I can’t believe it. My best friend is married. It’s remarkable to me, considering I knew this girl when we had to make color-coded lists of all the different boys we were dating so we could keep them all straight. And now, she’s picked just one.
The wedding was (nearly) flawless. Ali looked stunning. Seriously. I had to hold back tears as I watched her younger brother walk her down the aisle, hand her off to her mom, and then reach for her soon-to-be husband’s hands. She was breathtaking.
The ceremony took about 30 minutes. Ali and Justin both read their own vows. They partook in a sand ceremony which was similar to a unity candle, only they poured different colored sand into a jar representing their differences and ability to combine them into one jar of sand. It was beautiful.
Since I was standing beside Ali, I could only see Justin’s face. And he was beaming. His smile radiated throughout the entire ceremony. I have never seen anyone so blissfully happy before. It was…amazing.
Love. They are so in love. And that makes me so unbelievably happy. Ali deserves the absolute best, and I know that her life with Justin will be full of happiness. True love takes place after the bouquet is tossed, and I know, from the bottom of my heart, that Justin and Ali will be in love forever.
(Afterall, I said so in my toast)
This wedding was my first “friend wedding.” It was also the first wedding I was part of the bridal party, let alone the maid of honor. Let me tell you, it was TOUGH.
Here are some things I learned about weddings, brides, and being a maid of honor:
- Five hours is not enough time to get six girls’ hair, nails and makeup done.
- There are a million Marriott Hotels. Specify.
- Make sure beehives are taken care of before the wedding night.
- Don’t ever use Sunset Limousine in Denver. They “lock their keys in the car” and the bride and groom are forced to drive themselves downtown to the hotel.
- Don’t let groomsmen drink beer before the pictures are taken.
- Listen to the wedding planner – they know best.
- Take deep breaths.
- Figure out a way to wipe a runny nose or tears when you’re holding your flowers and the bride’s bouquet (“smelling” the flowers doesn’t work).
- Make the bride walk in circles (her train will get trampled otherwise).
- Practice bustling the bride’s dress before the reception.
- Teaching little boys to slide on their knees causes knee burns.
- The final, and possibly most important lesson learned – WATCH OUT for crazy girls that catapult themselves into you in order to catch the bouquet. Holy crap. You can have it, sweetie. Please. Don’t hurt me.
The wedding was a wild success. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. My best friend is so happy, so loved, and that’s all that matters to me.
I’ve been to over a dozen weddings. Similarities are everywhere and you can tell which ones were done by a planner and which were done by the bride & her mom.
Weddings are wonderful. Where are the photos?
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Ummm yeah. Pictures? HELLO!!!!
Sounds like a great time
I love weddings.
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This is coming from the mother of the bride…my baby girl is a MRS!!
I actually ran out of tears!! And once the tears were gone I settled into enjoying the most fabulous day of my little girl’s life. My one regret is that there was not enough time to spend with everyone…yet I was thrilled when it was over because I was exhausted!! I felt it was the perfect combination of all ideas, and creations came from ah-ha moments and the professionals’ expertise. I’m glad that I am old enough and wise enough to not have wished it away nor the days leading up to it. And the France trip was perfect timing…all the details were sealed with minor fun things remaining…like buying the flowergirl’s dress, scooping up the final teapots and pick-ups of relatives at the airport. I know that this is the only wedding I will be the mother of the bride…wonderful life wishes for Ali & JJ…
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This was a very poignant post. I especially like “figure out a way to wipe a runny nose or tears while holding your flowers and the bride’s bouquet…”
And some of these girls trying to catch the bouquet are crazy!
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Where are the photos? It sounds like a wonderful wedding and weekend for you. I was so happy to see you at dinner and we’ll see you soon
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Yes it was a beautiful wedding. Ali looked stunning and as you said JJ just beamed. It was wonderful to watch. You also looked very beautiful and did an awesome job as maid of honor. FYI – I am not in any rush to be mother of the bride
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FINALLY HAD A CHANCE TO READ YOUR BLOG AND VIEW PHOTOS OF WEDDING, ETC. LOOKED LIKE A LOVELY WEDDING. I AM VERY HAPPY FOR ALI. ENJOYED THE VISIT YOU AND SHE HAD HERE IN ARIZONA SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
ALSO LIKED THE PHOTOS OF HALF MOON BAY. LOOKED LIKE LOTS OF FUN.
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Lauren,
I love the way you write. Youre so talented. And not only that, but you kicked ass as the maid-of-honor! And I loved the list you wrote…yes we were very scrunched on time on the wedding day, and I still laugh that Brooke and I went to the wrong Marriot. Oops!
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Thanks for such a great blog & wonderful pictures Lauren and for being such a great friend to our Ali. I’m the mother of the groom and am so excited to have Ali officially a part of our family (she has actually been a part of our family for quite a while now)! You were a great Maid of Honor and were an important part of the overall success of this event. I’m looking forward to reading more of your blogs!
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