Emerson the Flower Girl

Hello and happy fall!!  It was 60 degrees outside when we went to the park this morning, and quite chilly in comparison to the Texas temps we had this weekend. We traveled to Dallas for a close college friend’s wedding. It was our first time back since moving and made me happy and sad all at the same time. We went straight from the airport to a play date at a friend’s house.  She had tacos from the amazing Velvet Taco waiting for us and they did not disappoint.  I’ve found some good places in Brooklyn, but nothing quite like my go-to’s in Dallas.

Matt and many of my friends had to work on Friday morning, so I had coffee with a friend and took Emerson to the roof top pool.  The water was warmer than the air and we had so much fun swimming. She took a short nap, and then we went right back to the pool for the afternoon.  Everyone started to arrive and the party began at the roof top pool bar!

We had a drink, and then showered and got ready for the wedding rehearsal.  Emerson was one of two flower girls, and I was so glad she got to see the church and practice on Friday night.  She loved being in the church and was running up and down the aisle.  She held hands with a 4-year-old ring bearer and they walked perfectly down the aisle during the practice run.

Matt put Emerson to bed back at the hotel and then we had a sitter come to our room for a couple of hours. The rehearsal dinner was at a classic Mexican restaurant and we had margs, chips, enchiladas, and fajitas!!  There were eight different speeches that had us all laughing and crying and feeling so happy that the bride and groom found each other!

We didn’t do a whole lot of Saturday – there was a lot rain, and since we needed to be at the church by 1pm, we grabbed breakfast and coffee in the lobby. I went to get my hair styled (you can’t see it in any of the pictures, but I had one side of my hair pulled back into  a french braid and tucked behind the waves).

The wedding was right during Emerson’s nap and I was SOO nervous about her performance.  She’s been so testy lately, and with the lack of sleep and huge crowd of people, I was worried about how she’d react.  She was so patient waiting for the ceremony to begin and we walked the aisle a few times (I wish I had a picture of the real thing!). She had a very serious expression on her face most of the time.

When it was her turn to walk, the ring bearer she was supposed to walk with threw a big fit. His parents placed him beside Emerson, and he went limp and fell to the floor.  The wedding coordinator then gave Emerson a huge nudge and told her to go without him.  She made it about halfway down the long aisle, and then turned back to me and yelled ‘hi mama.’  Matt was in the front pew, and the whole church was motioning for her to finish the walk, but she wouldn’t budge.  I ended up walking the rest of the way with her, but I was impressed that she even made it halfway. If I feel this proud of her walking down an aisle, I can’t imagine what I might feel if/when she learns to read, performs in a play, graduates high school, or does something that’s an actual accomplishment – haha.

Rather than throw petals, she carried this beautiful kissing ball.

The ceremony was beautiful, and I can’t believe Emerson made it though most of it (she was repeating ‘Lord, hear our prayer,’ and it was the cutest.)

Davidson friends!!

We had some time before the reception began, so we dropped Emerson off with some good friends and she had an absolute blast playing with their three kids. It was such a treat to have a whole night to ourselves and we definitely enjoyed a few rounds of drinks:)

There was a live band and a fun photo booth and then an epic live piano performance + sing-a-long at the after-party. And to add even more excitement to the night, Matt and I Uber-ed over to a friend’s engagement party, and it turns out she had had a surprise wedding just an hour earlier! None of the guests knew, including the bridesmaids!

Congrats to both of the happy couples!

It was a crazy-fun weekend, and a nice ending to a busy summer.  I’m actually relieved all of our airline travel is finished for the year and we can enjoy the fall in Brooklyn!