My Best Friend's Wedding

My lifetime best friend Annie Jamieson got married on September 20th and it was the most beautiful day.  The night before the wedding we went to the rehearsal dinner in Berkeley where we had great food and lots of fun practicing the walk down the aisle.  I've known Annie's now-husband Jared for years now so I loved finally getting to meet his whole family.  They were so warm and inviting.  And of course, I love getting to see and hang out with the Jamiesons as much as possible.  They are the world's greatest.  I miss those days of getting to hang out at their house every weekend while drinking orange juice and talking about the week.

On the wedding morning, the bridesmaids all hung out at the hotel getting make-up and hair done while talking and eating a bunch too.  I was in awe of Annie who just looked especially beautiful and happy that day.  It's the craziest (and most wonderful) thing to see your friend grow up from a cute little 2nd grader to an awkward middle schooler to a totally awesome soccer player/swimmer/clarinetist/be-there-for-you-whenever-you-need-her high schooler to a confident, hardworking college student and to then come out of it all as the most radiant, happy bride.  I was so touched to get to be a part of it all and to see the smile on her face.

We headed over to Tilden Park in the afternoon for pictures and hiked through some wilderness to get to the prettiest spots.  I'm sure we were a funny sight, hiking up our dresses and sweating off our make-up.  

^^The awesome bus van that we all piled into to get from the hotel to the park

 ^^Love these girls.  And I loved the combination of the baby's breath with our long, flowy, tulle dresses.  Such a classy, beautiful day.

 ^^Me at 20 weeks pregnant.  My bouquet and forgiving dress are hiding my bump but it was there.  Thanks to two of the bridesmaids, I was able to get into the dress and zip it up.  Not an easy task.  But once the dress was on, I was feeling oh so pretty, which can be a difficult feeling to achieve when you're pregnant and starting to feel big.  Thanks Annie for making me feel like a princess for a night :)

I hung back and took iPhone pictures of the happy couple as they were getting the real ones from the photographer.  The light was just so pretty (and my phone pics don't do it justice at all).

^^Seriously, her dress was amazing.  

We headed over to where the ceremony was going to take place and worked on Annie's dress for a good ten minutes trying to get all the pokey things out :)  And then we snapped these photos before Annie walked down the aisle and officially became a Wallace.

The ceremony started in the evening as the sun was going down.  I was very proud of myself for not tripping at any point and was just very touched to be standing in a line next to Annie as they recited their vows.  Jared's brother performed the ceremony and he did such a great job.  The whole thing was so sweet.

The night followed with really excellent food, catching up with family and friends and some fun dancing.  My 20 week pregnant body was pretty tired by the end of it all but I was just really happy.

I love you Annie dear and I am so grateful I was able to be a part of your special day.

Annie and Jared are no doubt going to take on the world together and make it a better place.  So glad they found each other and I can't wait to see all that the future has in store for them.