In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina...

Best. Weekend. EVER.

I am champing at the bit to see the professional photos, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some of mine. 

The church was absolutely gorgeous. This was taken right after we finished rehearsing and I found out that I would have to walk the perimeter of the altar mid-ceremony. I was seated with the best man on a bench stage left that you can't see in this photo. When it was time to stand, he simply took the few steps to be standing next to the groom. I had to exit stage left, walk past the groomsmen, stop to awkwardly bend over and fluff AEG's dress(/flash the church?), walk past the bridesmaids, and come back around the other side so that I was standing next to the bride. I should draw you an action map but I'm too tired. This was far too many opportunities to trip and only added to my building anxiety.

I have to take a minute to thank my sponsors... Mom and Dad, thank you so much for accompanying me to this beautiful weekend, and thank you for loving my best friend as much as I do. You really are the best. (Perri, I love you too!)

If you follow me on Instagram you've already seen this one, but I love it so much that I'm sharing it again. This was taken at the cocktail hour at the rehearsal dinner. We were actually both wearing glitter kate spade heels, but I forgot to take a feet picture. My dad made the most beautiful toast and AEG's MIL made the most fabulous (and funny!) video montage. Every guest was grinning ear to ear and simply thrilled to be there. It was a happy, lovey-dovey evening.

After dinner was over, we left the private party room and headed downstairs to the bar. It was at this point that I had to play bad cop, giving AEG time warnings and eventually dragging her into a cab and back to the hotel. Luckily I had some help from the groom and a fellow bridesmaid. I felt terrible tearing her away from family and friends she doesn't get to see often, but there was no way I was allowing her to be tired or hungover on her wedding day. We shared the bridal suite that night, just the two of us. I arrived to see these treats waiting for me! She fell asleep pretty quickly, but I was lying in bed awake for a long time. I had the Father of the Bride soundtrack playing on a loop in my head and I was literally shaking. Everything before I DO felt incredibly surreal to me and I just kept thinking, 'How did we get here? When did we grow up?'

The next day was spent in the bridal suite getting ready. I sent my parents and Perri to Husk, and surprised them by calling ahead to give the restaurant my credit card number so that lunch was taken care of. I figured it was the least I could do. Despite the fact that I was an absolute wreck, racked with nerves about being the "perfect" Maid of Honor, Saturday was incredibly relaxing. We woke up, walked to Starbucks (see coffee cups above), dined alfresco on the hotel's patio (the weather was spectacular), and headed back to the room for hair, makeup, and dressing, which all went incredibly smoothly. It was just the most zen, pleasant bridal suite. AEG's "Something Borrowed" was my Kappa Kappa Gamma badge. Here I am pinning it to the inside of her dress.

We simply couldn't let this momentous occasion pass without taking a few "jumping on the bed" pics. We initially wanted to do these in our dresses but decided at the last minute that it was smarter to take them in our monogrammed shirts. My versions are all cute but blurry. I'm really looking forward to seeing if the photographer got any good ones.

Another one for good measure.

Stay tuned for ceremony and reception shots... Why yes, I AM in wedding withdrawal and stretching this out for as long as humanly possible.