my wedding day.) I can’t believe I didn’t take a photo of the Twizzlers. Dang. See, this is why I don’t do weddings. I can’t be trusted to catch the details. 😉

I was such a bridesmaidzilla. They had to do my hair twice because it just wasn’t me. (So embarrassing, but I can’t hide it when I don’t like my hair) Once it was done I was like, “Eh, it’s ok.” Then “Pop!” a big chunky curl flopped into my eye and I was like, “Oh, yea, that’s me!”

That’s Judy, Amy’s mom. (Like you couldn’t tell.) I LOVE this woman! I mentioned that Amy has been off to many different locations over our friendship and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t always be physically there when I needed her. So she would send her momma. When Andy was in hospice, she came to pray and cry with us. When Miles was born, she came and brought flowers. When my sister passed away, she came in Amy’s place. She is as woven into my life as Amy is.

Happy, happy bride!!!!

The cutest part of the morning was how the flower girl was smiling CONSTANTLY and her little face peeking at Amy makes me smile remembering her excitement.

This last photo HAD to be captured. This is SO Amy, running out the door with two different socks, because really, who cares if they match? Hilarious. She is so laid back, but yet so full of life. I can’t wait until she has kids and then I won’t be the only mom whose kid’s socks don’t match.

So the rest of the day is history and definitely imprinted on my heart as a very special day. John has been such a great husband picking up the slack with Miles so I could go be a part of wedding preparations. He did great bringing Miles to the wedding and I didn’t hear a peep out of him during the wedding. (If I did, I blamed it on the 16 other kids there!) I remember standing up there at the front of the church, frantically searching the crowd for my two guys until Miles’ precious little body popped up and out of the crowd waving as John held him up. Wow, you just can’t explain how awesome it is when your boy sees you from across the room and his whole face lights up.

All right, I could babble on forever about that whole weekend. I’m shushing now. Thanks for listening to me share so much about this wedding.

Have a great weekend everybody!