When asking my bridesmaids, I knew I wanted to give them a little gift of some sort, but I kept drawing a blank. I was limiting myself to "bridal" things when I came across these adorable Voluspa candles. I absolutely love candles and love getting them as gifts so I opted to do those, along with a little ring pop. I might add, Ring Pops are much harder to come by than they were when I was a little girl!
I am very thankful that I have 11 beautiful friends standing beside me on our wedding day. Our wedding party will be large, but each girl that I've asked is incredibly important to me and I can't imagine getting married without them!
- Leah Brown | Maid of Honor | my baby sister who I am so proud of! She is beyond thoughtful and cares for people the way the rest of the world should. We share a love of junk food, coffee, and pets, and I can't imagine her not being my right-hand gal on our wedding day.
- Sarah Barbour Smith | Matron of Honor | my best friend since our freshman year at Cape Fear Academy. Despite us going to different colleges and then she and her husband moving to Oklahoma for medical school, Sarah is still one of my closet friends. Even though we only see each other a few times a year, we always pick up where we left off. I got to stand beside her as her Maid of Honor in 2013!
- Emma Ruth Johnson | Matron of Honor | we met in kindergarten but became friends again our freshman year and ended up as roommates 3 out of 4 years at Meredith College. She's the kind of friend you want to be and keeps me grounded on my best days and my worst days. Emma is also getting married next year and I'm thrilled to be her Maid of Honor!
- Sabrina Benbassat | we were random suite mates our freshman year at Meredith College - and it resulted in a wonderful friendship, that included many walks around campus solving all the world's problems, and no matter where life takes us, we can spend hours catching up. Sab is one of the coolest girls I know and actually did a little modeling for me to practice my photography - check it out here.
- Sarah Long | Sarah and I also met our freshman year at Meredith but ended up as suite mates our sophomore year. She has always been so supportive of anything and everything that I do, so I'm excited for her to stand beside me on August 5th! P.S. She's the most photogenic person I know.
- Cameron Mast | we met our sophomore year at Meredith. Cameron is hilarious, successful, and thoughtful - and those thoughtful times come in at the moments I need them most. When I was living in Charlotte but traveling to Raleigh quite a bit, she and her pup Lula always opened up their door no matter how last minute I came by. And she's a shopping gal like me so what's not to love.
- Regan Murphy | I feel like Regan is a much cooler, younger version of myself (and we actually do look quite a bit alike). If I open a snapchat from her, I have no doubt that I will be dying laughing. She's also my cousin - so I'm thankful to have best friend that is truly family.
- Lauren Wiggins Rowell | Lauren is Stephen's sister and my soon to be sister-in-law! Lauren welcomed me into their family immediately, but I'm excited for it to be official and can't wait to get another sister.
- Hillary Verrilli | Hillary and I colored pictures together our first day of kindergarten and now we are soon to be cousins-in-law! That's right, she is marrying Stephen's cousin Allen, and she's a big reason I actually met Stephen. Oh, and we're neighbors - I can't tell you how thankful I am for our friendship, her constant reminder to be myself, and to have a cousin-neighbor as my best friend.
- Madison Hairr Warren | Mad is my cousin and we are only 3 weeks apart, so I've grown up with a built-in friend. How lucky am I? Genuine is the most perfect word for Madison and I'm so thankful that we are friends. She's also a soon-to-be mama, and I can't wait for Baby Warren to get here!
- Katie Wheeler | we actually first met at freshman orientation for Meredith and ended up being suite mates our sophomore year and of course BFFs! Katie, also known as Aunt KK to Sophie, keeps me constantly laughing. She's also been so supportive - and hardly ever missed a pageant I competed in.
You may notice that Meredith College is a connecting factor for so many of these friendships. I thank God every day not only for my education from Meredith but for the incredible people He blessed me with when I chose that as my college. But no matter how I met each of my bridesmaids, it's safe to say I treasure their friendships immensely and I'm thrilled they will each be beside me on on August 5th!
I also wanted to do a little something to ask our flower girl, who is Stephen's (and soon-to-be mine) niece! I feel like she's been my niece since the beginning as Stephen and I were already together when she was born, but I'm excited to officially be Aunt Zelle. I found this adorable flower necklace and bracelet set, and Amiah absolutely loves her jewelry, so I thought it would be the perfect gift! Stephen gave it to her since I was at the vet with Sophie and couldn't go to Williamsburg with them, and he said she loved it.
I opted to make her card, and I downloaded a floral watercolor vector from Etsy which gives you around 15 different graphics to create your own look. My new position has given me a great chance to explore a lot more graphic design, so this was a fun project for me to work on.
I am so excited for Amiah to be our flower girl - and I think she may be pretty excited, too.