As I mentioned earlier this week there was a good sized gap between the Saturday of Stina’s Bridal Shower  and our Thursday Girls Day (and Night) Out.  As the future sister-in-law it was hard to be far away from family apart from the wedding planning of my only sibling. So I was ready and willing to help with those last minute wedding details during the week before the wedding.

Monday I took a halfday-break and spent some quality time with a good college friend and her son. The outing included ferry rides, joining in some of her day errands, playing outside with her son and their dog, picking up some yogurt, then heading back on the afternoon ferry. By 3pm I was back running errands and doing wedding prep with the families.

Tuesday’s highlight was getting some good TLC time just the Mom’s and daughters. We went out to get our nails done and some lunch. Stina got both a mani and pedi while catching up on pop culture info she’d been too busy with wedding planning to notice.

In between Tuesday and Wednesday the family worked on a large variety of wedding details. Taking turns spending time together, eating meals, and drinking a ton of coffee. My family also ran back and forth from Joann’s and Micheals’ several times in those few days gathering ribbon, silk flowers, fabric, stationary, easels, and more.

We tied ribbons on the favor jars, created chalk signs for the reception and ceremony space. We helped with music selections, the boys prepped the yard and created lines for people to park in the field. My mom and I decorated the flower girl baskets . My dad helped in the yard and pack and organize resources for the reception.

I worked with other bridesmaids to fold napkins, ceremony programs, and prep table runners for the reception space. Whenever we finished one thing we started work on another asking what was next until we all decided to call it quits for the evening. During which whoever was available to help would gather to eat, talk, and relax.

Although it can sometimes feel stressful to have such a long list to accomplish it is great to know you have a back up team to help you get to that wedding day. It was amazing to see two families get to know each other, communicate, and learn to work around and with each other. It was a great opportunity for us to learn to be there for Matt and Stina and live (even if only for a week) as one family.

Matt and Stina know that they are truly blessed with great friends and strong families who are more than willing to pitch in to make what is important to them happen.