I don’t really do weekend recaps anymore, because now that I’m not working my days tend to blur together. But this past weekend was a little extra-special.
This past weekend, my best friend got married!
And (as if that wasn’t enough in itself) I officially lost my bridesmaid virginity. Yep, always a bride and never a bridesmaid… until a few days ago!
But first, of course, my little family had to get to St Louis, where the wedding was being held.
Packing was an adventure (why do babies need so much stuff?!), but once we got in the car, it was smooth sailing driving. Clara, not surprisingly, slept the entire way to St. Louis. All 4.5 hours of it.
I have the very sleepiest baby.
Friday night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at the groom’s parents’ house. Sidenote, there house is in Ferguson, MO, so we were able to see all of the ‘landmarks’ where all of the chaos and protests took place a few weeks ago. (Clara slept through the entire rehearsal and dinner).
On Saturday morning I got ready with the other bridesmaids & bride and then we joined our dates and family members on the trolley to ride around and take pictures at various locations within Forest Park. The bride and groom decided to do a ‘first look’, which I loved because we had a ton of time to take pictures before the ceremony.
The ceremony and reception took place at a clubhouse in Forest Park and both events were gorgeous. We drank, we danced, we caught up with friends… it was wonderful. (Clara slept through all of it. HOW DOES A PERSON SLEEP THROUGH A WEDDING RECEPTION?! She was seriously asleep in her carrier under the table throughout the entire thing.)
And then before we all knew it, the night (and weekend) was over.
Sunday was a present-opening gathering at the house of the new Mr. and Mrs. Then, much too soon, we had to head back to Chicago.
Whew!
It was such a perfect weekend. I had an absolute blast being a bridesmaid and it was so special to be standing by my friend’s side as she said ‘I do’. I’m so glad that my best friend found her perfect match and the entire experience was filled with love and friendship.
On a motherhood note: Traveling with Clara was both easier and harder than I expected. Packing was hard. I needed to bring all of her clothes, bows, socks, blankets, cloth diapers, pack & play (so she had somewhere comfy to sleep) and then pre-pumped milk and bottles for the car (so we didn’t need to stop) and the breast pump (so I could pump during the reception when I wasn’t with her). Plus, of course we had to bring all of our stuff… it was just a lot. That being said, she was a super easy baby the entire weekend (which I pretty much expected). She slept through both car rides and through all of the events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I had her in the cutest little outfits and no one even saw her in them! Sigh.
No one saw this outfit, so I took a picture at the hotel just to prove she looked cute.
I’m saying all of this because if you’re pregnant or the parent of a newborn and are contemplating whether to take a trip with your little one, do it. Clara was better than I could have anticipated and I’m really glad I wasn’t too intimidated to take a trip with her at only 2 months old.
Cheers to going outside of our comfort zones and to love!
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