Let me just begin by saying that the only way we got through it all was this........
With her 'coffee'
My mom's gift to all of us bridesmaids as well as Rob's mom was manicures and pedicures
She hired her 'nail tech' to come do them at my parents house, which was SO nice. We were able to work on getting the favors ready and finish all the last minute details while rotating through the dining room to get our nails done. Thanks again Mom!
Sadie had just short of 100 questions for the woman
Then it was her turn
We worked on the favors simultaneously......Lindsay Dasher (bridesmaid and one of my sister's best friends from college) made her famous chocolate chip cookies as a wedding gift to Linds and Rob...yes, she baked over 200 of them, froze them a few days before, and then carried them in this box as her carry-on on the plane...what a friend!
Assembly line taking a break to open our gifts from Linds
Steph, after being demoted from ribbon-tying duties, added the stickers
Once manis/pedis were complete, favors were done, and the guys were done golfing, much of the house was quiet as everyone was working on their speeches for the rehearsal dinner/wedding
Anthropologie supplied all the bridesmaid dresses
(Clarification: we all bought our dresses there without knowing it!)
Johnny Russ (bestman), Aidan (brother-in-law and groomsman), and Matt (MC of the reception)
Matron of Honor and the Ringbearer
Sadie helped me 'pick' Lindsay's bouquet for the rehearsal and got a flower for herself
(Lindsay didn't have very many bows to make a bouquet with and she wasn't about to bring any of the ones she got at her shower in New Zealand, so I ran outside the church and grabbed some of their flowers....all part of the church fee, right?)
Careful instructions
(notice her wedding shoes....she had been breaking them in all week!)
...getting restless...
...the response...
She was quite content once we let her roam through the choir chairs during the rehearsal, but made sure we told her she wouldn't be allowed to do this during the wedding!
The happy couple walking downtown, on their way to the rehearsal dinner
This was how I spent much of the week--behind the lens. There were so many people with so many different cameras, that I just offered to take all the pictures and send them out on CD to everyone after the wedding.....I ended up taking over 800 pictures during that week.
The happy couple listening as each person in the wedding party as well as all the parents, shared about Linds and Rob
We got home from the rehearsal dinner, exhausted, only to have more work to do. The orchids were sent from New Zealand and were supposed to arrive the day before, but ended up coming that afternoon. So we stayed up until after midnight, assembling the centerpieces. They turned out great, but we were starting to get a bit punchy!
