This weekend I had the privilege of being a part of my friend's wedding. I was extremely honored and happy that I could be a part of her big day. However, I learned very quickly that I wasn't signing up for just one day but rather a long weekend of events starting on Thursday and ending on Friday.

On Thursday, we set up for the reception which was pretty painless. There were no accidents or major freak out moments. Everything went up smoothly and before we knew it everything was set up and looked beautiful. I had just enough time after set up to run home and change for the rehearsal dinner. I chose a dress that I knew I looked amazing in because you never know when you'll meet a really cute groomsman or usher.

The rehearsal went a lot quicker than I expected it to. We walked up and down the aisle a couple times with the music and went through the ceremony's order of events. We all tried to do it perfectly in the first few attempts so that we could go each the Chinese food that was waiting for us in the other room. The dinner was a lot of fun. I got to meet all these new people who seem really great. The bridal party got to know each other better and we told stories about the bride and groom.

All of the bridal party except for the bride and me left to go see Star Wars: Rogue One which I thought was a little weird. I figured that the bridesmaids would've stayed with the bride because we were supposed to be hanging out with her all weekend but the two of us managed to have a good time until the others got back.

Once everyone got back, we stayed up way too late drinking and playing games which was a poor choice on our part because we were all so tired on the wedding day. I think I went to bed at 3:30am and woke up at 7:30am to start the day. It was brutal. On Friday, we woke up for breakfast and then didn't do anything until the makeup artist and hair stylist arrived. I was the last one to get my hair done at 1:30pm so I really had nothing to do all day. For the most part, us girls just lounged around, talked, and ate food. I know most people expect us to be freaking out about the bride all morning and being really happy and excited (which we were) but it definitely wasn't all morning. It came and went as things were happening. When she got her hair and makeup done, we all got really excited. We also got excited when she put her dress on and when they did the bride-groom reveal. Honestly, I think the boys were more excited about the big reveal than the girls were. Several of them tried to wipe away their tears before we could see that they were crying.

Pictures were also pretty painless. We got through them as quickly as possible so that we could relax for a little while. Unfortunately, we had to take a few pictures outside in the cold which wasn't fun. The girls were worried about walking on the ice in their heels but the boys seemed to have more trouble. They kept slipping and sliding around which was pretty funny to watch.

Everything was done at 4:30pm which meant we had an hour to kill until the ceremony started. That hour was pretty brutal because we were all so bored. We just wanted to get the show on the road and do something. We tried our best to pass the time by talking but a few of us needed a drink to calm our nerves.

Finally it was showtime! The ceremony was starting! Up until that point, I was really confident about going out there but now that it was starting I got a little nervous. All that was running through my head was, "Don't trip. Smile. Don't trip. Smile." I just really didn't want to ruin her day. At one point, I thought I was going to because I needed to cough really badly but I knew it was going to be an extremely loud cough. I managed to fight it back until the ceremony was over but it made my eyes water which was okay because people thought I was crying tears of joy.

With the ceremony over, all that was left was the reception AKA party time! It was finally time to let loose and have fun. All the responsibilities and nerves were gone and we could relax. I had such a great time dancing and drinking with friends. I even got hit on by a cute usher (told ya looking cute was important). Of course, our night didn't end with the reception but with drinks and Raising Canes. The girls had to practically carry the boys to the different places because they kept sliding all over the place. We all drank a little too much and decided to call it a night.

Saturday morning (the morning after) was brutal. We all felt miserable and didn't want to do anything. However, we had to get the venue cleaned up and be on our way to the gift opening. I didn't want to do anything that morning so I tried to pawn off as many of my responsibilities onto the boys as I could. Once everything was packed, a few of us made a pit stop for real food and not the brunch snacks that we were going to be fed. The gift opening was probably the most boring part of the whole wedding. The wedding was over and if we're being honest most of us don't really care what they bride and groom got as gifts. I mean I had fun hanging out with everyone and reminiscing about the weekend but I found myself hardly paying attention to what gifts they were given.

Overall, I had a great time this weekend. I'm extremely glad that I got to be a part of her wedding. I would strongly encourage people to say, "Yes" when they get asked to be in a wedding because I guarantee that you will make memories you will remember for a lifetime.