My brother’s wedding was this weekend, and it was a destination wedding in the college town of Athens, Georgia.
My (now!) sister in law very sweetly asked if my two older girls would be flower girls, and of course I agreed. Ruth will be three in September and Rose will be two in October, so I was a tad bit anxious about how they would perform come the day of the wedding.
We traveled up to Athens on the 4th of July for the Rehearsal Dinner. When we had settled into our cute cottage on the grounds of the wedding venue and attended the Rehearsal Dinner, Ruthie promptly sat on a lit match and burned a hole in her dress. We like to start things off right. The rest of the Rehearsal Dinner was uneventful, other than the fact it was outdoors and the mosquitos ate poor little Ruth alive!
My cousin and her beau came all the way from California to see my brother get married, and they recommended essential oils to get Wren to sleep through the night. Has anyone had any success with this? They seemed very knowledgeable about it. At this point, I am willing to give anything a try!
The wedding day came fast and furious. My husband was a groomsman, so he was not going to be able to help me with the girls that day. Luckily, my whole family was lodged in adjacent cottages all situated around the wedding venue, so my mom and sisters were able to come over and help me get them dressed. Rose has become very opinionated about her outfits, curse it. Scott had to hide her favorite “princess dress” (a pink striped skirt) underneath her Rehearsal Dinner dress because she wouldn’t let us take it off of her. On the day of the wedding, she became particularly attached to her purple striped tank top with jelly stains on it. I consider myself a laid back mom, but I draw the line at stained casual wear for a flower girl. It took a vanilla wafer and wandering around the grounds a bit, but she finally came to terms with her flower girl dress.
My wonderful in-laws (who happen to live 15 minutes away from Athens) met me at the church to help me take care of the girls so that I didn’t have to miss my brother’s wedding if they had to be taken outside for a while. It came time for the girls to walk down the aisle, and my anxiety was high. It was the girls’ nap time, and Rosie was already nodding off on my shoulder. The game plan was that my sister would be at one end of the aisle sending the girls off down the aisle and I would be crouching at the other end of the aisle beckoning them to me. I knew that if I handed Rosie off to my sister when she was so tired and cranky a meltdown would ensue, so I improvised. My sister sent Ruth on her way, so I set Rose down behind her. I then inconspicuously awkwardly hoofed it down the aisle within Rosie’s line of sight and sat down in the front pew to encourage them to walk toward me. They looked at me quizzically and walked to me without a hitch! I was so proud of them.
The wedding was beautiful, and thanks to my in-laws, I was able to catch most of it (minus the time it took to change a poopy diaper).
By the time we reached the wedding venue, the bride very kindly let us take pictures with the flower girls first because the girls were fading fast. My in laws ate dinner while we were taking photos and took the girls back to the cottage once we were finished taking pictures so that my husband and I could eat dinner at the reception. It was so lovely to eat dinner with my husband and sisters and their husbands. We goofed off with the adorable fans that told us our table numbers.
We briefly walked the girls over from our cottage to enjoy the reception a bit. Back before I was a mom, I would have said the reception venue was beautiful, but as a mom all I saw were toddler hazards. A normal person would have said there were lots of picturesque koi ponds, brick ledges, and a gorgeous lit swimming pool with a fountain. All I saw was Death! Danger! Dismemberment! So the in laws put the girls down for the night. They had had such a long day, they were practically dead on their feet anyway.
The wedding day was perfect and I am so happy for my brother and his new wife! Scott and I really cut a mean rug on the dance floor. My legs are so sore, I can barely walk today. Clearly we need to go out and dance more.
Congratulations, John-o! We love you.
They are totally cute!!!
Since our kids are born it seems that everyone is getting married and we spend every year at at least one wedding. It’s interesting to see the differences in the wedding-planning depending whether the bridal pair already has kids or not. a close friend of us got married when their eldest was about 1 year old. Their wedding was the most relaxing for us parents, they chose a location in the middle of a park and even hired a couple of kindergarten teachers for entertaining the kids!!! The most exhausting was one where the reception was held in the garden of a hotel – so far so good 😉 where the kids could choose whether to throw themselves in the pond right next to the hotel entrance (1m deep water) or the swimming pool next to the bar (2m deep water) or into the lake from the landing stage (water depth unknown). Of course they tried (and failed thankfully!)
California Baby makes some great essential oil products, including massage oil, lotions, baby wash and bubble bath; we like their everyday lotion for summer because it has calendula, which deters those evil mosquitoes! The calming blend is great for bedtime. Congrats on surviving your first wedding with itty bitties with only minor drama! The last wedding we went to was held at a state park, complete with a massive bonfire (which my two year old was obsessed with and STILL talks about!), and my eldest spiked a 103 degree fever which turned out to be pneumonia. Ah, memories. I have to ask, what are those adorable sandals the girls are wearing? I love that they have buckles! Might be the solution to no more flinging shoes off in the car, church, store, etc.
They are saltwater sandals! I got them from Zappos. My girls live in them during the summer because they are water proof!
Aaaand, I just ordered matching Saltwater Sandals for myself and my 2 girls. Fuschia pink, of course! Thanks for the tip!
Yay! So cute! You are welcome:)
I’ve just recently started using essential oils on my (almost) 2-yr-old son, but not for sleeping. He was the most laid back sweet baby turned screaming terror by about 14 months. His tantrums are like 5 alarm disasters, so my friend recommended the essential oil Stress Away. I’ve used it a couple weeks now and after rolling this stuff on the back of his neck and giving him about 30 minutes, he is calm. Hope you try them out and have good results!
Sounds like your girls did great in the wedding. I always like to see kids in weddings because they always find a way to make it memorable. 😉
Wow, that is incredible! Rosie has just started being prone to tantrums, so maybe I could use some on her too!
Loved the post!! It is so funny how weddings can be a totally different experience with children!! To answer your question about essential oils. I use them and they are amazing! It is so wonderful to use products that are 100% safe to use on/around your whole family! I make my own sunscreen, but spray, cleaners, laundry detergent, and so much more with them!! Lastly, I love your dress! 🙂 thanks again for sharing!
Thank you! Everyone always has glowing reviews about them
Beautiful girls! I used essential oils for morning sickness this third pregnancy. It wasn’t an end all solution but it most definitely helped take the edge off! I know many parents who use them for ear infections and other ailments, so I would definitely give them a try for sleep!
Thanks! I think I will