Here Comes The Bridal Shower

This past week has been a whirlwind. My house was abuzz with activity all week and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

On Thursday, Sarah, Mary, and I ran some errands and did some shopping. I found a dress thankfully. They ordered cakes while I waited in the car. The bridesmaids all found shoes and they all like them and they were even on sale! Whoo hoo! I tried my very best to find shoes for both the wedding and the shower, but size 11s are becoming harder and harder to find. We all also got a minor case of food poisoning, but it had passed before the day was done. Note to self. Nothing good ever comes of Panda Express.

On Friday, we did some more shoe shopping. You know it isn't going to end well when not one, but two stores tell you the biggest size they carry is a 10. One thing that did come out of it was the appreciation of what my mom dealt with with me on a regular basis. Man do I owe her. Onward to Saturday!

Dawn and family arrived on the scene and we met up at the Saturday Market after the bridesmaid dress fitting. Only a few minor alterations will need to be made thank goodness. The groomsmen, now numbering three rather than four, placed their orders for tuxes so that is one more thing taken care of wedding wise. At some point we made a pointless drive to Junction City to check into the motel everyone was staying at, but there was nobody there. Fun stuff. Food was being prepped and Sarah and I were sent on a mission for long toothpicks and a jicama. The jicama was easy, but we went to two different craft stores before we finally found some at le Target. I also found shoes there! I guess my rant about my feet being discriminated against was unnecessary. Oh well. Upon returning home, we were tasked with making gallons of iced tea, lemonade, and strawberry lemonade and let me tell you…that is a sticky situation.

Sunday (shower day) dawned bright and early. Dad served up a delicious breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, lox, and doughnuts. If my dress didn't fit before, it really doesn't fit now. The rest of the food was prepared and it looked incredible! Thank you Dawn, Mary, Angie, and Barbara. And a thousand other people. Thank you, Cameron, for the crepes. At some point, everybody left to decorate and I was instructed to not arrive until 3 pm. Too bad I don't take directions well and got there early at 2:45. It was gorgeous. Great people, great food, great games. I still think our toilet paper wedding dress was a winner. Cameron (the bride/model) asked for something skimpy and that is (inadvertently) what he got. Time flew by and it was time to clean up and head back to the house where dad had prepared yet another delicious feast. I still have a mouth blister from the spinach artichoke dip, but it was worth it. The evening concluded with some more games. Who knew "fishnet stockings", "boom boom room", and "tuck it in your tux" were names of nail polishes and not adult films. Needless to say, I did not win that game.

Monday morning and everyone was on their way home. Luckily they will be back in a few short weeks, so I don't have to miss them for too long.

The weekend was incredible, but there was something missing. I have incredible women in my life who are my moms and always have been and I am eternally grateful for them and what they do for me, especially this shower, but I was really missing my mom. I'm sure she would have gotten a kick out of some of the answers to "who knows the bride best" and she would have found Mary's interpretation of Jack Sparrow as hobo boat man to be quite hilarious. I know that my getting married young was not her first choice, but I know she would have loved to have helped plan that shower and been there with me. At least we got to honor her in some ways. We used paper straws, not plastic. We gave away packets of sunflower seeds as favors. We reused mason jars as glasses and there wasn't a paper plate in sight. I hope she is proud. And even though I know it wasn't her first choice, I think it worked out for the best. She got to at least come to my engagement party (we used the same plates at the shower so that counts for something right?) and she got to help me pick out my wedding dress. I just wish she could be here for the rest of the journey. I miss her everyday.

Until next time,

Karina