10 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 3

First off, I can't start this post without recognizing the horrible tragedy that happened in Paris on Friday evening. It is heartbreaking to hear of terrorist activity in any part of the world but I was particularly saddened to hear that Paris was attacked as a piece of my heart resides in that beautiful and precious city.  My thoughts and prayers are with all of those impacted by the acts of hatred.

Paris, je t'aime

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Today I am thankful that I was able to attend and be a part of my friend Alli's wedding.

I met Alli through blogging 5+ years ago.  I can't remember exactly when we met, but we quickly bonded over shared interests and the shared experience of feeling like we were perpetually single.  We had many conversations about how frustrating dating could be and we'd encourage each other by saying that some day we'd meet up and go to dinner with our amazing husbands by our sides and we would look back on those tearful times of frustration and loneliness and say to each other - "but look - it all turned out!"

Alli met her soul mate in September of 2013 and they were married on November 8th. I met Chris when I went to New York to help celebrate her birthday in December of 2013. The funny thing is that when I booked my ticket for that trip in August, I said - "just wait - you are going to have someone special in your life to celebrate your birthday with and are going to wish I wasn't coming!"  Of course Alli was still glad that I came for her birthday weekend as I got to meet Chris.  I immediately sensed that these two had something special and knew that wedding bells were in their future.

Alli and her parents, walking down the aisle

I am so glad that I was able to attend Alli's wedding.  There's nothing like seeing one of your closest friends marrying someone who truly loves and appreciates them.  Also, this wedding was the first Jewish wedding I have attended and I thought that the Jewish ceremony was so very beautiful.  I love that the parents stand with the couple under the huppah and I loved the explanation of the meaning and significance of the huppah.

Aside from attending the wedding, I had the honor of giving a blessing, which I wrote, during the ceremony.  This is the blessing I wrote:

We offer up a prayer of thanksgiving to God for orchestrating the chance meeting that brought Allison and Chris together.  We ask God to watch over these two as they begin their 

married lives together. 

Allison and Chris, may your hands be forever joined in friendship and your hearts be forever joined in love. May the times of laughter outweigh the times of sadness. May your love for each other grow each day, and may you always remember how very blessed you are to have found each other.

With the newly married couple!  Isn't Allison stunning?

While our time with Allison was limited since she had a room to work, I was glad that she finally got to meet Phil after hearing about my special guy for years!

My handsome date and I

Alli's wedding also gave me the opportunity to reconnect with some of my favorite people.  I hadn't seen Becky and Mandy in over two years so we were well overdo for a reunion!  It was wonderful to spend time with them and introduce Phil to them as well!  Our little table had so much fun!  And you can't tell in the photo below, but Becky, Mandy and I are all wore shades of blue!  So funny that we coordinated like that!

URL turned IRL friends!

What are you thankful for today?