A Wedding Experience Like None Other

I'd never been to a wedding where I was the mother of the flower girl. I'd never been to a wedding that had bridesmaids, but no groomsmen. I'd never been to a wedding with a ceremony so short (I didn't time it, but I don't think it was more than 10 minutes long!). I'd never been to a wedding held outdoors in the evening in the fall in the NW. I'd never been to a wedding where I didn't even eat a bite of wedding cake. Yes, the wedding of my friend Shauna to her groom Paul was a unique wedding experience. But the most unique part of the experience, that will surely be unforgettable for years to come for me, did not occur until just after the ceremony was over. BUT, before we get into that, here are some pictures of my adorable little princess in all her flower girl finery:

And the two flower girls together:

It was a beautiful fall evening in Seattle!

Although it was a bit hairy toward the end, all the details came together just in time like they always seem to:

And then it was time for the flower girls to make their entrance...

(Photo courtesy of Faith Yi)

"Ooohs" and "aaahhs" were heard all around as the two little cuties made their way down the aisle and everything looked like it would go perfectly....until Elise launched her bouquet about 10 feet forward and Abby turned around and went back! Apparently, Elise's mom had told her how flower girls usually throw flower petals and even though that was not an option at this wedding (a rule for the location), Elise remembered and threw her flowers just like a proper flower girl. :) And I'm guessing that Abby got scared at all the unfamiliar faces and blinded by the gazillion cameras flashing in her eyes (believe me, it was pretty bad), so she turned back when she couldn't see me. I wasn't quite sure what to do about my wandering, lost flower girl, but after a few moments I decided to duck across the front row and stick my head around so that Abby could see my face as a target. It worked and she hurried back down the aisle to her Mommy, and I quickly directed her to our seats. Although, my little girl didn't get her part down perfectly, she was the talk of the show afterward and everyone said it was more fun that way. Oh well! :)

After a few minutes of visiting, I was anxious for the buffet tables to be opened up - my stomach was hurting as it usually does during pregnancy when I don't eat often enough. Abby and I were right near the front of the line and got our food and quickly sat down. I looked at my plate and realized that all of the food looked gross (in actuality, I'm sure it was not :). I knew I needed to eat, but not a single thing looked appetizing. Finally, I forced myself to eat a few bites and then I said to Abby, "I'll be right back," ran to the bathroom that was thankfully available, and preceded to lose the contents of my stomach. Chalking it up to pregnancy sickness, although it is a bit strange for me to throw up in the evening at this point in my pregnancy, I returned to my seat, thinking I was ready to eat again. But still the food looked disgusting. As I tried to visit politely with a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in years, I reviewed to myself how I was feeling. I soon came to the conclusion that this was not pregnancy nausea, this was full-out sickness. Without even saying good-bye to the bride, I got right out of there with the help of my friend who was unfortunate enough to sit by me that night. :) On the way to the car, I threw up in the bushes. Oh, yes, this would be a fun 70-mile drive back home.

To make one of the longest two-hours of my life short, Abby and I plugged our way home with me having to stop every 15 minutes or so to throw up on the side of the freeway or at least stop for a false alarm. It was awful, horrible, and agonizing. Thankfully, Abby is used to seeing me throw up so it didn't faze her much at all, but it was definitely one of the most difficult things I've done in my life. The last 20 minutes of the drive were the worst, as dehydration and fatigue began to take over my feverish, aching body. My hands and feet started tingling and getting a bit numb, just as they did when I had that episode of hypokalemia that landed me in the hospital this past March. So, as soon as I arrived home I called my mom, as Kevin got Abby in from the car and put her to bed. Thankfully, once I got some fluids in me, the tingling went away but I spent the rest of the night trying to get fluids in only to throw them up a few minutes later (14 times in 9 hours - that's a tie for my personal record from when I was a kid, just in case you wanted to know :). What a horrible night that was, but I was so thankful I'd called my mom because she stayed the whole night and helped me through it all. Moms are the best nurses. Way better than husbands. ;o)

Anyway, I bet there are very few people that can say they came down with a stomach virus at their friend's wedding. I will definitely never forget that night and it made the wedding an entirely unique experience for me. I'm sad that we didn't get to eat any wedding cake, didn't get to twirl together on the dance floor (Abby was especially looking forward to that :), didn't get a chance to take anymore pictures, and didn't even get a chance to sign the guest book! But that's how life goes sometimes, and I'm VERY glad that the bathroom was available and close by so that I didn't make Shauna's and every guest's experience any more unique than it was. =)