27 Reasons I Love Lily Jade - GIVEAWAY

As I mentioned here, I did a lot of dancing at weddings this year - both actual dancing because our friends know how to throw parties and then the dance between being a loving, attentive bridesmaid and being one of two people that the kids want to be with because there is so much commotion, so little napping time and so many new people holding them and hey! why did my mom just walk by carrying flowers and not me??? That dance. Do you know that dance? 

It's a pretty good dance to get to do. I think it's kind of like my road trip mentality - sometimes your hair is being pulled either by a hairdresser or a baby or both, but that means that you have a dear loved one getting married and you have a little one which are both huge gifts in life. And! the fact that your friend or family member invited your children to the weddings is an honor and shows how much they love you and your family and children at weddings in general. So, it is a pretty good dance to get to do.

We are blessed with many, many people who were so generous and helped us, whether it be taking Ryan to get french fries or holding a sleeping Conor while I did my hair or taking over curling someone's hair so I could nurse.  I also had a little help from Lily Jade who designs diaper bags that are roomy enough for bridesmaid essentials and mom essentials. 

I already loved my Madeline before I used it as a bridesmaid, but I came to appreciate it even more after seeing how much I could store in it while not sticking out as the token mom ... because pumping definitely doesn't make me the token mom of the group, right? ;) Really though, I should probably get over it because motherhood is beautiful, period, but I do enjoy at least attempting to look young and my age even though I have two children grabbing at my chiffon bridesmaid dress. It's not an everyday or even an every year occurrence that I get my hair done and nails so it was nice that the high quality material also didn't dress down the bridesmaid look. Lily Jade's designs are sleek and sophisticated; any woman at any age, mother or not, could wear a Lily Jade designer diaper bag.

My Madeline all packed and ready to go for my brother's wedding.  

Bridesmaid with a baby reality.

Lily Jade was kind enough to send me a new bag - the Sarah Grace in Gold - that went perfectly with the Madewell dress my sister-in-law chose for the wedding day, and honestly, it goes well with every outfit that I own. I was a little nervous that it wouldn't be able to carry as much as I was used to since it looked smaller than the Madeline, so I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't have a problem packing what I needed for the day in there. I shouldn't have been though! With the washable and removable Baby Bag, the Sarah Grace has twelve pockets plus a removable convenience pouch for your phone and wallet. 

So here are 27 reasons I love the Lily Jade Sarah Grace as a bridesmaid with babies - you know, like the movie 27 Dresses? 

1) - 14) Easily carried my camera, scarf for nursing, wallet, phone, phone charger, diapers for Conor, diapers for Ryan, wipes, tissues, make-up, toy for Conor, airplane for Ryan, extra onesie for Conor, bobby pins (this really could have been 1-27 if I had taken a photo of everything I had in there)
15) Looked like it was for a special occasion like the other fancy clutches at the wedding
16) Could carry it on my shoulder
17) Could carry it across my body
18) People asked where I got my purse
19) Would have gone with whatever color dress the bride chose
20) 12 pockets made it easy to find bobby pins or whatever I needed in a quick pinch
21) A varied amount of pocket sizes so I didn't have to spend time jamming the wipes back in a too-small pocket
22) Babies love the shiny gold hardware - good distraction
23) Zipped so nothing fell out
24) The changing pad even made Conor feel fancy for the day
25) Easily wiped clean after wedding cake was smeared on it
26) Easily wiped clean after I spilled some of my Dirty Shirley on it (I know - very refined drinking tastes over here)
27) My date even complimented me on it.

I loved it. 

The bag doesn't come with a bed for a badly needed afternoon nap, but Ryan's Aunt Kaitlin patiently waited for him to finish his nap in the car. Our family is full of gems. 

Now, a month later, I still love it, and it looks as good as new! The gold material is very, very durable which is appreciated because it's often in harm's way when Ryan is wielding his latest sword/stick. 

I do want to note that I was thrilled to meet Landon and Meggan, the couple who started Lily Jade, at The Hundred Event. It was a true pleasure to meet such a loving, devoted, hard working and honest couple. 

And now for the best part - Lily Jade is giving away giving away a $75 gift card for use on their site to one lucky Cedars and Tiny Flowers reader! Just visit their site, then come back here and comment what you would use your gift card on! Which one would you pick? A canvas one? Metallic like the Sarah Grace? Did you see that it is on sale? Leather? This one is still on my wish list. I'm a sucker for anything camel and bags that I can wear on my back. There are also Baby Bags sold separately for $55. They are sold in medium and large in both red and khaki. There are other ways to enter via the Rafflecopter below, if you feel so inclined.

Oh and even if you are not a mother, Lily Jade bags are still the bag to have. Just read Sarah's post on how much she adores her Lily Jade Caroline in black as her purse as a teacher. 

If you'd like to read more about Lily Jade, visit Grace, Anna, Janssen, Merrick, and Audrey, . 

Which Lily-Jade designer diaper bag would you choose? And do you have any bridesmaid tips or funny stories?

Goooooooooood luck! I hope YOU win. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P.S. GO IRISH!