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Sunday, March 5, 2017

Meet the Bridesmaids


One of the things I was most excited about for wedding weekend was the women who would walk through the weekend with me and stand with me on our big day.
Choosing our bridal party was one of those things Dustin and I prayed and thought through a lot.  I've been in 17 weddings and have many dear friends.  There was a part of me that really wanted each one of those friends to stand beside me, but realistically I knew that wasn't possible. 
So I chose some of the women who have known me the longest and impacted my life deeply.  They are the friends (although all over the country) who have been walked through the ups and downs of life with me and have prayed for my husband for many years.  
I know there are others not in this picture I could say the same about, but 8 felt like the right number so these are the 8 women I asked!  
Once I decided the women I wanted to ask, I wanted to ask them in a fun way.  Unfortunately due to needing to order dresses so quickly (why do bridesmaids dresses take so long?) I had to think quick!  
Etsy came to the rescue and I found these cute cards!  I mailed one to each of my bridesmaids with a note telling them why I chose them to be in my wedding and a request to take a picture with the card if their answer was yes!  It was fun to receive these pictures over the week after mailing out the cards!  
"I need something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue, but most importantly I need YOU! Will you be my bridesmaid?"

So who are these women.... (Left to Right)
well the little ones are the cutest one and they were my flower girls!  Yes I might have been crazy to ask 2 year old twins to be flower girls, but they did amazing and with the help of big sis Mary Blake took their role very seriously! 
1) Catherine:  My older sister! It was so fun meeting my husband, getting engaged, and getting married in the city where we both live.  She was such a support and cheerleader through it all.  She was my matron of honor.
2)Amy:  My NYC bestie.  We overlapped in NYC for 5 years and literally did life together.  We worked in Children's Ministry together, led a community group together,  led a missions trip to South Africa together, and spent our days quoting "Friends" together.  She was my person in the city. We walked through singleness together, got married at the same age (although she is older than me so she got married before:-)) and stood beside each other on our wedding days! She lives outside Chicago Illinois now with her husband and son.  She lost her 8 month old son just  7 months before my wedding, but was one of my biggest encouragers and cheerleaders throughout my engagement. I admire her so much!   
3) Kelli:  Kelli started out in my life as a mentor when we were both on staff with Campus Outreach, but soon after became one of my closest friends.  she was my consistent NYC visitor, is my every week phone friend, and has always made me feel like she is on my team no matter what was going on in my life.  She lives outside Baltimore Maryland with her husband and 2 daughters.  
4) Samm:  Samm was on staff with Campus Outreach when I was a student at Western.  Like Kelli she started out as a mentor to me, but quickly became a close friend.  She was super impactful in my walk with the Lord during my college years and has consistently pointed me to Jesus over the years.  I also think I might laugh harder with her (and Colette and Heather) than anyone else.  The 4 of us have had pretty consistent reunions every 2 years since college and it's always the sweetest time.  We've also in been in/a part of each others weddings.
Samm lives in Minneapolis with her husband and 2 daughters.  
5) Katherine: Katherine is my crazy friend who I first met when I was a senior in college and we were going to be team leaders together on a summer project with Campus Outreach.  From that summer of living in a stinky hotel room in Myrtle Beach on bunk beds we have been best friends. I always tell her she brings out the crazy in me:-)  She's the friend I can have dance parties and laugh with until we fall on the floor and also have deep conversations about hurts and longings and Jesus!  Fun thing about Katherine is that we have never lived in the same city together, yet we have been best friends for 11 years!  
Katherine lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and 2 daughters.
6) Laura:  Laura I've known longer than anyone else.  Literally we have known each other our entire lives.  Our parents grew up together and have been close friends so of course we met at a very young age.  We grew up together and were inseparable through elementary, middle, and high school years. Our years of growing up together have brought a depth of friendship that is so sweet!  She is the friend I can go forever without seeing yet pick up where we left off when we re-connect.  
Laura lives in Daphne, Al with her husband and son.
7) Colette:  Colette was one of my besties in college at Western and was also my roommate and CO staff partner in Clinton SC.  We have shared so many moments (hilarious and hard) over the years.  She constantly teaches me, encourages me, and challenges me.  She is one of those people I know I can call at anytime and she will speak truth into my life.  
She lives in Greenville, SC with her husband and 3 children.  
8) Heather:  Heather was one of my other besties with Colette (I came in and was the 3rd to their friendship:))  We lived together for one year of college and it was a crazy fun year of dressing up in crazy costumes to scare people and playing practical jokes on each other.  Our journeys since college have been so different, yet so alike.  She has been my person who I felt like has been able to understand my journey of singleness well well and has been a consistent encourager.  
She lives in Dallas, TX with her husband.  

So, that's them!  Notice they came from 7 different states and left 11 children at home (not including my sister who handed off her 3 for the weekend) to be a part of my wedding weekend!  
All 8 of them mean so much to me and to have them all in a room together for a weekend was a dream come true to me. For several of them it was a sweet reunion not just with me but with some of the other girls who they are friends with from our journeys.  
They all arrived on Thursday afternoon and we had the sweetest afternoon and evening together.  
After spending the afternoon at the nail salon getting their toes and nails done, we came back to my apt for a little bachelorette night.  My sister threw me such a fun bachelorette party with dinner, dessert, fun drinks, and gifts!  
She also had all my bridesmaids send in pictures of us with a note to me that she compiled in a digital book.  I've read it over and over and treasure the stories, words of encouragement and pictures that fill the pages.  It will be the sweetest keepsake for years to come.  
We ended the night with lots and lots of laughing and a huge slumber party in my apt.  
It was the perfect way to begin the wedding weekend!  
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