Good morning, everybody! Remember me? I’m that girl who usually blathers on about thrifting and food and exercise and DIY projects round these here parts?

Hi there.

Sorry about the sparse posting. It hasn’t been intentional, I can assure you. In fact, I’ve started posts several times this week, only to click “save” so I can run off and do something else that rates higher on the “this needs to get done for the plates to continue spinning in the air” scale than blogging. Sigh.

My brother gets married this Saturday, so naturally, this has been a week full of excitement and busyness. Throw in a going-away party for a sweet friend, dinner with more friends, exercise classes, and regular life with 5 littles, and I’m thinking I’ll be lucky to show up to the wedding with my head still attached, much less adorned with a decent hairdo.

The thing is, just showing up to the wedding isn’t exactly an option. Nope. Here are 5 other things that I’m doing during this wedding weekend:

1.

(Sort of, kind of) MCing the rehearsal dinner.  I’m more of a Vanna White-esque transitioner between speeches, etc., but it’s still something to think about.

2.

Dressing 5 children in their wedding best.

flower girl dress

{I can’t wait to see my little Della-Lou in her flower girl dress!}

The oldest three are actually in the wedding, and while I can’t wait for that precious photo-op, I’m kind of dreading the thought of keeping them clean all the way through the ceremony.

Especially since I am also…

3.

Making the groom’s cake. I just found this out on Monday due to a communication snafu between the bride and groom. And, while normally that would be enough to send me into cardiac arrest since I am no cake boss, Hannah (the bride) assured me that all she wants me to do is make this carrot cake that I raved about here on the blog and have been making for every special occasion since. See? I told you it was good. Still, I’m a little nervous about its looking at least halfway decent, not to mention surviving the transport to the church…

Where I will be…

4.

Doing the bride’s hair and makeup…

wedding hair

{This was an in-progress shot of a trial run}

5. 

…And then my own since I’m also a bridesmaid. Shaun is the best man. (If you just did the math, then you probably figured out that this leaves the twins woefully unattended; we’re still working that out, but we’re considering strapping bouquets on their backs and letting them crawl around at will).

Oh, and did I mention that every bit of this madness is taking place in Atlanta? Okay, so it’s Atlanta, Texas, but it’s still an hour 1/2 and away from our house, so getting the cake there in one piece will be an adventure all its own.

If you’re the praying kind, PLEASE PRAY!

If you’re not, PLEASE PRAY ANYWAY! (I’m sure God would love to hear from you).

And now I’m off to clean out our van and spray every last crevice of it with Febreze. Because it doesn’t matter how cute we look if we show up smelling like fermented Cranberry Blueberry Ocean Spray (courtesy of the giant bottle that my middle child spilled all over the back floorboards and then neglected to mention…for days; I wish I were kidding).

So, what about you guys? Any fun plans for your weekend?

Have you ever been a multi-hyphenate (hairdresser-baker-florist-attendant) in a wedding? Did you survive? (Please say yes. Death By Wedding would be a sad obituary).

0 Comments

  1. You will have my prayers! If you survive this, and I know you will!……make sure that you take a “ME” day, all alone, after it`s all over. You deserve it, and will probably need it. Also, savor the day and make some memories!
    Love your blog,
    Vicki

  2. OH MY!!! I know we always think things will be worse than they actually are. I will certainly pray for you though, because that is one Wonder Woman day you have coming!!

  3. If you’re not, PLEASE PRAY ANYWAY! (I’m sure God would love to hear from you).

    This made me laugh out loud while eating lunch, which caused my cubicle neighbor to pop his head up and ask if I was okay – which only made me laugh harder because it reminded me me of “whack-a-mole”. Snorting Diet Dr. Pepper does not make a pretty sound…

    1. Hi Molly!

      I got her dress at Target.com. Maaaaaaybe they have it in stores, but I never saw it. I just searched for “flower girl dress” online though, and these popped right up. They were really reasonably priced and I’m *pretty sure they had them in big girl sizes too. They also came in ivory if you didn’t want pure white.

  4. Congratulations to Shae and bride!! I am sure the day will be wonderful, whether there are stained kids, an “oops, don’t look at the back of the cake” grooms cake, and rampant twins or not. Do what you can and then enjoy the day with grace. God’s grace is sufficient for you, even in the face of days like this one. Blessings!!

  5. Girl I WILL pray. The closest I have come- I was in two weddings during Canaan’s pregnancy. One we were all 5 in it- Ben officiated, I was a bridesmaid, Allie and Evie were flower girls and Landon was the ring bearer. It was beautiful and went pretty well. Evie was 1.5 and we ended up sending her to sit with a friend (coincidentally the friend whose wedding I was in 4 DAYS before I delivered C). We kept her happy with cookies. 😉
    The wedding aforementioned 4 days before my delivery, I was also a bridesmaid and Ben officiated. I also planned the bachlorette party, the night before the wedding. It was great fun but I did NOT look cute in my dress! lol
    You will do great I am sure.

  6. Yup – actually, just a year ago, I was the bride, wedding planner, cake decorator, everything-else-decorator, baker, cook, hairdresser, and seamstress – as well as manual labor for hoisting tables and chairs in and out of the back of our pickup. Admittedly, I did this without the ‘benefit’ of five children. But I feel you!

  7. You will survive! Quick tip for the cake! When I made “THE” wedding cake (yes it was a terrifying as it sounds and I thought I was going to pass out) I actually froze it for the ride there (which was an hour and 45 mins) and frosted it when I arrived. I started making it a few days early, then I layered and frosted (lightly, so there were no crumbs) and then froze i for about an hour. Then I wrapped it in plastic wrap, tightly, and froze it over night. The next morning, keeping it in the plastic wrap, I transported it to the ceremony location, frosted it, and prayed that it wouldnt be a rock by the time it was ready to be cut. It wasn’t! It worked quite well actually. There was no worry of icing dripping and cake toppling on the way there, and there wasn’t any baking the day of, either. Both of which made a huge difference!

    Lauren

  8. In September I will be a Bridesmaid/Hairdresser/Makeup Artist/Cake Baker. I already did their invitations! You’ll get through it, if anyone can it’s you! By the way, this is the first time I’ve ever commented but I decided to make a blog the other day because of you! I’ve been pouring over your blog for a few hours a day for over 2 weeks now and you are truly an inspiration! God Bless you! – Keelia (also a thrifting, DIY, and health-nut enthusiast)

  9. If anyone can do it…. YOU CAN! I like the idea of strapping bouquets to your twins backs and letting them crawl around. Shae wouldn’t mind one bit! Speaking of, tell him hi from us – as if you can remember that little tidbit in all the others you have flying around in your brain. hahaha! I will pray though, and I AM the praying kind. –Jennifer P

  10. Oh goodness…yes…every woman has to do the crazy do-it-all wedding thing once in her life! I did my sister’s wedding last year. I was 1. Reception coordinator (my Man was MC & DJ) and yes that left our 2 kids to their own devices 2. Made all the cakes (I think there were 3) 4. Managed the catering staff 5. Supervised set up and clean up at reception 6. Oh yeah…and our kids were the flower girl and ring bearer…so that meant I actually had to make it to the ceremony (thru uptown traffic several blocks away. Cutting it close…i can tell you!)

    I froze all my cake layers individually and then assembled and frosted at the reception venue. No danger of last-minute upsets that way 😉 I didn’t have room to freeze entire assembled cakes in my freezer so this was my best option.

    Hope it all goes great for you! 🙂

  11. My friend was maid of honor and also made THE WEDDING CAKE (she is not a professional, just a girl who likes to bake). It turned out totally fine.
    And my cousin also did the hair and make up of the whole bridal party at her sisters wedding when she was also a bridesmaid. It also was totally fine.
    You can do it!!

  12. put your finished caked in an airtight cake carrier then freeze that cake before you leave. it’ll help it stay perfectly put for your drive, and it won’t dry it out at all (freezing then thawing actually adds a tiny bit of extra moisture to a cake :)…( however, doesn’t work the same with refrigerating, freezer only! refrigerator bad 🙁 )and by the time you arrive it’ll be thawed and great! I own a bakery and this is the protocol I always take when traveling with cakes, especially wedding cakes 🙂 good luck!

  13. I’ve been involved in enough weddings to feel your pain, girl! It makes me wonder why weddings must be such complicated affairs! But I have always looked back on the weddings and been able to smile, because it may have been frantic, hectic, spastic, scary, and ultimately exhausting, but at the end of the day the bride and groom were married, they were extremely happy, and everyone had fun. For the most part.

    And most importantly, God was glorified. Keep that in mind this weekend. 😉

I love hearing from you guys!