This past weekend Ali and Hannah came to Boston! Hannah came down from Maine, which is really just a quick bus ride away, but Ali was here alllllllll the way from New Zealand! That’s far. Like a whole day away far. 16 hours on a plane far. Seriously, it’s far. Since she’s originally from the States, and she adores New England, this is where she’ll get married in the spring. The wedding will be in Manchester by the Sea, which is quintessential New England and I cannot wait. It’s sure to be a lovely time. Plus, her fiance is a Kiwi, and a really awesome one at that.

We spent Saturday afternoon on Newbury Street shopping for bridesmaid dresses for Ali’s upcoming nuptials.

It was chilly this weekend, and a snowstorm was in our future, but we braved the cold fairly well (with hot Starbucks in our grips) and hopped around to a few dress shops looking for something for us maids to wear on the big day. We saw a lot of dresses. Some got yes, and lots got NO. Now the choice is for Ali to make and to let us know which one is the winner, the one she loves the most for her day.

We stopped by the Public Garden in between appointments to snag a Boston picture to remember the weekend and afterwards we stopped at Stephanie’s on Newbury for lunch. A classic spot that has never failed me in all my years. Their french fries are thin and crunchy and their warm goat cheese salad is like a dream inside my mouth. SO delicious.

Ali, Hannah, and I met in college. We spent our senior year living in a brick house off campus with four other fabulous ladies, dancing, eating, and drinking beer. We played beruit, went to the bars, and did even more dancing in between. It was awesome. Yeah, college!

This is Ali, the bride-to-be:

Ali and Hannah went abroad senior year to New Zealand. To make a very long story short, Ali fell in love with her host brother, Shannon. True life, stuff like that really happens to people. She came back to the US for senior year of college, and then decided to pack her bags and move over to the land of the Kiwis. Yep, she moved across the world for love. It’s pretty romantic, don’t you think?

I do.

And so now, six years later, we’re getting ready for the wedding of the year. Thanks for hanging out this weekend, ladies! As always, it was wonderful. ♥