Wedding Party Part I

The Bridal Party!

(note to bridesmaids: it's your fault for leaving these pictures on facebook! haha!)

STATUS: Maid of Honor
Name: Ms. Brenna Michelle Zimmerman
Relation: Sister to the Bride
Age: 20

Story: Besides the obvious, Bren has been my very bestest friend since day one (although my parents may argue that one). I've known her for a little over 20 years, ever since she disrupted Christmas morning by coming home from the hospital in a Christmas stocking. I didn't mind giving up the attention, because she's just so cute and awesome. She's a kick-butt soccer player, and can (and will) take anyone who challenges her. She's also studying kineseology at Westmont, which is so over my head! I don't know how she does it. She's always good for a laugh, a Facebook bumper sticker, a smart comment about my clumsiness, a hug, some boy gossip (usually involving soccer teams) and a just being an awesome friend. She's quite the fashionista and is pretty darn good at putting up with my crazy requests, random stories, and ridiculous phone calls in the middle of the day. I wouldn't have any other person to stand by me on our special day!

STATUS: Bridesmaid
Name: Ms. Meredith Margaret Nilsen
Relation: Cousin of the Bride
Age: 21
Story: Although she may look like she parties a little too hard, Emmy just turned 21 on Thanksgiving (what's with my relatives being born around Christmas) and we ended up going to every 7-11 in the Santa Barbara area. A little sketchy? Yes. A whole lot of fun? HELL YES. Emmy is a wonderful friend who's always up for speaking out against any Republican, saving the environment, living the "Green" life, and eating gluten- and wheat-free products. By choice? No... which is why she can only smell fresh baked chocolate chip cookies when they come out of the oven. Yes, it's a little wierd... but can you blame her? Emmy is studying Art at Loyola Marymount University and will be studying abroad in Tuscany this summer, a fact of which I'm very jealous. She's an amazing artist, designer, photographer, and visionary, and I'm in awe of her work and talent! Emmy is also quite the fashion maven and a wonderful friend and cousin. I can't wait to have Emmy to celebrate with on our wedding day!

STATUS: Bridesmaid
Name: Ms. Heather Elizabeth McKenna
Relation: Cousin of the Bride
Age: 17

Story: The youngest of the bunch, Heather is a master at awkward faces, comments, gestures and just about everything else you can think of. I think the only reason my family keeps her around is for entertainment at family events... for example, one Thanksgiving she spent the whole dinner imitating SNL characters and various accents. Heather is a junior at Aptos High School, and used to be a dancer until an injury kept her out of it. Now, she's an amazing painter and photographer (seems to run in the family) and should audition for SNL or Second City as soon as possible. As you can surmise, Heather is always good for a laugh or joke, but is also an awesome friend and cousin who is wise beyond her years. I wouldn't have it any other way to have Heather in my bridal party!

STATUS: Bridesmaid
Name: Ms. Lana Selma Smith
Relation: Lifelong friend of the Bride
Age: 23
Story: Lana and I go back all the way to the 1st grade, when I met this skinny tall girl in Brownie Girl Scouts. I was fascinated, because she was the first person I knew that had lived in another state! We bonded over working towards girl scout patches and have been friends ever since. Lana is a master's student at USC (that's ok, I can forgive her) earning her MSW, and is out to save the world one family at a time. She's also a ridiculous amount of fun to go wine tasting with (or so I've heard) and has been calling me on a daily basis ever since we got engaged because she's just so darn excited. Now that she's a bridesmaid, she calls or g-chats with me approximately 2-3 times day. Excited much? It's just her wonderful, loving personality. I count Lana as a member of my family, because I just can't imagine my life without her. She's the first one to call for advice, a good talk, a cry, or a laugh, but she also has a crazy side (hence her on a camel?). I can't wait to have her by my side!

STATUS: Bridesmaid
Name: Ms. Shauna Graham
Relation: Lifelong friend of the Bride
Age: 23

Story: Shauna and I bonded over playing dogs in our junior high school theatre's production of Will Roger's Follies (and yes, we had tails and brown noses) and have been inseparable ever since. We followed each other all through junior high, high school, and college at UCLA, and have remained close throughout. She's an 07 grad from UCLA, where she also majored in Political Science (can you sense that we're very similar?) and now lives in San Francisco working in recruitment. Shauna is my GChat work buddy (don't tell our bosses!) and has been such a great friend and supporter over the last few years. She's been so great with wedding ideas so far! Maybe the real reason I chose her was because her sister got married at the Historical Museum also... but maybe (really) because she's just an awesome person and friend. I can't wait to have her with me on our wedding day!

UP NEXT: Bridal Party Episode #2: Ring Bearers and Flower Girls!