Before the Mane Event: Bridesmaid Brunch

We've already talked about Wednesday, and I caught you up on my last minute projects that I knocked out on Thursday.  As Rebecca Black will tell you, Friday is next!  I'm so sorry.  You're going to have that song stuck in your head all day now, aren't you?  I can sing "It's a Small World" if you'd like!  No?  Okay then.

Seriously though, Friday is when the fun truly began!  I kicked off the wedding weekend with a brunch in honor of my bridesmaids.  I had reserved a cozy private room in the back of the Flying Biscuit Cafe in Candler Park, one of my favorite neighborhoods in Atlanta.  Since all of the Flying Biscuit locations are so bright and colorful (and since all five of the Lioness Bmaids were Gators), I figured an orange and blue theme was a great way to make my girls feel special.

I brought a blue mason jar which I filled with orange roses...

Then, I gave each bridesmaid a "party favor" of alligator-shaped soaps, as well as orange and blue earrings.  (They also received their bridesmaid gifts of shoes and fascinators that day!)

I also printed individual menus on some leftover cardstock.  I had discussed this menu with the store manager previously, but after he offered to print it out in "something cute, like Comic Sans," I decided to make them myself.

For those of you who are just reading this post to find out about the food (that'd be me if I wasn't writing this), allow me to list the dishes so you don't have to zoom in on that picture.

Appetizers:

• Field Greens Salad & Soup
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Side of Love (cutest name ever!), which is a black bean cake topped with salsa verde and sour cream

Entrees:

• Egg-stravaganza, your basic breakfast: eggs, chicken sausage, turkey bacon, grits, and french toast topped with raspberry compote and creme anglaise
• Shrimp and Grits, topped with a roasted red pepper and tomato sauce
• Chicken and Black Bean Quesadilla
• Tofu & Tater Salad
• Biscuit Pot Pie, a twist on a Southern classic

Oh, and of course everything's served with a biscuit!

I decorated each place setting with a little monogrammed mug from Anthropologie, as well as a thank you note.

 They're making those faces because I decorated the thank you card envelopes with vintage Disney stickers.

They're making these faces because I included a photo with each thank you card.  Each photo was specific to that bridesmaid and taken early on in our friendship.  The most recent photo was taken in 2004.  Crying ensued.

As I inhaled my food (sorry, no time for a photo), I gazed around at the five women who surrounded me.  For years, these had consistently been some of the most important women in my life.  We became friends as kids, and our friendships grew as we grew.  I felt an incredible sense of pride towards the women they had become.

Then, the moment finally hit me: I was getting married that weekend.

When have you had one of those "reality" moments?  Pretty incredible, huh?