My dress: Alice + Olivia (old, similar), heels: Steve Madden (like these, and these) / Earrings: Anthropologie / Bracelet: J.Crew (similar, love this) / Bride’s dress: Bella Lily Bridal
Hello babes, it’s past midnight and technically Friday already. And I have a 7 am call to London for my monthly blog business pow-wow, it’s a strategy session. I didn’t have a post scheduled for today but I wanted to get something up and check in. They say personal posts don’t create much value or SEO. By they, I mean other bloggers who say you should only create content that has value. But what are blogs if you aren’t personal on them? I feel like they just turn into websites that just try to sell you on stuff. I know that I still view my blog as my personal creative outlet, as well as a business.
Anyway, let’s talk about last weekend, which I cannot believe this short week already flew by!
Benjamin was the officiant for Melayne and Drew’s wedding (see their desert engagement pics I took). He did an INCREDIBLE job, funny and sweet, it was a wonderful light hearted balance. Everyone enjoyed it.
I was a bridesmaid without the title, LOL. Really, and it’s OK. There were like 50 bridesmaids, all dressed in a color palette because that’s Melayne, she’s so loved and everyone wants to be her best friend or considers her their best friend. Such a gem!
I was told that morning to give a bridesmaid speech. I was legit totally caught off guard with the other two bridesmaids and wanted to wring Melayne’s pretty neck because I am such a girl who likes to be prepared and say all the heart felt fuzzy things and I had to wing it! It kind of cracked me up that I was asked that morning, she just got busy and forgot. I mean I know all pageant girls can do this but I didn’t want to miss saying all the important things about how much I love her to death and all the fun stories – which I’m sure I did, so let’s talk about my last minute outline Benjamin helped me with.
I didn’t have anything written down. Just a quick outline in my head. So for anyone who wants to know how to give a last minute speech on the fly, this is what you do – does not have to be in this order.
- Crack a joke. I took the mic and said, “World Peace,” and that’s how I started my speech. Thanks Sommer for letting me take that line.
- Explain how you met. We met though pageants, hence the joke.
- Tell a funny story. I talked about our Ireland and London trip and how Melayne usually 30 minutes late (we all know this) but I realized it also takes 30 minutes to leave because she’s hugging the chef, the waitress, and the patrons on the way out. Because that’s Melayne! Lovable! Likeable!
- Say something nice about the bride. The things you love about her, what a great friend she is.
- Say something nice about the groom. Like how the bride is all mushy and how you knew he was the one for her.
The end.
Melayne and Drew were married with 200 guests in attendance at Windmill Winery in Florence. Not Italy. Florence down south of Phoenix about 1-1.5 hours away.
My dress was an older dress from Alice + Olivia I kept for like, ever. It still had the dry cleaning tags on it from 2014 (worn it to three weddings now!)! I also wore it for our Christmas photos here in 2012! I’m pretty proud of myself for still owning that dress even though I haven’t worn it for years. To make it a little more fresh and add some character, I tied the halter on the side of my shoulder instead of behind my neck. It’s still such a classic dress I love – it was worth the investment when I bought it even though this was my fourth time wearing it.
It was one of the most fun nights I’ve had in a while. To have all my girls together, laughing, joking, their husbands too who are like brothers to me, we’re like one big family. We all think we look dreadful at the end of this night but I still love it. No photoshop (other than lightening up the pic). It’s just us at the end of a very long day, happy, together, celebrating life and growing old with each other. Couldn’t imagine something anything better to celebrate.
Cheers to love and friendship.
