The day didn’t start out ideally for Myra. Her hair and make-up stylists never arrived, so she had to leave the hotel to drive to a salon to get herself ready. Such an unfortunate start to one of the most important events of her life could have easily ruined the rest of her day, but lucky for her, she had a great group of gals to lean on.

Myra’s bridesmaids took care of their own hair and make-up, even if it meant driving back home to grab their hair appliances. When the bride returned to the hotel to get dressed, they kept her calm, made her laugh and spent that entire morning making sure she was okay, which she was eventually of course. She had her best friends by her side, not to mention her mom and siblings. Though her dad couldn’t be there (he passed away some time ago), Myra kept him close; a photo of him placed inside a charm that hung from her bouquet.

After a faith-filled ceremony, the newlyweds spent their afternoon reception listening to heartfelt wishes and watching some entertaining performances courtesy of their relatives and friends. It was the perfect beginning to their new lives.

*Sidenote – while taking photos of Myra and her bridesmaids at the hotel, I stood 2-3 steps up on a staircase to shoot down at them, and when I was done, completely misstepped those extra steps and rolled my ankle. Incidentally, Myra and most of her bridesmaids were nurses and were so sweet and attentive when my clumsiness took the best of me. But I came prepared – an ace bandage in the car wrapped around my left ankle helped keep me steady for the rest of the day. As someone who’s had her fair share of lower extremity injuries, it just never hurts to be prepared.