A Bridesmaid At Last!

Back in late August, or perhaps it was early September, when we were on our first trip to Alaska, Woodley and I found out that our dear friends Nicola and Matt got engaged! Nicola has been one of my best friends since birth and I couldn't be happier for her! We had heard rumorings of rings, dates, and a possible engagement during most of the summer, so it was fantastic to finally hear that he proposed, she said yes, and the ring was on her finger.

We hear the proposal took place on Nicola's favorite Seattle beach which we were able to visit with them earlier this summer (above). Isn't it a lovely spot?

Once I heard the news, I began to secretly wonder... would she ask me to be a bridesmaid? Although it might seem silly, I've always secretly longed to be a bridesmaid and I have often feared that I would never get the chance. I suppose since I had the honor of being a bride before ever being a bridesmaid it felt as if I had skipped something along the way.

As the weeks went by and I never heard a word about it, I continued to wonder what Nicola was planning to do about her bridesmaid situation. I had been developing a bunch of fun ideas for showers and parties but I felt it would be inappropriate to start acting on them, in case she didn't ask me, in which I case I worried that I would be stepping on the toes of the real bridesmaids.

I thought about the fact that we had been good friends since early childhood but then, although we have kept in touch, we went to different high schools and colleges and I know she has had many, many close friends since the days when we played in the woods together and dreamed about someday meeting prince charming, getting married, and being in each other's weddings. I also thought about how Nicola was one of two bridesmaids/maids of honor that I had at my wedding, the other being my friend Katie who I went to preschool with and who I've been best friends with for what seems like forever. But then, just because you invite someone to be your bridesmaid, doesn't mean that they have to ask you in return. All these thoughts went through my mind again and again, especially when I heard the latest rumors from my mother, that Nicola was planning not to have bridesmaids at all, but instead to have just her brother as her best man. Although I told myself over and over again how silly I was to think/worry about it, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I just kept telling myself to remember that it's Nicola's day and she should do whatever will make her most happy and it really doesn't matter in the least if I ever get to be a bridesmaid or not. But then, I knew I wouldn't really be able to put it out of my mind completely until I had heard from Nicola herself what she planned to do.

Several more weeks went by and we talked many times about all sorts of wedding related things, except bridesmaids. Although I wanted to ask, I just knew I couldn't be the one to bring it up. Finally, when we were waiting in the airport to head back up to Alaska in late September, I noticed I had missed a call from Nic (as I like to call her). I called her back right away and, after touching on a couple of other topics, she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids! I'm sure Woodley could tell she had asked me right away from the way I was beaming across the table at him. Needless to say, I was thrilled! Her brother Stefan will be her best man and there will be about five of us bridesmaids it sounds just perfect to me!

Now, every time I think about how worried I was over it, I feel so incredibly silly for ever worrying or wondering if she would ask me but, all the same, I'm so glad she did!

And, the best part of all is that now I had the freedom to start suggesting the party ideas I had had in mind before. After talking over a few options, we settled on a Spajama Party in Bellingham the weekend before the wedding. It's a package that one of our local hotels offers and I've always wanted to host one. Apparently we get to spend the night at the hotel and get manicures or pedicures in our room while we drink sparkling beverages and eat chocolate. I can't think of a better way to say adios to single girlhood.

The invite.

I added a little packet of bath salts to each invite with this message 

(my friend Becca helped me with the wording > Thanks Becca!)

I'm so happy with how they turned out!

I had a lot of fun putting together the invites and I'm just now starting to hear back from the girls! Now I just need to start thinking about some fun games...

~ElizabethRose~