She's a Sweeney No Moore

In light of my tendency to wait for MONTHS to blog and then have ridiculously looooong posts that require a bathroom and coffee break to get through, I am attempting to get into the practice of blogging every week or two. This is certainly a lofty goal, but I’m going to do my best to capture these sweet summer days DURING the summer instead of in October or November like I did last year. Oops. Ha!

SO… here it goes.

On May 30th, one of my sweetest childhood friends married the love of her life. I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in Sami’s wedding and it was such a humbling experience. I LOVED having that sweet time with Sami and will always treasure the memories we made together that day.

I laughed/cried leading up to the wedding telling Darin, “It feels like the end of my childhood.” He laughed and said…”Umm..you’ve been out of childhood for a long time now.” He is right of course, but something about this wedding made me feel extremely nostalgic and not old enough to be standing beside my dear friend, as she became a WIFE. I know that sounds hilarious since I got married 5+ months before her, but something about HER getting married just felt weird. Ha! I kept envisioning us as the 6 year old girls we once were, playing outside on the swing set, making the inflatable pool a "whirlpool," attempting to sell lemonade at a lemonade stand (and failing I might add…we had one purchase…from the guy who’s driveway we were all but blocking), scheming how we could convince our parents to let us have a sleepover, sleeping on the waterbed, spending every Wednesday together during the summer, pretending to eat at a fancy Italian restaurant, playing Bomb, having grandma names, being crafty, playing with the Barbie cash register, playing putt-putt…I’ll spare you before I go too far down memory lane again. But really, so many of my childhood memories are with Sami and Abby. Rachel and I have loved these girls for 16+ years and treasure their friendship to this day.

I'd say we've improved with age...

Sami and Luke’s day could not have been more perfect. Sami looked like a DREAM and Luke was looking dapper in his military uniform…they make quite a pretty couple if you ask me! We started the day with breakfast and lots of, “SAMI, YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY!”-s. Ha! After breakfast, we got our hair done and then spent most of the day talking, squealing, and primping. It was a perfect day with the most beautiful bride.

One of the most hilarious moments of the day that I’m not sure can be fully described with words happened about an hour before the wedding. Sami and Luke chose not to have a first look, but wanted to pray together before the wedding. The way the venue was set up, there was a building that we got ready in, several hundred feet away from the Barn that they were getting married in. When it came time for Sami and Luke to pray together, we started walking over to the barn all beautified and ready for the wedding. The weather had been a bit precarious all day and the threat of storms was present throughout most of the day. Well…as we started walking toward the barn, it started to rain. I was holding Sami’s dress up at this point and yelled, “Alright Sam, let’s run!” This run wouldn’t have been a problem on most days…but on this day at this moment, Sami was in her wedding dress and I was in my bridesmaid dress with heels on. You should have seen us bolting across the parking lot in all our glory, it was straight out of a movie. Ha! It was a priceless memory that I only wish would have been captured on video. 

The ceremony was all kinds of precious and beautiful. Sami's Dad officiated the wedding and let me just say, there wasn't a dry eye in the building during certain parts of the ceremony. I loved having a front-row seat to this incredibly sweet moment and also loved sneaking a peak at my Groom as I reminisced about our perfect day. The reception was a blast as well, with lots of dancing and catching up with old Lakota friends. As the reception came to a close, I was hit with a wave of emotion that had been building all day. I had been SO strong throughout the day, but as I went to hug Sami goodbye, I couldn't help but cry. You see, Sami and Luke are beginning their marriage as a military couple and will be stationed in different cities around the United States in the years to come. The finality of our "childhood" and the realization that I didn't know the next time I would see Sami made me cry then and makes me cry now. Sam, thank you for allowing me to be apart of this day. It was an absolutely JOY to walk with you through your special day and watch you [finally] marry the man of your dreams! 

I mean...gorgeous, right?

We have this picture of the four of us at SO many weddings over the years, but these three pictures are my very favorite. I love that we have had the opportunity to celebrate life and love with you all and look forward to continuing to make many more memories together...and add Abby's wedding picture to this collection someday too! ;)

Sami and Luke, I am so honored to have been a part of your day. I pray the Lord leads you all as you begin this amazing adventure together. Sam, I love you so much. Always have, always will. Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Luke Moore!