Shout Out!

 I had 7 bridesmaids. Absolutely ridiculous, right? Every time I told someone the number of bridesmaids I was having, I could see the shock in their eyes. I knew they didn't get it. I knew they thought it was excessive. But this is the thing: I  honestly couldn't imagine not having each and every one of them as part of the wedding. 

I'm really not a "best friend" girl. I have special, close, and unique friendships with each of my bridesmaids. Each of them plays the role of "best friend" to me. Maybe I'm indecisive or have multiple personalities. I like to think I'm just lucky.

My ladies gave me the best bachelorette party ever!
They reserved rooms in our college dorm and danced the night away with me.
Also, they provided and wore these silly masks with me which = BONUS POINTS in my book!

 I must say, when my wedding day came, I was not disappointed. Let me rephrase that. There were definitely things that disappointed me on my wedding day. But what made everything OK was: a) I married Matt & b) the love and support that our friends provided.

Here are some great shots of my bridesmaids being AMAZING:

Without my bridesmaids, our reception would not have been decorated.
Heather, Leighanne, Kylie & Elizabeth even came way early the day before to help!
True Story. And it turned out BEAUTIFUL!!!

ALL my lovely ladies with me at the laid-back rehearsal dinner.

After the rehearsal dinner, we went back to the hotel to make bouquets.
They turned out great and I love this memory.

Kylie, working on a bouquet.

My sister, Elizabeth, working on a bouquet for the wedding.

The week before the wedding was so hectic and crazy for me
that I didn't have time to go get my hair dyed. 
Leighanne saved the day by dying it from a bottle! 
(which Ebony & Nicole went to buy for me during flower time).

Kylie saved me again by making necklaces for Natalie & Leighanne
an HOUR before the wedding when things didn't work out as I had planned.

Nicole helped me with my eyelashes (provided by Ebony).

Leighanne & Nicole, getting me dressed.

Coree was my bridesmaid/videographer with help
from Mark/her husband/our wedding planner.

My bridesmaids weren't the only great friends:

Thanks for the help Sarah and Chrissy!

Another friend, Ayanna, did a wonderful job
with a reading at the wedding. Thanks!

We received so much help that wasn't necessarily caught on film. The guys were amazing, setting up chairs and helping Matt throughout the day!  Michael helped with music for the ceremony and the reception. Ebony helped us clean and pack our room up the next morning. Kylie helped in SO many ways (invitations, setting up cake, and more!). Heather finished assembling our programs the day before the wedding! Nicole and the bridesmaids planned an awesome shower. Mark saved the day more times than I can count! Eli, Elizabeth, and Heather gave beautiful heartfelt toasts. All my ladies listened and supported me through this entire process. People drove and flew to be there... for us! So many of our friends showed us love and support just by being there!

We also had much love and support from family, who did some equally amazing things. Our group of friends just BLEW us away!

We are sooooo lucky to have such great friends. I've never been better taken care of.  Our friends left us feeling humbled, blessed and full of love.

I can't begin to express our gratitude.

My pretty maids, all in a row.