In the '90s Julia Roberts starred in a movie, My Best Friend's Wedding. The audience was heart-broken as Julia's best friend (a handsome young man) fell in love with & married someone else. My best friend's wedding was no heart-break . . . it was a beautiful union between two amazing people.
For you to fully understand my friendship with Janessa, I'll have to start with a little history.
Janessa first visited Kansas City when we were in fourth grade. Her father was possibly taking a possition at the church, so she & her siblings were visiting the school. When she walked in I pounced on her, asked her to help me with my class project, & determined that she would be my friend. Her family moved to Kansas City that summer & we have been friends, best friends, ever since. We were virtually inseperable for the seven years that her family lived in Kansas City, with one exception: cheerleading. At the end of our junior year of high school, Mr. Van announced that the family would be moving to West Virginia. I was heart-broken, kinda like Julia Roberts' character, but for a different reason (after all, I wasn't hoping to marry my best friend). Due to pre-arranged plans, Janessa & her brother, Peter, stayed with my family the last two weeks of the summer before moving. Though we did next to nothing, those are the days that stick out most in my mind.
I never thought that the next time I visited her home it would be for my best friend's wedding.
Mom, Crys, & I left for West Virginia early Wednesday morning for an exciting weekend fully focused on my best friend's wedding. Wednesday night I spent the night with Janessa & some of her friends from West Virginia. We had fun watching movies, snacking, & playing games. My favorite part of the evening was not when there was lots of noise & people, but when we went to bed. Janessa & I stayed in a room together. Though I was tired from a long day (12 hours) of driving, nothing would have replaced being able to just talk with my best friend. Nothing in the world beats being able to talk with someone face-to-face. Thursday Janessa & I set out on a "short" walk to the "near-by" convienience store for some slushies. The walk was a little further than JV thought, so when some of the girls drove by we did not hesitate to catch a ride to get our slushies & then headed to the mall to meet Aron & the guys. Mom & Crys met me at the mall & we hung out until it was time to head to the park for dress rehersal. Pastor Wiebe kept rehersal short & sweet so we could get to the delicious meal that Aron's parents prepared. As the party dissolved, some of the girls at rehersal begged to go out. The guys bummed out (claim of no money), so the girls went to an arcade. Once again it was great to spend time with Janessa & some of her friends, but we were all focused on one thing: my best friend's wedding.
Friday was a day with nothing scheduled . . . at first. Late Thursday night, Janessa, Aron, & Dan Moore, the photographer, decided to take the bride & groom pictures Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning. Being both the maid-of-honor & Janessa's best friend, I volunteered to tag along & help wherever needed. So, Mom & I arrived at the Van's for breakfest. While Mom & Mrs. Van ran errands (like picking up the wedding gown) I did JV's hair & helped her primp for pictures. Before long the moms, the dress, the photographer, the sister, & the fiance' were all at the house getting ready for pictures. Before the beautiful bride came out into the livingroom, I called Aron into the room so he could see his bride in her wedding dress for the first time. I will never forget the look on his face . . . nor could I wait to get out of that room so they could have a minute alone. Before long we were driving around Huntington watching the photographer capture beautiful pictures of the bride & groom. No matter what was going on around them, their soul focus was each other. It was beautiful. I don't think it really sank in until that afternoon that the next day was my best friend's wedding.
After all the fun of driving from spot to spot, helping the bride in & out of the car, carrying the train & bouquet, & giving up my flip-flops so the bride could walk through the mud, Mom, Crys, & I went to the mall & Applebee's to enjoy a little time alone. Later that evening, Janessa came over & I did her nails, enjoying one last talk together as single friends. After she left, Mom, Crys, & I walked over to the church & helped the Van's set up the reception hall for the next afternoon. I went to bed at 1 a.m. excited about the next day: my best friend's wedding.
I woke up bright & early on Saturday excited about everything. Mom helped me finish my hair before we all headed over to the church to meet the rest of the bridal party as they primped & prepared for pictures. Though I had already seen Janessa in her wedding dress, helping her get ready for the wedding took my breath away . . . & not just mine, Aron's too. Though they had spent the previous day together in wedding garb, when Aron saw Janessa on Saturday morning, his eyes sparkled. The Lord truly blessed my best friend! The ceremony was short & sweet with only one major hitch: the music being played at the wrong time (Viva la Vida during the sand ceremony). It was simply beautiful. I did not need Pastor Wiebe's encouragement to keep my eyes only on the bride; seeing her as a bride captivated all of my attention. The rest of the day seemed to fly by. The best part of the day, for me, wasn't part of the ceremony or being with everyone at the reception, but for 5 minutes at the end of the reception I was able to talk with Janessa alone.
May 30, 2009 was a wonderful beginning to, what I believe, a wonderful life. To you, it may not have been anything special, but for me, it was my best friend's wedding.
I had already been considering trimming my hair for the summer. My hair, even in a ponytail, layed on the back of my neck making me very hot as I worked. When Grandma Gina announced that she had cancer, I had Mom measure my hair. If I was going to cut off 6", why not just cut off 12" & donate it to women who have lost their hair because of their battle with cancer? Though my grandmother has never lost a hair on her head in her 40+ years of battling with cancer, I decided that I would donate mine for her. 
