9-18-10

All Graham heard over the phone was a chorus of screaming girls. "Is everything ok?" he asked. He figured either the groom had an accidental pre-ceremony sighting of the bride or that we'd encountered a very large spider.

It took me a few seconds before I remembered that I was on the phone. "Umm, I gotta go. We just got in a car accident." With that, I hung up, not realizing at the time that lines like that can leave the person on the other end in a panic. This could not really be happening. We were already 45 minutes behind schedule.

That's pretty much how Saturday began. Lani and I were thrilled to be standing beside our cousin Erin as co-matrons of honor along with our cousin Shannon, the maid of honor and Deanna and Grace the bridesmaid and flower girl. With veil in place, the bride was driving the girls from our hair appointment to the church to get dressed for pictures. The wedding was to start in less than an hour. We were cutting it pretty close but were only about 2 minutes from the church. Graham called to check in.

Screaming.

CRASH!!!

Much chaos. Girls crying. Someone yelling to get the car's license plate number. Another saying "Call 911!" Someone else ordering us not to move. It's sort of a blur. Everyone was on their cell phones within seconds, calling someone.

I called 911 and told the dispatcher that we'd been t-boned en route to a wedding. The catch: WE were the bridal party and the wedding was to start in 45 minutes. He asked if anyone was hurt and only then did it occur to me that Lani, 9 months pregnant and due on Wednesday, had been in the car. Oh dear! She said she was feeling fine and that the baby was moving. She and I had been in the very back of the van and hadn't seen the accident coming like the rest and so were more relaxed on impact. Still, the paramedics came to check out the bride, who was experiencing some neck and shoulder pain, and Lani.

Lani shared later that the first thing the paramedics said when they arrived was "Now who's the pregnant one?" I guess the rest of us girls should have been really offended since, um.....it was a little obvious. Thankfully, we were a bit distracted.

The man who hit us had to be in his mid 80s. He apparently just did not see us. When he saw that the driver of our van was wearing a veil, he buried his head in his hands. He couldn't find his license when the police came to get his information. Poor guys! I can't even imagine how awful it must feel to hit an entire bridal party on the day of the wedding...

It just so happened that some relatives were also en route to the church, a few minutes behind us. They did not witness the accident but they saw the van and thought "That looks like Erin!" And then, "Wait a second! Why is Shannon standing out in the middle of the road!?" They pulled over and were able to shuttle us in shifts back to the church while the police took over at the scene of the accident.

The show must go on. And it did, only 45 minutes behind schedule. Everyone was a bit shaken up but all physically ok, as far as I know. Nerves were running high but we made it through the ceremony without a hitch.

Lani had been threatening to give birth all week but we many things that we needed her to work around: 2 bridal showers, a bachelorette party, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, the wedding etc. So at the reception, she decided to dance it up with Isla as her duties had been completed.

We bid the bride and groom farewell and they drove off into wedded bliss. Not 15 minutes later, Lani's water broke. YESSSSS! This is how we'd all hoped it would happen but it seemed so unlikely (like most Hollywood chick flicks). Here she is post outfit change. :)

Contractions started a short while later and after a mere 4 hours of labor, I became an aunt to Gideon Michael Hertzog! He weighed in at 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19 inches long.

Lani did manage to make a pit stop at home between reception and hospital for a quick shower to wash away her wedding hairstyle (which she didn't care for). But she managed to keep her wedding makeup and French manicured nails in tact. She received lots of compliements about being the most glamorous mom to ever deliver there. :)
We'll never know what did it. Car accident? Wedding? Dancing? Lifting? Nature? Who knows? But wow! All this is in about 12 hours time. Hollywood, need a movie plot?