This post originally appeared on our old blog Born to be a Bride as "Home for a Wedding."
There’s something fairy tale-like, I find, in turning off the highway and taking the back roads toward home with my beloved. I know those turns and stop signs, patches of greenery and historically informed street lights inside and out. They were mine as a little girl in the backseat of my parents’ station wagon, they were mine as a teenager when I was out too late, panicking about missing curfew as the other kids didn’t seem to care. They are mine now, with my husband driving late at night, our sweetheart fast asleep in the back, and the dog a row behind her. Josh has made it pretty clear we’ll never return to live on Long Island, but every visit home stirs me with the incredible combination of nostalgia and contentment. So there we were Saturday night, taking those familiar turns toward home, Mom awaiting us with heaps of gluten-free pasta, sauteed monkfish, and green beans to counter the gummy candies we’d been noshing in the car. Every opportunity to share moments like these with family are wonderful, but visiting home in order to see a dear friend get married definitely tops the list.
When Josh and I initially did the math between my due date and the save-the-date, we realized it would be our first real night out, babysitter and all. What a thrill! To mark the occasion, my awesome mom bought me a new black dress (let’s face it, the old ones might zip, but they don’t exactly hug the same places as they did before Willow!). We poured our beauty budget into blowouts and nails, so I did our makeup, lashes and all. To complement the gold in my dress, I borrowed gold hoops and a bangle from Mom, and topped the look off with a vintage black-and-gold evening purse of my grandmother’s.
I thought my dress was pretty unique, and my mom thought hers was too, but we could not stop laughing at how many women were in lace at the wedding. I guess now you know the trend in winter weddings this year — when in doubt, wear lace!
Did I miss Willow? Of course. The fact that we left her with one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Alani, made it much easier. When we got home she was sleeping in Alani’s arm, pacifier in mouth, two bottles down, and the picture of perfection. We cuddled in my brother’s childhood bedroom and went to sleep. At home, Josh and I always put her in her crib at night, but it was a special treat to snuggle my girl all night long.
Soon, we’ll feature Dana & John’s lovely wedding on the blog (she agreed on Sunday night… assuming it wasn’t the champagne talking!). You will all fall for her absolutely beautiful, homespun details that shone against the backdrop of a purely glamorous Long Island venue. Watching my friend float across the dance floor in her stunning gown was an incredible joy. And ditto waking up to enjoy egg sandwiches with family and laugh while watching Josh shove his feet unapologetically into my mom’s Ugg slippers to walk the dog. Life is marked in moments and this one was very special indeed.
PS — I went for a custom gel manicure using two Essie beiges. I recommend for mommies if you get an hour to yourself, save up and splurge on the gel because it will last weeks instead of days. Groupon usually runs deals, too. The dress was DVF (Now on deep sale at Bloomingdales — and YES, I was wearing Spanx. Undies and tights!)