Monumental Love: Panicking and Primping

To accurately express what went down that Friday morning, I should first explain how things were supposed to go.  First, I was going to treat my bridesmaids to mani-pedis and brunch.  After that, we would go check into the hotel downtown and have a fun-filled day in the French Quarter and meet up with some other friends in from out of town.  In a moment of extremely wishful thinking the week before, I even bought a lovely strapless maxi dress for that day to avoid tan lines because it was sure to be sunny and perfect!  

Let's all say it together now: "Things did not go as planned."  

As soon as I woke up, I knew things were off.  I felt like crud.  Not really a hangover, but just one of those times when some Advil, Gatorade, and a half hour more of sleep would have worked wonders. There was no time for that, though, since we had a schedule to keep.  I powered through the basic tasks of getting ready kind of slowly, but sometime after getting out of the shower, and before the rest of the girls arrived, I learned what an anxiety attack feels like.

My heart was racing, I couldn't get enough air in my lungs, and I was shaking like crazy.  I sat down while everyone else arrived and kept crying and trying to take deep breaths and explaining "I don't understand why...I mean there are things to do, but I know everything is okay, everything is fine, I know this."  But obviously somewhere deep down in my brain, everything was combining to cause the freak out.

It wasn't even that worried about the wedding day (although I needed to finish packing for the weekend and get the "cocktail hour" music on an ipod), it was more about getting through that Friday.  I was mad at myself for staying out late, causing the yucky feelings that morning.  I was stressed about the schedule of getting from nails to brunch to downtown, and mostly I was worried about being a bad hostess to the friends in from out of town.  They came all the way to Nola to celebrate, I would be terrible person if I bailed on plans to go hang out!  Oh, and of course the unrelenting rain was just pouring down and making all of my wedding weekend plans soggy and sad.

Fortunately, all of my girls were so helpful - we ended up sending a few of the girls on to the salon first to get the appointment started, and a few stayed with the crazy, hyperventilating bride so she could compose herself for a few more minutes.

So what a way to kick off the wedding weekend, right?  Fortunately, heading off to a nail salon is not the worst place in the world when you need to relax and destress.

Getting our toes done.  We had fun passing around the nail wheels helping each other choose colors.

It didn't get better right away, but the warm water and the massaging chair (and having MOH Curls call the restaurant to push back our appointment a bit) helped a lot.  Even though I wasn't super talkative that morning because of how I felt, I really did enjoy having all my girls together for the first time ever getting pampered.

Everyone got gel nails - some girls had never tried them before and were amazed at how fast they dried!

Oh, fun fact: this nail salon is where I got my nails done before the proposal trip and the engagement photo trip.  They do good work, for sure!

After nails were done, we headed on to a much-needed brunch.  I chose Atchafalaya because it was one of the only places around that served brunch on a Friday, but I had never been there before.  And it was downright incredible.  We started with some mimosas and coffee, and life began to look a lot better.    

Brunch at Atchafalaya - my whole gang is FINALLY together!  Even if I was a hot mess.

The food was fantastic and comforting, our waiter was super sweet, and the whole restaurant was cute and cozy.  At brunch, I was finally able to calm down, enjoy myself, talk to my favorite ladies in the world, and we actually were laughing about what happened that morning.

What I ate:Eggs Louisianne (poached eggs, Creole hollandaise sauce, and a crab cake with spicy potatoes)/Photo from Yelp.

Shrimp and cream cheese grits. /Photo from Yelp.

Eggs Rockefeller - bacon, poached eggs, fried oysters, and creamed spinach./Photo from Yelp

By the time we left with full bellies, everyone was feeling much better, even though the sky had opened up to drop even more rain on us.  That was almost a blessing at that point, though.  Since it was too rainy to enjoy our French Quarter Fun Day, we went back to the house and all took an amazing nap.  We were still able to meet up with some of the out-of-towners after checking into the hotel, where we enjoyed some beignets and beverages before the Friday night welcome party!

As bad as the morning was, I'm so glad that it happened the day before the wedding, and not the day of.  I'm not stranger to stress and trying to do too much at once, but apparently when it came down to that weekend, I just gave into the pressure, even though I knew everything would turn out fine.  I wouldn't wish such an episode on anyone, but if it does happen to you, know that you are not alone! 

Previously on the Pyramid Wedding:

• Kickoff and teaser trailer
• Thursday night Rehearsal
• Rehearsal Dinner