Goodbye BOB. Hellooooo Tom!

Well friends...I made it.  After a delayed flight, a bawling mother, a screaming child, and an obnoxious pilot, I landed safely in beautiful California.  I'm here to be a bridesmaid in and photograph my cousin Tara's wedding.  She asked if I'd come out a week early to "keep her sane", which is really just code for "let's have a last hurrah!-of-fun before she gets married".  I was more than happy to oblige as there's no one I'd rather hang out with this week.

A friend of mine (uh-hem...Katie) once said, "There are weddings that you go to where it's all about the couple, and that's great.  But then there's weddings where it's all about the guests, and that's awesome."...let me just tell you...it has been Tara's number one goal to make her wedding all about the guests.  It comes as no surprise as that's just the kind of person that she is.

So, she picked me up at the airport late last night and sitting on the front seat was a gift bag that she said was for me as a "thank you" for helping her with wedding stuff these past few months.  What?! I would pretty much glue a couple things, paint a couple things, and talk to her while she worked...sign me up for that any day.  When I opened my gift, I tried to remain controlled but I really wanted to hug the box and jump up and down with squealing giggles.  Pigtails in that moment would have been the perfect accessory to how I was feeling!  She got me...

Funny story is that last time I was in California with Tara, I had been looking all over for a pair of TOMS but absolutely could not find what I was looking for...so when I got back to Illinois, I texted her and told her that I had found an imitation called BOBS.  We've laughed about those silly BOBS, so not only do I adore these shoes, but they mean so much to me because she remembered that I'd wanted a pair...

But not only did she remember I wanted TOMS, she remembered that I REALLY wanted a sparkly pair!  These are absolutely PERFECT.  I've wanted sparkly not only because they're sooo cute but because they're perfect for shooting weddings...they feel like tennis shoes but are dressy with the sparkles.  The only thing is that I love them so much I don't know if I want to ruin them by running around in them at a wedding...oh the delightful dilemma! :)   

When I got to my room, there was this adorable little goodie bag she'd made welcoming me to California! Ah, yes...it's good to be here.

I had told Tara at one point that if I ever get married, I'm going to make the wedding party a "pocket schedule" that they can carry with them all weekend...so just for me, inside my goodie bag was a pocket schedule.  Tara, you don't miss a beat.