My Best Friend's Wedding

Phew! June just flew by! July is nearly over now too and I'm falling behind in my blogging again... Regardless - I feel so honored for Kelsey to have picked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding! I have known her since I was probably 3 years old.

I'll tell you what - she went to two years of preschool, so her first year was with my older twin sisters, and I would get so mad when she came over to play with them and not me. The following year we did manage to get in trouble a few times for playing the hand stacking game under the table. I was sooo embarrassed. I also thought she was so weird for tapping on her pop can before opening it. What 4 year old does that? Lol! I also remember my mom suggesting that we don't sit by each other in kindergarten...Come on mom!

Growing up together we spent a lot of time sorting through my Polly Pockets only to have to clean them up to leave before actually getting to play with them. We washed my trolls' hair in the sink and played Barbies a lot at my house. At her house I remember making what we thought was going to be bread. Little did we know we needed yeast. The messes we made in her basement with flour and water... Going to her house was always a treat too because I didn't have a Nintendo 64 like she did. And sleep overs weren't complete without her dad telling us the story of the "Big Blue Ape." Maybe it was a gorilla, but to this day it's always been purple in my head...

I wonder how different both of our lives would be if she hadn't moved 8 hours away. But that's life for you! I was SO glad she said "yes" when I asked her to be in my wedding 3.5 years ago. She was my first friend, and is *obviously* very dear to me! It seems odd to say that I've known her for just under 25 years. That makes me feel so old... So how could I possibly say "no" to being in her wedding? I couldn't!

Her wedding, vow renewable actually since she tied the knot a few months before Perry and me, was perfect. Okay, the weather could have been at least 10 degrees cooler, but that would have still made it in the 90s - we all survived regardless! Like any wedding, there were a couple hiccups along the way - like how her cake baker backed out so I lent her my cake pans so she could make a "naked" cake... And how one of her hair people cancelled on her a few days prior, so it took me back to our younger years when she was curling my hair. But we made it all work! 

 

During the photo shoot before the wedding, Kelsey wanted a picture of her bridesmaids with her son, and as I knelt down on the grass, I managed to kneel on a wasp. OUCH! But I pulled through and brought out the "Tickle Spider" for Gavin. Soon after the other girls joined in and her photographer captured this gem! Perry took the other one of just me. That's the face I give him when I he takes my picture. It's the "really? Are you done yet?" face.

 While the reception was slow to get going, I made a point to get on the dance floor. Granted I had the help of *some* liquid courage. But whatever works! I was literally pulling people onto the dance floor. And I won the limbo. I never win but I rocked it this time. It might have helped that Perry was holding one end of the pole. I was so glad to hear Perry enjoyed himself too! He was really against going because he wouldn't know anyone...but I didn't either! By the end of the reception, I had a couple people tell me I should hire myself out as a bridesmaid because I'm so fun. Ahhhh! That would be more fun than I could handle...

 

Perry and I headed to our "campsite" around 1am, which was really just my Honda, which we parked at the park because we knew there was a chance neither of us would be able to safely drive home, nor would we want to because of the time. Just as Perry unrolled his sleeping bag in the back of the car, I heard the bridal party coming down the road saying, "pool." I hopped out of the car in an instant and the....twelve? of us used a ladder to climb over the eight foot fence to take a late night swim in the community pool. The water was so warm too! It was perfect! I'll tell you what, swimming in a dress is hard work! I don't know how the bride did it! I'd have drown. After our swim I made it back to the car and passed out until 8am, when Perry and I had to leave to retrieve the kids from Aunt Kile and Uncle Chris' house. I smelled like a pool for the whole day...

I'm so glad I was able to convince Perry to come along with me. We had such a good time together, and I kind of enjoy showing him off :) Best of wishes to the new newlyweds! Re-weds? Hahaha!