My Bridesmaids ~ Vida Bonita

Getting married is an incredible experience. Well I'm not married yet, so I should rephrase that. The time leading up to the day when you get married is an incredible experience. Lots of emotions go into the planning. Of course there's stress-but honestly, it's not that bad
There's resent -if a certain future husband neglects his "to do" list for months at a time, wondering why it's a big deal
There's lots of crying- I have never teared up so much in my life for the smallest things
There's appreciation- people can be so giving it's unreal
There's definitely excitement- my true sorority girl comes out every day
There's Frustration- What kind of person decides to put bows on 150 invitations? Really?
There's anticipation- 88 days.
There's complete joy- This is a very joyful season in my life, and I feel so honored that so many people willingly participate in making this such a special occasion

A select group of these special people, are my bridesmaids. All of which did not blink when they confirmed they would be one of my bridesmaids. Ready and willing. Those are my girls.

What's interesting about my bridesmaids:
1) None of them know each other that well
2) None of them are related to me
3) No two bridesmaids live in the same city. Only 2 live in the same state.
4) They all have very distinct things that they bring to the table

Amanda-
She's one of my very old high school friends. We even played softball together when we were tiny. She's always been someone that I can talk to and gain a lot from our conversations. We are so different, but we see the world in a lot of similar ways and we'll always have that common ground. She's my publisher. She has an entire business out of writing resumes for people (mine as well!). She designed my bachelorette invitations to perfection and even developed a guest book with multiple pages in Photoshop because I wasn't willing to throw down the $136. She gets stuff done and although she lives in Denver she's willing to help with any thing she can. Amanda taught me in high school about the power of the "to do" list, and I attribute that to about 75% of my success. I should send her flowers or something. There's no way this wedding would be happening with out the "to do" list.

Krissy-
Krissy is my big in Alpha Delta Pi. Ever since the day I met her, I have looked to her as a mentor. She recently got married. She got engaged after me and got married about 9 months before me. She's my hero. She's taught me a lot about relationships over our coffee dates, how special the first moments of being married are, and not to sweat the small stuff on a wedding. Consequently, she also had one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been at. She never answers calls or emails. She'll be there though. I know I can count on her even if I can't get a hold of her. She also has an awesome husband who ALWAYS answers his phone so if I really need her, I know how to get a hold of her. Krissy is my inspiration to relax.

Anna-
Anna is my little in Alpha Delta Pi. I like to think of myself as a mentor to her, but I think the biggest thing I ever taught her in the house was that to make a difference, you have to let your voice be heard, and that you can most likely get away with anything legal, so do what you want, just do it with a smile. One time she said to me, and I doubt she'll ever remember this, "We always see what we don't like about ourselves in others," and I reference back to that when I am being overly critical of someone. That's completely unrelated to her position as a bridesmaid, just one more reason why she's special to me. Anna's the enforcer and the do-er. If you give her a task, she's on it. Pronto. No reminders necessary, she'll get it done. She's very organized (you should see her planner, it's hilarious, it looks like a bible). She also doesn't deal with flaky people and their inability commit. She'll happily send a reminder to RSVP or to do your part. That's just how she rolls. She's Greek so I can only imagine what her wedding will be like. I know one thing, every one will know their job and they better do it. She makes my job as a bride much, much easier.

Lauren-
She's my little Lo Lo. She's not my little in the sorority, but I've always had her under my wing. She's a firecracker from Chicago. We clash all the time but we are also very kind to each other. I cried when she moved to CT to work for ESPN and I miss her every day. She's my glamour. She has a lot of "day of" jobs. She's going to do my make up (she did a really good job for our engagement pictures). She's making sure the whole event has video (typical journalism major). She is so creative and she'll take my ideas and make them even better. I can't wait to see her. She'll keep me laughing all day and my day wouldn't be the same with out her.

Danielle-
Danielle is my Maid of Honor and my best friend. As far as I am concerned she is my sister. Danielle has been amazing with all of this wedding stuff. Danielle is my heart. She knows me better than I know myself. I was stressed about my dress because I only tried on a few and just went with it. She told me to chill out because this dress is perfectly me and perfectly my style. That's all it took. She sends tons of emails and thinks of all these great ideas for the parties. She's willing to do whatever I need and listens to anything that is stressing me out. She's just there for me, and conveniently lives 5 minutes down the road. She also gets stuck will monotonous tasks like tying ribbon to 175 bells and just does it with a smile. Danielle is a great person and I don't know what I would do with out her. I would be a mess for sure.

My girls are so great and I could cry just thinking about how much it means to me that they are willing to be a part of this special day. I couldn't have picked a better mixture of personalities and abilities. They're perfect and I wouldn't have it any other way.