Meg Goes Nom Nom

As promised in my last post covering the rehearsal dinner and night before the wedding, I have pictures from my BFF’s wedding day which occurred this past weekend.

After only a handful of hours of sleep for each of us, we were up bright and early to load up our cars, stop for fuel (in the form of coffee and Powerade), and head on down to the venue by 9:30 AM on Saturday.

Waldenwoods Resort in Hartland, Michigan, was the venue, and us ladies had the lovely air-conditioned upper level of the Cromaine Lodge in which to get ready, for the day. We were also afforded a phenomenal view of the stunning lakefront setting. This was also perfect for spying on guests as they arrived.

Soon, we went into Serious Get Ready mode.

Michelle and Courtney gettin’ their hair did.

I went for the hair bump. It was a little bigger than I envisioned, but still turned out alright, I think. Here is Allison as well.

The bride-to-be!:

Of course the Mother-of-the-Bride and Flower Girl require pampering as well.

The photographer was also present to document the Getting Ready Process.

The bridesmaids all wore this gorgeous Austrian crystal jewelry for the wedding, a gift from the bride.

The ladies of the wedding party all also received an adorable, personalized tote bag from the bride, which I am in love with.

Another treat!: the mother of the bride kindly splurged and treated us all to an amazing full-body energizing massage from a local masseuse, who came to pamper us all afternoon. Awesome!!

We spied on the bride-to-be’s dad and brother helping to set up for the ceremony.

Sneak peak at The Dress:

And The Shoes:

Lunch, to avoid any fainting! Loved these whole grain croissants.

All in all, the lodge was a busy place to be Saturday afternoon. Everyone had to get their make-up applied, hair done, bodies massaged, dresses and jewelry on, tummies fed, and nerves calmed.

The nervous bride grabbing a quick bite.

And then…are you ready?! The Dress. Fit for a fairy tale, right? ::waves face with hands::

I thought it was sweet that the bride had a private, five minute pep talk individual with both her brother (with whom she is very close), and her father, prior to the ceremony. The photographer was in place to capture the family members’ initial reactions to seeing this lovely girl in her bridal gown.

Once the wedding party was dressed, we had time for a quick champagne toast, amidst a flurry of pictures, both indoors and out.

Key lime and watermelon everywhere! The four other bridesmaids wore key lime dresses with watermelon sashes, while I, the matron of honor, wore a watermelon dress with a key lime sash (pics to come).

The bride in the background is having a moment! Nearly all the guests were arrived, and we could see the nearly 180 guests being seated down below. The rows and rows of chairs shown below were quickly filled, for a full house!

The florist (Flushing Florist) did an amazing job. This is my matron of honor bouquet.

Since I was in the wedding party, I wasn’t able to capture any pictures of the ceremony, but trust me when I tell you it was a very beautiful, emotional, and heartfelt ceremony, with lots of joyful tears. The bride and groom were blessed with a beautifully sunny and breezy August afternoon.

I’ll recap the reception in my next post!