I want to remember when Zianne was a flower girl for the first time. She wore the world’s most pouffy dress. Thank you, Etsy. When we first ordered these dresses for the girls (Z and her little cousin, Paige), we thought it was hilarious (and much cheaper than the options at Nordstrom and David’s Bridal, I might add). Then weeks later, twenty pounds of tulle showed up from Hong Kong, and we realized getting a two year-old and a not-quite-one-year-old to wear said-dresses might be rather challenging. There were instant tears the first time Z put on her dress, so we had her practice wearing it repeatedly in the weeks leading up to the wedding. We called it her princess dress and gave her so much encouragement. We cheered and clapped when she put it on. We had her watch YouTube videos to learn how to be a flower girl. We got to the point where she would wear the dress for 3-5 minutes before ripping it off in anger. Then we packed up our luggage and flew up to Washington for the wedding, while I prayed Z would somehow surrender to wearing the dress for pictures and the ceremony – an hour or two at least.
In addition to fervent prayer, I came up with some strategies. I packed Zianne’s beloved ballet leotard, tights, and tutu. I figured she could wear her “ballerina outfit” at the reception instead of the dress, and if she wore the tights under the tulle during the ceremony, perhaps they would prevent her from feeling itchy. I ended up putting on her tights and leotard once we got the venue. Then I could slip her dress over them and take it off right away when we were just waiting around in between photos or before the ceremony.
Overall, it went well. Z half-smiled for a few pictures and raced the ring bearers down the aisle with glee. Once she made it to the front, she stood by Aunt KK for a few moments before running over to me on the side and playing in the lobby for the rest of the ceremony. Supposedly, the wedding homily was great, but I didn’t hear one word of it.
For the rest of the wedding, Zianne wore her tutu and worked people over at the dessert table. She would go up to unsuspecting adults and hold out her bag, asking for candy as if she hadn’t eaten any yet. I got her a treat first. Within a few minutes, I glanced over and saw her grandma giving her a treat. Then she got more comfortable and starting asking other friends and relatives to fill up her goody bag. Within twenty minutes, we caught her asking a complete stranger to fill up her bag once again. The girl knows how to work a crowd.
Next up… my sister’s wedding in July where both Z and T will be flower girls. Start praying for us now!
*Most of these pics are from my iPhone. The professional (good) ones are by Athena Grace.
