Zoe has wanted to get married pretty much ever since she figured out what a princess was (thank you, school friends). So imagine her DELIGHT when our friends Holly and Amanda asked her to be their FLOWER GIRL!

That was many months ago, during the planning phase. We had a little practice tossing pedals, several talks about how to be a flower girl and lots of general excitement. The day of the wedding (Sunday, May 31), Zoe was ecstatic. “Mommy, I get to see a REAL wedding!”

Flashback Wedding-related Moments with Zoe:

1. Zoe: I want to marry Daddy. Me: But he’s already married. [insert disappointment]
2. Zoe: I want to marry you, Holly. Holly: But I’m marrying Panda. (that’s what Zoe calls Amanda) Zoe: [insert tears] No one will marry me!
3. Zoe: I can’t wait to get married. Dad: When can you get married? Zoe: After I graduate from college. Dad: That’s right. (He’s been training her for 2 years on this one, and she has no idea what/when college is.)

REAL Wedding Moments with Zoe:

• Dad took her to the rehearsal where apparently, she was the only non-bride who walked as slowly as she was supposed to down the aisle (pretty cool, huh?)
• My mom took Zoe to have her hair styled before the wedding. I can’t talk about it. Let’s just say I had flashbacks of being the child of a mother with a cosmetology degree in a time when “teasing” was popular. Thankfully, that same mother “fixed” Zoe’s hair before the wedding (thanks, Mom).
• We arrived at the venue at 4 pm (wedding at 5:30) and hung out in the dressing room with the Holly and her bridesmaids. Zoe kept asking “When’s the wedding happening?” – I said, “This is IT! Exciting, huh?” ;)
• Zoe walked down the aisle like a champ, tossing flowers and smiling like a princess. I had been given permission to “pull her” from the front (she waffled between her choices of sit with Mommy or stand with Holly). She pretty much stood where she was supposed to, then started to fidget, then her finger went for her nose (yes, there’s a picture below to prove it)… so I called her over to me on the front row once Holly made it down the aisle. She tripped on the way, which thankfully happened behind Holly’s back before the fun started (I did not get a picture of that), but she got right back up and sat with me through the ceremony (which was very sweet – yes, Holly, I cried).

• At the reception, Zoe was fidgety and wound up. Imagine that? I’ve never realized how much waiting, sitting and more waiting there is in a wedding. It takes seeing life through the lens of a 4-year-old to highlight that… Overall she did pretty great (for a 4-year-old). She danced, she cheered, she enjoyed the Photo Booth – she had a toast (sparking apple juice – but I swear she thinks she was drinking the same champagne as the rest of us)

And that was Zoe’s first Flower Girl experience.

I’m here to tell you, she’s ready to do it again. So if you have any friends, family, coworkers who are in need of a lovely flower girl who can walk with poise down the aisle gracefully tossing flowers, just let us know. As long as she gets a dress out of the deal, she’s in.

CONGRATS, Holly and Panda!!