Shelby and Sam

At the end of May, Melany and I were lucky enough to attend Shelby and Sam's wedding. Shelby is one of the first people I met through blogging, and is now one of my closest friends. I remember when she first mentioned Sam on her blog, back when they were just friends, and now they're married!

During the first Blogger Family meet-up in Seattle, we were able to meet Sam and talk for a few minutes. He was on his way back from Alaska with his parents at the time, and the layover just happened to be in Seattle, so the eight of us sat on the floor of the airport (talking, laughing, bursting into song) and waited for him to arrive. Shelby was beside herself with excitement–pacing back and forth, jumping every time her phone buzzed. You would think that it had been weeks since they had seen each other, maybe months, but when asked how long it had been, she said: "Maybe, like, eight days."

The ceremony was at Sam's grandparents' house in Rudy, Arkansas at 9:30 in the morning, and it was the most chill wedding I have ever or will ever attend. When we arrived, we went inside to see Shelby (who was stunning, poison ivy and all). Sam was outside, talking with the few other guests, and eventually we walked down to the spot they'd chosen, followed by Benny.

After everyone had taken their seats, Shelby yelled, "START THE MUSIC!" from down the aisle. She picked something from Sam's teeth before her brother (who officiated) started speaking. Their vows included Harry Potter references and at one point, when they were repeating them to each other, they completely messed up and Shelby laughed and said, "It's okay. Let's try it again." Afterwards, we made our way back to the house (which was BEAUTIFUL, by the way) for breakfast and mimosas. It was just so very them. 

The reception was that evening at Foolish Things Coffee Co., a lovely little coffee shop in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. Everyone mingled, eating cupcakes and sipping coffee–both of which were divine. (Later, I leaned over to Melany and quietly/jokingly said, "Maybe we could steal a box of those cupcakes." Then Shelby's brother appeared with one of the boxes and said, "You have to take these now." Which is how I ended up with, like, thirty cupcakes, but I'm not complaining.) I explained to many confused people how I came to know Shelby and Sam, and was introduced to an English lady also named Maggie.

After the reception, Shelby and Sam decided to come eat dinner with us, and I have honestly never felt more loved. I'm a sap, but whatever. I mean, who is like, "No, we want to hang out with you guys!" on their wedding night? They paid for dinner too, and when I tried to protest Shelby just said, "I'M THE BRIDE."

It was such a fun weekend, and I'm so happy that I was able to go. I'm so happy that I started blogging, and met all these wonderful people and get to celebrate their wonderful lives with them.

-Maggie