After unexpectedly losing my husband in May, I think it’s more than fair to say I have had many hard days. I’ve also had many “just okay” days and, despite it all, I’ve had a few good days as well.

One of the hardest days along the way came when I was trying to organize our storage rooms and came across my perfectly preserved wedding dress. So what did I do? I ripped it open, tried it on (it actually zipped, yippee!) and then I sat in it and cried for the rest of the day.

I was the happiest girl on the planet the last time I wore that dress. Now, I found myself more depressed than ever while wearing it—being faced with the reality of no longer having the husband that I married when I wore it.

When the tears finally quit, I got to thinking about how crazy I would look to someone if they showed up knocking at my door and I was sitting in my living room in my wedding dress on a Monday afternoon, drinking a Busch light. I mean, classy right?

Then I remembered the iconic Friends episode where Monica, Rachel and Phoebe sat around in their dresses and drank beers and just felt beautiful for the day. That’s when I messaged the photographer that we had for our wedding. I was thrilled when she was just as excited about the idea as I was! She told me to invite some friends, and if no one showed up we could still take a few fun ones with just me in my dress.

When eight girls showed up in their wedding gowns last night to just be silly and drink beers and eat pizza with me, I think I was the happiest bride on the planet again! We shared wedding memories, compared stains on our dresses, and laughed so hard we cried. It was so much fun to let loose and just be silly for no reason at all. And we all got to wear our expensive dresses and feel like princesses again—BONUS!

I will say I definitely have hard days, but last night was by far the happiest one I’ve had in months. I’m reminded again of just how blessed I truly am.

Words from Katie Swantek, professional photos by Miranda Helmuth Photography