Jamie's Wedding - June 30th

June went by in such a whirlwind and before I knew it, I was headed back to Boston, alone this time, to participate in and celebrate Jamie's wedding. This would only be the second time I have gone more than one night away from the Lucy, the first being a sister-in-law/mother-in-law trip to New York City when she was just one. However, that trip was just a long weekend and this trip would be almost an entire week. But I wasn't worried at all. On the contrary, I was actually kinda excited to have some childless time to hang out with my friends.

The big downside to the trip was being dateless at the wedding. Out of the six weddings I have flown back east for, Brandon has only been able to accompany me to two of them because of either work commitments or (lack of) finances. You think I would be used to it by now but there is nothing like a wedding to remind you how much you miss your sweetheart.

Fortunately, I had some wedding responsibilities to keep my mind off of missing my husband too much. Jamie had asked me very early on in the wedding planning if I would sing at her wedding and I was happy to oblige. She ended up choosing the song Feels Like Home which I was not familiar with at all but quickly fell in love with. In addition, she wanted her friend from college to accompany me on the guitar which is always a little tricky when you have people who live across the country try to practice with each other. Because I also was singing at Tracy's wedding, I didn't even focus on Jamie's wedding song until well into June and only because the guitarist, Steve, took the initiative in setting up some time for us to practice. The only problem - practicing singing via skype and cell phones doesn't really work that well if you have ever tried. And since Steve lives in NYC and wasn't coming up to the wedding until the day of, the only time we had the opportunity to practice together face to face was the actual day of the wedding, just a couple of hours before it would begin.

Despite the short amount of practice time, I thought the song went really well and the rest of the wedding and reception were lovely. Since the song was for the bridal party processional, we got to start off the whole ceremony but be done quickly so we could enjoy the rest of the evening without nerves bothering us.

This was the view from where I sat:

The lovely bride and groom.

All the bridesmaids. I still can't figure out where Laura is in the photo - she must have been hiding behind someone.

This must have been the largest bridal party I have ever seen - eight bridesmaids and eight groomsmen!

Because all the bridesmaids sat at the head table, all the poor husbands sat alone without their wives. Bekah and I sat at the same table with them but their wives came to visit as well.

Laura & Lee

Danny & Julie

Brian & Heather

I wish I got Heather in this picture too. I loved these bridesmaids dresses - the color, the different styles! When I heard they were wearing coral, I might have purposefully chosen my dress to match a little bit.

Melanie, Laura, Tracy & Julie

The lovely bride, Jamie.

Our traditional girls' picture. We were only missing Betsy who couldn't make it due to her pregnancy. An hour and a half drive to her hospital was a little too risky in case she went into labor. 

First dance. I loved the sparklers on the tables guests lit up throughout the night and danced with. I may have almost caught Laura's dress on fire though...

Me and Bekah - out-of-towners going stag again.

Laura & me - wish our little ones had a chance to get together and play with each other.

The guitarist, Steve and me. If Brandon were at the wedding, he would have had a lot to talk about with Steve since he produces and hosts a Sirius radio show called "Geektime!".

These next two pictures might be my favorite of the night!

Heather, Laura, Tracy, and Melanie. After posting these pictures on facebook, my favorite comment left was,"It's not a wedding until one of the bridesmaids is covered in wine!" But it is really Laura that kills me in this picture. 

Julie, Heather, Laura, Tracy, Melanie, and Jamie

Jamie also had a photo booth which ended up being so much fun! It ended up having some trouble printing out the pictures but we were able to download them from the website later.

 It was so hard trying to fit all eight of us girls into the booth.

So glad I could make it out and be part of Jamie's wedding day and spend time with my awesome high school friends. Whenever Bekah gets married, it will probably be in California so at least I will be able to drive or fly a lot cheaper for that one. But now, I will need to find some other excuse to come out and visit Massachusetts since the weddings will be all done.

Perhaps I see a girls' trip in our future...???