My Day In The Life of a Maid Of Honor
When my cousin, Kaylene, called to ask me to be her Maid of Honor, I was blown away! I was so excited for Kaylene and Matt that happy tears streamed down my face and I could not wait to be a part of their special day! As I hung up the phone and cleared my eyes, the planner in me (and ok, maybe the Type A side of me) automatically had my head thinking about all of my responsibilities and how I could be the best Maid of Honor ever! ;) Believe me, we see a lot of bridal parties, and I know they can have a big impact on the atmosphere of the day! It was certainly my goal to bring nothing but happiness to Kaylene and Matt’s day.
Last Saturday was the big day! Kaylene and Matt’s wedding day was nothing short of beautiful… In fact, every moment was quite gorgeous! ;) Part of me was a little bit envious of Ryan and Brendon because they were photographing this gorgeous celebration and it just so happens that it was taking place in one of the most beautiful barns we have ever seen!!! (Ahhh, seriously, it was like a dream!) But I quickly remembered that the photography was in good hands and it was my job to focus on Kaylene. It could have been the fact that every time I saw Matt over the last few months he would remind me that I was the MOH and NOT the photographer! ;), or maybe it was the fact that I was really nervous to give my toast (mostly because I knew it was going to be hard to get through it without being a blubbery mess! ;) ), but I think the real reason it was so easy to just focus on Kaylene was that I would have done anything to make her day as special as can be and I knew that standing by her side was exactly where I needed to be.
My day in the life of a MOH was pretty magical! Kaylene and I started the day with a good cry… ;). All of the lovely ladies in Kaylene’s bridal party got ourselves all done up and made our way to the Barn where Kaylene was putting on her dress. We had ourselves another good cry as we sat in the car and the moments became very real! We walked into the barn and saw Kaylene’s beautiful dress hanging next to her daughter, Audree’s, beautiful dress and we cried some more. Once we got ourselves together (I know I was supposed to be the supportive one- but it is in our genes to cry, so I am pretty sure Kaylene was expecting it! ;) ), we helped Kaylene into her dress and added the lucky penny she found earlier that day to her shoe. We took a moment to soak in Kaylene’s gorgeousness… and then it was time for the First Look.
Matt had arrived and was in place. All of a sudden it became very real for me. It was at that moment that I knew I was handing Kaylene off into incredible hands. I knew from that moment on that Matt was there to dry those tears and bring that smile to her face! As we shared a few words (more tears of course), I told Kaylene how proud I am of her because I knew I was just not going to be able to get those words out later in my toast. It was the time. We made our way outside of the barn and took a moment to soak in the fact that PopPop was definitely shining down on us because it was amazingly sunny with bright white puffy clouds and the forecast the day before called for rain showers all day. We were in good hands! ;)
I grabbed my camera (for the only time on Saturday!) and observed these magical moments of their First Look from afar. Kaylene was now in amazing hands and all I could do was capture it so that they can always be reminded of those moments and their amazing love that they share.
The day continued with some time for just Kaylene and Matt together, formal photos, and then the ceremony in such a beautiful location that was SO PERFECT for Kaylene and Matt! (Can’t wait for you all to see it in the photos soon!) I thought I was going to cry the entire time, but I found myself feeling incredibly relaxed and just excited! ;) There was one point in the ceremony, as Kaylene and Matt exchanged vows and Matt’s brother Eric and I stood next to them that I realized I kind of had an important job. Lol. As the witness of their love and commitment, we have a role that extends much further beyond that ceremony! (Yes, I was realizing this in the middle of the ceremony and of course the tears started flowing again! ;) ). The ceremony was perfect and it was finally official, Kaylene and Matt are married!
Although I was still a bit nervous about not being a bubbery mess during my toast, I felt a sense of confidence as we danced our way into the reception that everything I was going to say was going to come from my heart and whatever came out was going to be exactly what needed to be said. Of course the tears still flowed, but as I pictured Ryan behind the camera sticking his tongue out at me, I held it together! ;) I did not say everything I had planned to say, but I knew Kaylene and Matt heard every single word that was in my heart. That was all that mattered.
And the rest of the night, we danced! ;)
Whew… what an amazing day!!! My day in the life of a MOH was certainly emotional, but at the end of the day, I feel nothing but excitement for Kaylene and Matt and honor to have been by their side!
