Happiness is a Bad Wedding Day

Friends, good morning from Minneapolis, where it is 6:02AM, and your good friend Sarah is surrounded by wedding props. 

My living room is a disaster of pink paper lanterns and tabletop candletents.  And bottles of vodka, of course, next to the yoga mat and IT band rollers.

 

My kitchen has been taken over by bouquets of both plastic AND dead flowers.

 

My good Friends Tami, Tina and Peggy spent most of yesterday with me, putting together bouquets, boutonnieres, all of the programs and décor for this Bad Wedding Reception theme party I am hosting tonight for all my clients and Friends.  I am still covered in hot pink and bright purple glitter.  That did not stop me from attending a mini “bachelorette” party with my good Friends Todd, Raymond & Kevin at Capitol Grille.  Here I am in my appropriate hat of mourning, lamenting the impending loss of my virginity.  Ahem. 



 

The restaurant and hospitality world is my extended family---we really love each other and look after each other, and nothing makes us happier than to celebrate milestones and make crazy new stories together.  With that in mind, yes I did, as a matter of fact, wear that hat into the restaurant and kept it on as I opened my gifts of hotdish cookbooks (which is only proper and right since this is a Minnesota wedding, after all). 

 

People do not wear hats in Minnesota (except for stocking caps), so naturally, this hat made exactly the statement I wanted it to, and it got the full attention of the whole staff.  They all played along so that everyone else in the lounge could be part of the joke, too, both celebrating and mourning the impending loss of my “virginity” on my wedding night.  So fun.  Brad and I got a quick picture yesterday after he brought us steak with béarnaise, as a good piece of perfectly cooked meat is the best way to mourn with my personal shopper and the top fashion crowd of Minneapolis. 



 

Friends, I just want to take a quick moment today to reflect on how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many good people.  From the restaurants to the spas, to the vendors to the people who be playing parts in the wedding party, I am so lucky, so very, very lucky.  My Friends have stayed up late last night for wedding “rehearsal,” they have made last minute runs to Best Buy to pick up extra speakers, they have taken time off work to help, they have shopped up and down multiple Good Wills and Ragstocks for the perfect outfits (see Tina’s husband Tim, here, for just a quick taste of what one ensemble will look like tonight…..)

 

Doesn't he look GREAT in disco pants?!!  Yes.  A thousand times yes.  You KNOW you have a good party ahead when the men get into pulling together the very best outfits as much as the women do.

 

Everyone has been putting in so much happy energy into one-upping each other’s outfits that tonight will be a night of so much laughing, so much camaraderie, so much happiness, that I physically feel surrounded by love already.

 

Happiness does not need to be expensive.  Happiness does not need to be designer happiness or 4 star happiness.  Happiness is having super creative and fun Friends who jump in and write scripts with you over take out from The Lotus, like Michael & Lana did, last night, practicing the timing of the jokes, the prop placement, the moments we hope will be the funniest of the night.  Happiness is my Friend Katie and her Friends practicing their “sorority speech” as “bridesmaids” Bitsy, Porsche and Ginger Claussen, from our Sorority “Kappa Ypsilon…KY”.  They will, of course, be standing next to Peggy, known as “Bitter Friend who Wasn’t Included in the Wedding Party.”  I can only imagine these girls’ outfits----we have been exchanging giggling text messages all week.  Happiness is knowing that Dameun has prepared QUITE the processional Bad Wedding Singer performance for me as I walk down that pink leopard fabric aisle runner to meet my groom.   Happiness is getting text messages from Landon, our chef, with his ridiculously creative cake design ideas and a flawless menu to go alongside it.  He even promised to carve me a watermelon with a sawtooth “handle” out of the rind, just like they used to do for every single bridal shower I ever attended as a kid. I only hope I can keep a straight face tonight as I look around and take in all the details and thoughtfulness.

 

So, you see Friends, when you think about real happiness, it never comes from working too much or too hard.  It never comes from making more money or being seen on the Scene.  Happiness comes from having the greatest people you can think of, all around you, all at once, who are in the joke and are happy to be part of it because they know just how much it makes me happy.  I feel a little lump in my throat today, I am so grateful to be blessed with such good people in my life.  My vows today will be not only to be faithful to my groom, but to take good care and be faithful to these dear Friends who will help me make this the absolute worst wedding reception ever.  Happy Bad Wedding Day, Friends, to us!  Mazel tov!

With lots of love from Minnesota,

Your Good Friend Sarah