This is a story of LOVE, with a little bit of frustration. The "love" part is easy. Chiara and I have been joined at the hip since we started college together 11 years ago. Life by her side is constantly fun, hilarious, and meaningful. I'm so honored to be officiating her wedding next month! And, with Katy and Chiara's future sister-in-law Lindsay, to throw her an awesome bachelorette party last weekend.
The frustration? My camera. I don't know what's happening to it – maybe it's just getting older. (It's probably time for a new one. You might see an extra sponsored post or two in the next few months while I try to save up.) Anyway, all of a sudden I had the space for five pictures, and only five. I'm so glad to have these five photos – and these women in my life.
So it'll be up to the writing! Let me paint a picture for you...
Katy and Kristie and I drove down to Manhattan on Saturday afternoon. We checked into our hotel and started to decorate. Looking at the pictures online ahead of time, we saw most of the rooms were already decorated in shades of red, so decided to go with gold for our party. How much do you love these sparkly curtains Katy found?! They doubled as perfect photo backdrops.
This was one of my favorite projects! Katy sourced black post-its and gold Sharpies, and we listed all the reasons we love Chiara, sticking them on the bathroom mirror in the shape of a heart (a version of #46 on this list). We left more post-its and markers in the bathroom so people could add to the heart during the party.
A few other hotel room details: For favors, I made jewelry dishes with each woman's name using this tutorial. I also made gemstone drink stirrers for our cocktails. Katy found the most perfect crown for Chiara from this shop on Etsy. And I wore a dress from Rent the Runway that was so much fun!
The five of us had a drink in the hotel room before heading across the street to Cantina, where our group grew to 15 and we had the most amazingly delicious Mexican food (and tequila). After dinner, we went back to the hotel room for some pre-gaming (and a drinking game or two), and then back again to Cantina for a quiet clubbing dance party on the rooftop! This was so. much. fun. Everyone has their own pair of headphones and can manually switch between three different channels being live DJed. Your headphones change color depending on what channel you're listening to. It was awesome. I honestly didn't know what to expect – either it would be great, or we'd all have a ridiculous experience together. But I would go back! It was cool.
Ugh these cuties. Chiara's bridal shower was the next day, and it was so nice to spend the weekend celebrating her and Mike. I can't wait for their wedding in June!
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