Weddings are tiring!

Weddings are tiring!

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• 7.26.2011

One of my best friends got married on Sunday, and I was a bridesmaid for the first time ever!

I wore the red dress I made and blogged about recently.  Got lots of compliments.  Here I am with the bride!

The wedding was a lot of fun, but I took on volunteer wedding coordination duties on the day of and had a very long two days.  Saturday was the rehearsal, family lunch, then her bridal shower, which I also did a lot of planning/doing for.

Then we were up early again on Sunday to make the bouquets (aaaack, I wish this had been done earlier), get everything ready and packed, and head out to the venue to get our hair and makeup done and get dressed.  I used to work catering for a summer at the lovely place where she got married (McMenamin's Cornelius Pass Roadhouse--in the octagonal barn--for you locals).

There were lots of DIYs and decorations to get ready (some of which have been and will be on this blog with tutorials!), on the tables and around the inside of the barn.  There were five bridesmaids, five groomsmen, and LOTS of helpful relatives so set-up was pretty chaotic.  I had a schedule of the whole day that I used a lot, and if I do say so myself I think I did a pretty good job of keeping everything in line.  There were no major catastrophes, and everyone had a good time!

One of the most fun elements for the guests and all was the photo booth my friend hired to come out.  We were able to use a barn door part of the barn that matched so well with the rustic theme of the wedding, and everyone had a great time playing with the goofy props!  And of course the photographer's photos aren't done yet, but we can view these online!  Here's the bride and groom...

The four female bridesmaids...

Some of us with our bouquets and seating assignment birdies...

And all the bridesmaids & bridesman with the bride!

She had a different dress for the reception!

It was a lot of fun but I am now exhausted.  Totally worn out.  I have shin splints and strained both my ankles in the shoes I was wearing, and of course didn't get enough sleep all weekend, and my neck hurts.  I'm getting too old for this!

But I did learn some lessons about what to do at my wedding, and will be glad to have my very (recently) experienced friend, the bride, in my bridal party!  My fiance was a great sport all night, too, arriving just for the wedding and then watching me run around like crazy getting the iPod, the buffet order, the toasts/cake cutting, the bouquet toss, etc. in order.  He hasn't been to many weddings so it was a good learning experience for him, too!  And of course the bride and groom are his friends, too, so he was very emotional watching the vows.  How can we possibly not cry during our ceremony if we almost cried during theirs?!?

Our wedding is in less than two weeks and it's getting down to the wire.  Any tips from experienced wedding guests, planners, or bridal party attendants is welcome--how do I avoid all this exhaustion?!