Here comes the bride...

I love everything about weddings. One of my favorite things is a fresh copy of Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine from the newsstand. I watch Who's Wedding is it Anyway, Platinum Weddings, and I follow several wedding/party themed blogs. If I could get married once a year, I would (don't worry, the groom would be the same, and yes it would still be Daryl).

I've been asked by one of my oldest friends, Jennifer to be her maid of honor and I could not be more thrilled. I love her and I am so excited that she is getting married. We've been trading emails back and forth with ideas and I am so happy to share my wedding wisdom with her. Planning a wedding can be one of the most exciting, overwhelming, and stressful things you will ever do and I hope I can help her navigate through the process.

I've been interning with a local event/wedding planning company for about a year and a half, and I was fortunate enough to be asked by several friends over the last several years to assist with their weddings in some aspect or another. Coordinating weddings is a passion of mine and I hope one day that I could make a living doing it, but for now I will continue to take each wedding as it comes. I treasure each wedding that a bride and groom invite me to be a part of. I hold the weddings of my dearest friends close to my heart. I was so thrilled to help them make their day a dream come true.

Coordinating a wedding is a lot of work but is totally worth it when you see a smiling bride and groom enjoying their wedding day. It pains me to attend a wedding as a guest if I see the bride talking to the caterer or having to remind the band to do something. That's my job and I always want to step in and make it right for her, but then I have to remind myself that I'm a guest and I keep my mouth shut and wait for my slice of cake.

I love to see each bride and groom make their wedding a reflection of them and I love when they bring something unique to their event. I can still taste the delicious Nutella that my friends Adam & Jen had as filling in their wedding cake, Holly & Andy had pumpkin Ravioli at their fall themed wedding, Susan & Tim had the most delicious macaroni and cheese and even had Halloween candy and costume props for their late October wedding. They all made it their own and I will always remember these special touches.

I can't wait to see how Jennifer's wedding will come together and then one day (very far in the future) I will be a mother of the bride and mother of the groom when it is Reese and Aidan's turn to get married. The wedding that I assisted at last weekend had so many fun aspects including a father-daughter dance that brought me to tears. I was only an assistant at this wedding, not the planner, so I had not met the bride and groom until they arrived at the reception, so there I was crying at a wedding where I did not know any of the people, I did not have an emotional investment in them, I was imagining what it would be like at Reese's wedding. The bride and her father joyfully danced to "My Girl." You could tell that they were close to each other and both were equally proud to be each other's father/daughter. It was a moment that I know they will both remember forever and I'm crying as I'm typing this (what's my problem?). I could picture Daryl dancing with Reese and the tears welled up in my eyes in front of all of these strangers. They had a slide show put together by the groom's brothers including embarrassing photos of the groom as a kid. It just reminded me that one day the photos that I'm taking now of my kids may show up on their wedding day. I should start thinking about what I might say in my speech at their wedding, but since that will be about 30 years from now, I should probably focus on what I will say at Jennifer's wedding first. Sometime in between Jennifer's wedding and Reese's wedding, my cousin Kelsey will get married too. More tears.

If I was crying at a stranger's wedding I can only imagine what I will be like at my best friend's wedding or at my daughter's wedding. Do they make waterproof mascara that actually works?