Meet the Malones!

Let me start by saying that this post is *long* overdue. Also, I'm sure Emily can't wait to get back from the Caribbean and recap her gorgeous wedding, so I will leave the details to her (happy eight day anniversary, lover!). I'll take this opportunity to highlight her nuptials from the view of a dutiful bridesmaid, just in case she missed any hilarious details along her way to the altar.

Last Thursday, I made my way to Jacksonville International at 4 am, planning to have about an hour and half before my flight departed at 6. After a rather hectic check-in and trip through security, I made it to my gate. The attendant came on and made an announcement that the bathroom on our aircraft would not be functioning, and everyone was urged to use the facilities in the airport before boarding. After doing a silent cheer for not stopping for a venti caramel macch, I got in line and got on the plane. After we were seated, buckled in, and told the exit strategy, the pilot comes on and tells us we are NOT allowed to fly with a broken lavatory, and we all have to get off the plane! This led to a lot of mumbling and grumbling, a quick re-route of passengers who had not checked luggage, and a long line for me to wait in while one lonely Delta clerk re-organized flights for all passengers. Now, I knew that Lindsey was waiting on me to pipe and frost some very important cookies, but I somehow felt that Delta would not understand the disparity of the situation. By the time I got to the counter, I had convinced myself and all others around me that I was the Maid of Honor in a 3 pm wedding in Cincinnati (I even worked up some tears, easily done thanks to only 3 hours of sleep). Delta Debbie tried to get me in to CVG at 7:35 pm, but a trembling lip and a protest from the girl next to me (who claimed she had her own bridal shower in Cinci at noon, a story I do NOT believe) pushed me up to 1:40. After a layover in Atlanta and a lot of impatient foot-tapping, I finally made it to Ohio!

The first of the weekend's events was a pre-wedding tea, hosted by Liz and her mom at the BonBonerie tea room. We all ate delicious cookies (though I think the sight of Royal Icing'ed sugar cutouts may have turned Lindsey's stomach) and drank yummy tea while Emily briefed me on the upcoming weekend events (I also learned the BonBonerie is seeking a full-time decorator, and almost asked to go behind the counter to show off my skills).

Ladies love tea time! (From L to R: Judy, Jan, Rebecca, Sarah, Emily, Mary Ann, Linds, Liz, Tina, and Martha)

After tea, the bridal party headed out for mani/pedis, where (almost) everyone relaxed, and Liz and I had giggle fits as people messed with our feet. We all got beautiful french manis (most of which were destroyed during 24 hours of pre-wedding prep), and a variety of beautiful colors on our piggies. Emily went home to change and get ready for that night's dinner, while Linds, Rebecca, and I hit up Party City for an appropriate bachelorette accessory. After being faced with blinking buttons, sashes, explicit necklaces, and more, we settled on a subtle and classy headband, modeled here by Emily at our Thursday night sushi dinner:

The bride's accessory garnered many honks and yells from passers-by, not to mention offers of free drinks!

It was almost surreal to wake up Friday morning and realize that it was the day of Emily's wedding REHEARSAL! Linds and I had big plans to finish the cookies before rehearsal time, so we got down to "cookie patrol", fueled by the sounds of the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack ("Hoedown Throwdown", anyone?) Basically, I was so late that my only job was to pipe bows onto Emily's cameo ponytail, as Linds and Em had handled every other aspect of the cookie prep. Here's a close up of the final couple:

Em and Case look good enough to eat!

We finished the cookies in plenty of time to help transport reception supplies to the Taft Museum, the site for the Malones' gorgeous wedding celebration. Linds and I, with the help of several Holcombe family members, loaded up several pounds of Kosher salt, a lot of beautifully formed tissue paper, and several jars and table linens, which would be transformed into beautiful tables and decorations. After a lot of swearing and intense downtown driving (damn you, one way streets!), we got the supplies to Taft, where our bride-to-be was waiting with her (I paused here to find the right adjective...) seasoned and experienced wedding planner from Taft. As an outsider who had not been present for a lot of planning, I was SUPER nervous for Em to leave all of her hard work and preparation to be pulled together by this staff. I should have known (and was relieved to see) she came prepared with typed lists, color coded set up charts, and clear concise direction. Emily, I can only hope that my own wedding planning Lilly Pulitzer notebook is as organized and stress-free as yours.

A dream-come-true reception site!

After making certain that everything needed for the reception was in place, we had a few hours before the rehearsal began. We called Em about 14 times, just to be certain that she didn't need us to take care of anything else, and then headed to the mall for a few last-minute wedding supplies (strapless bra and new underoos, of course!). Linds and I even made a pit stop to Cinci's Anthro in hopes of picking up a hoodie for the bride to wear during get-ready time on Saturday (it was impossible for either of us to stop buying stuff for Emily. We wanted everything to be perfect for the perfect girl on her perfect day!). Sadly, the beloved garment was no where in site, so we had to settle for our freshly made "Operation: Mrs. Malone" tanks for pre-wedding hair and makeup. I didn't manage to get a group pic of our adore shirts, so I'm hoping photographer Shannon came through in the clutch.

ANYWAY, after our mini shopping spree, it was time to get ready for the rehearsal! Emily had called and invited us to prepare with her in the pre-wedding suite at the Garfield, so we headed downtown again with (what we thought would be) plenty of time to spare. Basically, the entire weekend was so much fun (preparation and all), but every time I looked at the clock, I felt like hours were passing in seconds! We got downtown, withstood a minor bride breakdown (partly due to rain, mostly due to people not leaving Emily alone - I mean, she KNOWS it's raining, why did EVERYONE have to keep calling her and pointing it out?!) and got to the church in time to rehearse for the big day. I had only been in one wedding before, and I am prone to sprouting large tomato-like splotches all over my face and neck whenever people are looking at me, so I was pretty nervous that I might mess up. But we'll save the details of the rehearsal dinner celebration and wedding to a future post... until then, enjoy this pic of Em and her lovely bridesmaids on the eve of her wedding day! Congrats, lady -- love you more than anything!