I gotta admit, before this weekend I was on the side of never having a wedding. I dreamed of eloping and involving as few people as possible. However, this weekend I think my perspective on a lot of things is shifting. . . more on that to come.

I had the honor and privilege of standing with my beautiful cousin as a bridesmaid on her wedding day! I had never met her fiance before, so it was such a beautiful thing to see their love throughout the weekend. And let me tell you, she picked a GOOD one. Her fiance Cole is one of the sweetest and most down to earth people I have met.

He loves my cousin so well, he is so good with his niece & nephew, (my other cousin’s kids) and so loving toward my grandparents. Seeing them start their life together is SO exciting and I absolutely cannot wait to watch them raise a family of their own.

I suppose the saying is true that nothing brings people together quite like a wedding. To see all of Cole’s special people and Michaela’s special people come together to make memories was something I’ll never forget.

This day truly is a core memory I’ll cherish forever.

Really, it’s a weekend I’ll cherish forever.

Our weekend started out with a rehearsal dinner inside the cutest art gallery. There was a cocktail hour and some of the most delicious plates of food I’ve ever seen. Omaha steaks hits different you guys.

It was set up like the cutest little tea party with desert and coffee to follow. I spent the evening catching up with my uncles and grandparents. I wished I had been able to meet even more people that night!

The night didn’t end there. . .

Instead of an after party, we had a boutonniere boogie! What’s that you ask? All the women of the family, My aunts, cousin, grandma, baby cousin and I all stayed up make the boutonniere’s for the groomsmen & ushers. At first we started with a competition. We all made one to see which one Michaela would like. After she chose a combination of a couple of the finished products, Haley & I got to work and pumped out all of them. We were NOT about to do them on the day of wedding, even if it meant staying up until 2 a.m.

Haley & I decided if we lived closer, we’d drop everything and start a flower shop/boutonniere making business, so if you’re in need of some wedding florals, you know who to call ;) Just kidding, I won’t be working in the floral industry any time soon :P

The next morning was WEDDING DAY and in true girly fashion, we started getting ready at 8 am. . . The ceremony wasn’t even until 5:30, my oh my! I met an incredible makeup artist who was so so talented at her job. Everyone looked absolutely gorgeous! By the time we got to the venue we had a couple hours to settle in, finish getting ready and soak in the fact that my cousin was about to be MARRIED.

She was such a gorgeous and calm bride, I mean actually the opposite of a bridezilla. I think every bride could take some notes from her. She chose simplicity and elegance. And when people asked about her dress, or the fact she wasn’t blinged out in jewelry, she simply responded, “I’m not a jewelry person, so why would I do that on my wedding day?” Spoken like a true QUEEN.

The venue was on a private lake just outside of Omaha Nebraska. Mansions lined the water with their own boat docks and sandy beaches. I guess San Diego really does have competition in Nebraska! We had the most beautiful bridal party room and the groomsmen were next door with a pac man game and a dart board. We secretly wished we had some kind of game in our room, maybe next time.

Then the ceremony. . .

The ceremony was so sweet, especially because they decided against a first look. So everyone’s first time seeing her walk down the aisle was also Cole’s first time seeing his beautiful bride. He truly had the most perfect reaction to seeing her walk down the aisle. I cannot wait to see the photos from that moment!

From there we took photos and headed to the reception! We ate food buffet style and enjoyed all the Midwest fixings of steak tips, pasta and mashed potatoes. After speeches and first dances, we got to dance the night away, and boy did we do just that! My 5 year old second cousin and I tore up the dance floor. This girl gave me a run for my money with all of her energy and allowed and was the best dance partner. . .well, one of them :P. Sorry, no further explanation here!

My favorite part of the night was the sparkler send off. We lined up as a ski boat pulled into the dock at the venue to pick up my cousin and her new groom. Everyone lined a path on both sides as they went through the sparkler tunnel. The hopped in the boat and rode off into the sunset as a newlywed couple.

So, I thought. . .

As soon as they hopped in the boat, people either left or made their way back upstairs to keep dancing. I was a little sad because I wanted to spend more time dancing with the bride. Then, all of the sudden I look to my right and there she is! My beautiful cousin standing right next to me!

“What are you doing?! Shouldn’t you be on a boat with your HUSBAND?” I asked her.

Without hesitation she yelled back at me, “IT WAS FAKE!”

I died you guys. The boat send off was just for the photos. They really did #doitforthegram. So after their fake send off, we all went back upstairs and danced to our favorite songs until they kicked us out of the building.

The next day as we all recovered, we got to go out on the exact same lake with some of my now, cousin in law’s friends. And I tried wake surfing for the first time. As I write this now, I am still SO sore! I got up on the board a few times, but my runs were not very long. And let me tell you, there is something so humiliating about holding onto a board as you float in the middle of a lake while a boat full of people have to cut the music and circle back to get you.

There’s gotta be a meme about that somewhere, right? If you find it, let me know.

Now as I look back on the weekend only as a fond memory, I wish I could relive it all over again. I really do love love & watching two families become one. Maybe all the planning and stress really is worth it. It’s not like I have to worry about that now, but in the mean time, I’ll be picking up odd jobs so I can save all the money I can for a good wedding planner. Your girl is only planning on showing up the day of her wedding. But like I said, we gotta find the man at the end of the aisle first.

So all in all, it was such a fun and life changing weekend. Michaela and Cole, if you’re reading this, I love you guys SO much and am so honored to have been a part of your BIG day!

All my Love,

Hailey

My Cousin's Wedding Changed My Life