Disclaimer – There is a lot of photos. I just love these photos of Alice and I couldn’t choose which ones to use. There are not many of Holly because she literally slept and fed all day long…
When I pregnant with my second daughter, Andy’s cousin announced their wedding date. They asked Andy to be an usher and my little Alice to be a flower girl. I was beyond excited for Alice, she was going to look adorable in her dress, plus she was going to get to do something that I never had and so longed to do.
Then I realised the date was ten days after my due date, my thoughts quickly turned to…
I could still be pregnant and how far away was it from the hospital
I could be in hospital giving birth on the day and miss the wedding
Holly would only be little if she had arrived, how could I possibly go to a wedding with a ten day old baby…I mean what would I wear!
I knew one thing for sure, there was no way that Alice would miss out, I started to make plans. I was also convinced that Holly would arrive early, just like her sister did…but I got that bit wrong!
I started to look for dresses that I would be able to breastfeed in and that would also cover up my post pregnancy bump. This was a challenge, as I couldn’t actually try anything on because I was still pregnant. So, I made a note of a few options and decided that this would have to be a last minute purchase. The worst kind for someone that likes to be organised.
My parents offered to take Alice to the wedding if I was in labour and then she could stay with her grandparents that were attending the wedding. I would just have to live with looking at photos of my little girl as a flower girl…I really hoped this was not a plan we would have to use.
And, if I was still pregnant then I would take along my hospital bag and just hope that I didn’t go into labour while we were there.
Fast forward to the day my little Holly arrived and it was ten days before the wedding. I was so excited that I would be able to enjoy watching Alice be a flower girl.
But instead of relaxing during those first few days at home with my newborn, during feed times I was on the internet looking for a dress for me to wear and of course I suddenly realised that Holly needed an outfit too!
I found a gorgeous outfit for Holly to wear, but really struggled to find a dress for me that I was comfortable in, could breast feed in and was suitable for a wedding. In my despair my husband said ‘You have loads of dresses in your wardrobe, surely one of them would do the trick’…how little men know!
Well, this time it turned out that he did know best (but we won’t tell him), in my desperation I thought I would just have a quick look in my wardrobe and there it was the dress that I wore to my cousins wedding. It was perfect, it skimmed over my stomach, I could breastfeed in it and it was suitable for a wedding…panic over.
I just needed to remember how to walk in heels again and my outfit was ready.
Planning the day was always going be interesting, Alice had only just turned two and needed her mummy to be with her and I was breastfeeding Holly on demand. This was my first real insight to being a mummy to two.
The day arrived and Alice was very excited, we had her dress and shoes already to go and she couldn’t wait to put them on. We packed our hundreds of bags and set off in the hope that Alice would have a nap on the way even though it was earlier than her usual nap time. Luck was on our side and Alice feel asleep fifteen minutes into the journey. When we arrived we headed for a back room that the bride, had said we could use to get the girls ready. Andy came with me and between us we got our girls ready for the wedding.
Seeing Alice in her flower girl dress, was everything I had built it up to be, she looked adorable and getting us here, was totally worth it.
Andy then left with Holly and I stayed with Alice, as at this point the other flower girl had arrived and not far behind was the bride, her bridesmaids, mum and dad. Suddenly the room was very full with lots of excited people and Alice just stood there taking it all in.
Then there was a knock at the door and it was Andy with Holly, she needed a feed. I thought at least if I feed her now, we should get through the service before she is due another one.
It was then time for the service to start, Andy took Holly and luckily she went to sleep in her pram and we left her with Andy’s parents, so Andy could go and do his usher duties and I could walk round the back with Alice.
I was a bit nervous about how Alice was going to be when it came to walking down the aisle, ideally holding the other flower girls hand, who she had only just met. But, I couldn’t have been prouder of my little girl, she took her hand and walked down the aisle…yes, I cried!
I fetched Holly from her pram and found a seat where I could see my little Alice sat with her daddy in the front row. Then Alice spotted me and wanted to sit with mummy, but that was fine she quietly crept round. It was all going well, until Alice accidentally knocked Holly on the head and Holly started screaming…a sign of things to come.
It was then time for us all to head outside for drinks and nibbles and I love these pictures that were captured…
At the sit down meal we were on a table with the three bridesmaid and their husbands, two of them had a child and they couldn’t believe that I was there ten days after giving birth. They just couldn’t imagine doing it, I told them you do things differently the second time around. Plus, there was no way I was going to miss seeing Alice as a flower girl.
During the meal, Holly wanted a feed and I took myself off to a lounge room where the two photographers were sat having their lunch and one of them was a dad and couldn’t believe Holly was only ten days old…this was a theme throughout the day.
After having a lovely day, we left the wedding after the first dance, we were all pretty exhausted by this point. We said our goodbyes and got in the car for the drive home. I was so proud of my little family, Alice had been a brilliant flower girl and you wouldn’t have known Holly was there, she was so good and content.
Looking back I sometimes can’t believe that I went with a ten day old baby, but that is what being a mummy is all about. I didn’t really want to wear anything else but loose comfortable clothes and flat shoes for the first few weeks after giving birth, or make an effort doing my hair and make up and getting everyone picture perfect.
But, I am so glad that I did because not only did we get to see two special people get married, something that we didn’t want to miss. Our little Alice got to be a flower girl and I would do it all again for her to have that moment…
