I'll Never Desert You: The Bridal Party

And now it's time to officially introduce our bridal party -- those amazing friends and family members who stood by us on one of the most important days of our lives. All the ladies were asked to choose their own dresses within a certain color range. This worked well for us as my bridesmaids live in various states across the country. We also had a slightly unconventional bridal party. Mr. C wanted his three little sisters to be "groomsladies" for the wedding. I asked that they wear mismatched dresses in dark gray in order to match the groomsmen suits which were custom ordered online from Studio Suits. Mr. C's oldest sister, seen below on the far right, was pregnant with twins at the time, so giving her freedom to choose her dress certainly made her life a little easier. She gave birth to her fraternal twin boys, Finn and Beckett, in early August! 

The bridesmaid/groomslady bouquets were made by my mother the day before the wedding. I ordered baby's breath in bulk from Fifty Flowers which was used for the bouquets, boutonnieres, and the aisle baskets. This semi-DIY option saved us a lot of money. Ordering even modest bouquets and boutonnieres from our florist would have cost a small fortune, so I was happy enough with this economical solution. My mom added sheer blue ribbon to the bouquets for a finishing touch.

All photographs are by Christopher Helm Photography. The venue is Cloverleaf Farms just outside of Athens, Georgia.

I love my bridesmaids! I loved the fact that getting married gave me a great excuse to spend time with these ladies who happen to live all across the country. I blogged about how I asked my ladies to be my bridesmaids, but I never really introduced you to my wonderful friends.

I bought these adorable parasols (which were chosen to match the color of their dresses, if you can't tell) from Lunar Bazaar.

And here they are, in order from left to right (in photo above): 

Bridesmaid S and I met in 4th grade when I moved to Georgia. She was one of my first new friends after adjusting to a new state and a new school. We instantly bonded over our love of horses: both real and of the toy variety, specifically Grand Champions and Breyers. We remained friends all through high school and both attended UGA together. She's an amazing and multi-talented artist who draws, paints, sculpts, and creates her own amazing jewelry. She moved to California a few years ago to follow her husband who is a legitimate rocket scientist at JPL. Her and her husband just welcomed their first child to the world in March and she's busy being a new mama! 

Bridesmaid AM is one of my "newer" friends. We became close after I moved back from Japan and was attending graduate school at UGA. She was dating one of my high school friends at the time and after he moved to Singapore to pursue his PhD, we ended up becoming a lot closer! She's one of the most outgoing people I know as she seems to know everyone in Atlanta these days. She loves zombies and special effects make up and the Rocky Horror Picture Show -- she even plays a zombie in the interactive haunted house called the Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse. 

Matron of Honor K and I have known each other since we were five years old! We quickly discovered that our names rhymed and became instant best friends. We actually have incredibly different personalities. She was a bit serious and taciturn while I was obnoxious and could easily talk your ear off. I moved away from K when I was nine years old, but we always stayed in contact and usually spent a few weeks over the summer together. She attended Auburn and I attended UGA (which are only three hours apart) so we were able to keep in touch during our adult years as well. Now K lives as a vet in Baltimore. We don't get to see each other much anymore, but whenever we hang out it seems like 

Bridesmaid J is my extremely extroverted, outgoing stepsister who recently returned home to California after living in New York City for the past year. I first met her when she was seven years old (I was 16) when my dad flew me out to California to meet his future wife and her children. I don't remember much about the visit, but I do remember that J wanted to "play" with my hair and ended up braiding it into knots! I still tease her about this! But she is girl with a huge heart and a big personality to match it! 

Bridesmaid M and I met in middle school. She was somewhat quiet and reserved which was an odd match for someone like me who was very outgoing and outspoken. She was always game for our weird plans and schemes though, including making avant garde movies and commercials. Now she lives in California with her husband and one year old daughter. 

Bridesmaid AH and I met around the same time as Bridesmaid M. She was definitely my mischievous partner in crime and it seemed like we were always up to something. I know we drove a number of teachers crazy with our antics, and I realize that now that I am a teacher I am getting the ultimate payback in the form of annoying students.  She recently returned to Georgia after spending two years living in Colorado. It's nice having another friend living back in Georgia and she seems a lot happier to be back home. 

I miss my friends so much. I wish we all lived closer to each other so we could spend more time together. Also, can you tell I'm the only one not wearing heels? 

A few weeks before the wedding, Bridesmaid AM said that we should try something called "Vadering" at the wedding. Apparently it was a new meme floating around the internet, similar to "planking" that was popular a few years ago. Basically one person poses as Darth Vader while everyone else jumps in the air pretending to be force choked. As a huge nerd, this definitely appealed to me. Our photographer was totally on board as well! So we got a few funny shots like the one below (and one more to come). Mr. C had his dad bring an old Darth Vader helmet back from their attic in Michigan just for these photos. It was a nice touch! 

And now for the groomsmen and groomsladies! Mr. C chose his brother-in-law (father of the recently born twins) to be his Best Man. He also chose my brother (seen below on the top right) and our coworker to be included in our bridal party. The three ladies are his little sisters: H, E, and K. K is the youngest at just 21 years old.

We bought the guys white and light pink striped seersucker ties from The Tie Bar. 

We also bought the guys matching gray and pink socks from Macy's. Mr. C wore blue Ralph Lauren socks which matched his tie and my sash. 

It's hard to tell here, but I bought Mr. C's sisters light gray parasols to match their dresses. Parasols for everyone!

Hooray for an awesome bridal party! 

Was your bridal party unconventional in any way? 

1) Getting Dressed & Exchanging Gifts

2) Putting on the White Dress

3) Our First Look

4) The Ceremony Begins

5) The Reading 

6) The Vows

7) The Kiss and Recessional 

Asking Your Bridesmaids: How to Buy More Crap at the Craft Store

It's kind of a thing now to find fun and creative ways to ask your lady friends to be bridesmaids in your wedding. How did I ask my lady friends to be my bridesmaids? I called them on the phone. Lame, I know. But then I started to see all sorts of unique cards and crafts on the topic and my creativity wheels started turning.

You've probably seen how other Bees have asked their ladies in the past. For instance, Mrs. Bracelet, Mrs. Unicorn, Mrs. Turkey and Miss Lyre created adorable homemade cards. Mrs. Mink used elegant spools from Etsy seller Esther Shafer. Miss Gray Wolf made some super cute Christmas ornaments. Mrs. Elk even staged a fake proposal (complete with rings!) for her bridesmaids.  Not one to turn down an opportunity to spend money at the craft store, I set off to create something that would be fun to make while staying true to the general theme of our wedding. But what?  

My bridesmaids live all across the country. Two live in LA, one in Colorado, one in New York City, one in Baltimore, and one nearby (thankfully!) in Atlanta. I'm sure everyone has seen Bethany's lovely bridesmaid boxes, but unfortunately bulky wooden boxes just aren't practical for mailing across the country. I wanted to make something a little smaller and lighter. So I came up with these: 

The bridesmaids boxes. (personal photo)

The base is a simple papier-mâché box which I painted and then detailed with a gold paint pen. I used Mod Podge to attach small paper doilies to the inside of the boxes and I painted the inside lid with the initial of each one of my bridesmaids. I then coated the boxes with clear glossy spray. I topped each one with a Marie Antoinette-inspired scrapbook sticker. Finally, I cut out slips of paper which read, "Will you be my bridesmaid" which I carefully folded up inside each box. 

In retrospect I wish I had used more muted colors on these boxes and not the vibrant pink and blue I actually went with. I think I wanted to go with the over-the-top Marie Antoinette look which we won't be using at our wedding. Oh well. 

The bridesmaids booklets. (personal photo)

I loved the information cards that Bethany included with her "Will you be my maid?" boxes, so I used them as inspiration for the information booklets I included for my ladies. I made six (one for each bridesmaid) and each one is unique! I was going for a Marie Antoinette feel but I think they turned out a little more Victorian. Hey, it works for me! 

The construction of each booklet is quite simple. They are comprised of four different pages of postcard-sized card stock and a piece of patterned card stock for the cover. The pages are hinged together with tiny metal brads and the bottom of each sheet was given a lace effect using one of Martha Stewart's punches. I might have even included some gold embossing action. Yeah, I went a little overboard with all of my craft supplies, but it was a good time. The last page of the booklet is a color palette. I took paint chip cards from the home improvement store and sliced them into thin pieces which I then glued onto white card stock. Obviously the cover of each booklet eventually bore the name of each bridesmaid and the finishing touch: a tiny cameo scrap book decoration. 

I have to be honest: this was actually a lot of work. But I really enjoy crafting as it keeps me from stressing out about my job too much, which I have a strong tendency to do. Plus, in the digital age it feels good to make something concrete and tangible. 

Did you do anything special to ask your ladies to be your bridesmaids? 

Bummed About Bridesmaids

I have chosen six different ladies to be my bridesmaids. Four of my bridesmaids are old, dear friends, one is a newer friend who I've grown close to in the past few years, and one is my 22 year old stepsister. 

With my oldest friend Karen (on left) who is one of my bridesmaids.

I'm nearly 30 years old, so a lot of my friends have moved away and gotten married over the years. One of my bridesmaids has just had her first child and another is expecting her first this March. I feel like I'm a little behind the times seeing as I'm only now engaged, but I'm totally okay with that. We all experience life's moments in our own way and in our own time. I'm extremely happy getting married at 30 and I would not change a thing about my life or how/when I met my fiance, even if I could. 

With two more bridesmaids: Princess Leia and Darth Vader. I'm Boba Fett. Apart from my helmet, we made these costumes with crap we found in my basement. 

The issue is more that my bridesmaids live all over the US. Two are in LA, one in Colorado, one in Baltimore, one in New York City, and another close by in Atlanta. My friend in Atlanta is currently pursuing a nontraditional career and she has a highly irregular schedule. There's always some kind of schedule conflict since she is usually incredibly busy on the weekends which is usually the only time I have free. It makes me depressed because she is the one "local" female friend I have right now, and I rarely see her these days. I miss her living in Athens and meeting up for dinner or drinks just to catch up.

I guess I'm just feeling a little down and distant from a lot of the women in my life. I think movies and TV shows make weddings look like so much fun with all your girls by your side, but in reality I think a lot of people don't have that option, especially later in life when most of your college friends have moved off to find work or follow their partners.

I was lucky enough that I could go dress shopping with three of my bridesmaids in LA over the summer. It was a really awesome girl weekend that made me feel a little more connected to the people I care about. But now I'm back in the disconnected doldrums wondering how we will ever coordinate a wedding shower or a bachelorette weekend. 

What makes things even more complicated is the fact that my family lives all over the country as well and most of our guests will be coming in from out of town. Well, I guess we will just have to do the best that we can and be thankful for the few times a year that we do get to meet up and reconnect!  

Are/were your bridesmaids spread out or close by? If they live far away, how are you coordinating efforts for bridal showers or the bachelorette weekend?