Want to know what inspired me to finish my wedding album? It wasn't the beautiful, half-filled, satin scrapbook sitting on my desk (for years), the disorganized shoebox of honeymoon/wedding photos, or the constant sticky note reminding me to "finish wedding album".
That very needed inspiration came from a group of wonderful friends! Our Meal Swap group decided to share photos and stories from the most important day a girl can have...her wedding day!
My husband, of nearly ten years, isn't the kind of guy who begs to browse through my scrapbooks, or comments on the glittery wedding bells decorating each page. Nope.
It's not that he doesn't think of our special day, or remember the details, it's just that my book of memories isn't something he requires. However, my mind works differently. I need to see the photos of my mom fixing that stubborn strand of hair escaping my veil, the rosy cheeked groomsmen sweating profusely in the three-digit heat, and the evening sun shining through stained glass windows. Those are details my mind won't let me see without the help of our photos.
Knowing the meal-swap night was approaching, I completed my wedding album and enjoyed reliving each moment of our wedding day as I pasted photos and wrote captions. I grew so ambitious, I actually completed our honeymoon album too! It was fun, and now I feel a little relieved. Almost like my mind can relax a little; I have photos and written stories now to help with forgotten details.
I can't tell you how happy it made me to see my husband smiling and laughing as he retold our wedding stories to our daughter as she browsed the pages of my completed album. Priceless.
The night of the mealswap brought that same wonderful feeling...seeing a roomful of friends laughing and smiling as we exchanged albums and told stories about our wedding day/honeymoon. I learned so much about the women sitting at the dining room table that night. Personally, it made me feel like I was a part of their wedding day; a behind-the-scenes guest at their special event. I now know stories about the groomsman's toast to the new couple, the special flower choices in the bride's bouquet, the small hometown church in which the ceremony took place, and the moment that started it all....the proposal.
Oh, and I can't end this post without mentioning the most delicious part of the evening...wedding reception food! An absolutely delicious wedding cake, complete with cake topper (thanks Susan!), a perfect wedding punch, nuts, and cream cheese mints in festive colors.
Reception treats are something we don't get a chance to enjoy very often, and definitely set the theme for our wedding-album meal swap!
The Meal Swap group celebrated one year of success! We decided to throw ourselves a party, and do something fancy and fun. We gathered with our LHWC small-group friends and had a tea party! 
"A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards." ~A.A. Milne 
