Hello! For the past few days I've been chronicling our wedding experience in anticipation of our first wedding anniversary this Sunday, October 20th! As I mentioned in my last post, today you'll get the details on our bridal party as well as get the details, pictures & lowdown on my bridal shower! Here goes nothin'!
Our Bridal Party:
Once we had the dress, the venue & all the major things laid out, we decided it was time to officially involve the members of our bridal party. We've got a good number of siblings between the 2 of us so we knew it was all or nothing as far as having them in the wedding. Since I REALLY wanted my sister to be my matron of honor we knew that it was completely worth it to have a large bridal party. Honestly, it was the greatest decision we made about the wedding. Having some of our favorite people by our side while we pledged our life to each other made the whole experience that much more incredible. I am so glad they all agreed to be a part of our wedding!
As far as our honor attendants, it was fairly simple to select them. I knew I wanted my sister Lisa & my best friend Jeri to be my maids of honor. I was so confused about whether I could have more than one though. Is that possible? Then I wised up, realized this was MY wedding & decided to do what I pleased. Best decision ever. Both of these women have been by my side with unwavering love & support through so many of life's ups & downs. Having them next to me on my wedding day meant the absolute world to me. I can't even begin to explain it. I was able to give them designation by making my (married) sister my Matron of Honor & my (unmarried) best friend my Maid of Honor. They both were amazing. They both gave speeches at the wedding & they both were fantastic during the process. I'm so grateful for both of them. Lisa, my amazing type A sister was the one person who got me through wedding planning. I swear I wouldn't have been able to do it without her. Jeri keeps me sane the majority of the time with her level-headed advice & her ability to suck the seriousness out of any situation. She kept me laughing. The perfect MOH duo!
The best man was easy to select. Andrew has one brother & they're close. They're a lot of fun together & Bobby was an excellent sidekick to my goofy husband throughout the process. My brother who is only 2 years younger than me, got the title of man of honor since he's a bit too tall and bulky to wear a dress. Haha.
We also had absolutely no doubt about who would be our flower girls or ringbearer. My nieces were SO excited to be able to dress up like princesses & my nephew was adorable in his little tuxedo!
My siblings made up a good chunk of the rest of the bridal party too -- My sisters Jenn & Andrea & my brothers Carter & Cameron were also in the wedding along with my friend Brittany & my nephew Tyler. Andrew's sister Ashleigh & her husband Rob were also in the wedding party & actually were matched up together which was sweet. :-) In case you're counting, it was a party of 12. A nice, big group of wonderful people. We are super blessed.
My Bridal Shower:
August 26th 2012 was the date of my bridal shower! After a few meetings at Applebee's & my house, the girls all decided on Sean Patrick's for the venue. Everything was perfect & the banquet facility was absolutely beautiful.
The morning of my shower I was up SUPER early. I was had a terrible time sleeping the night before because I was just SO excited! I slipped on the dress I'd spent months shopping for & styled my hair & did my make up. It's about a 15 minute drive to Sean Patrick's from my house.I sat in the parking lot for about 10 minutes trying to calm my nerves. I'd never had a day that was JUST about me on this level & I was so afraid that I'd make a fool of myself. I'm weird like that, I guess. Then I thought about how so many amazing women were coming to celebrate this day with me & I started to get misty-eyed. I decided to listen to "Eye of the Tiger" to get me refocused. Worked like a charm. I was ready!
Upon walking in though I wasn't quite as cool, calm & collected. My best friends/bridesmaids greeted me at the door & I just lost it. I was so overwhelmingly grateful for the work all my girls had put into this day. They led me inside & I couldn't believe how gorgeous everything was! The cake was perfect. The prizes were wrapped beautifully. & all of the girls looked flawless. It was better than I could have ever dreamed.
My sister had the guests write their best marriage advice on these cute, construction-paper-hearts. There were TONS of gems in there including "Always clean the lint out of the dryer." & "The best way to get over an argument is to end it with some 'bow-chika wow-wow' if you know what I mean." But there were some serious & sweet ones as well. "Never take a moment for granted. Marriage is a blessing. Even on the bad days." They're such a fantastic memento & I've read through them quite a few times since the shower. I actually have a few of my favorites taped up around the house & one on the fridge. :-)
Seeing my family & friends all in one room made it all so real. This was the first big event in our wedding experience & it all just hit me at once! We played a game where my sister asked me a bunch of questions that she'd already asked Andrew. I actually did pretty awesome. Haha. I received so many lovely, thoughtful gifts & I did a ridiculous amount of happy-crying. When Andrew walked in with flowers I couldn't keep the grin off my face. He was so cute & we were both so excited. It was just an incredible day for me & I could never forget it. My girls planned such an amazing shower. This includes not only my bridesmaids, but also my mother-in law, my stepmom & my mom.
Here's a few more shots from the day:
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| Posing with my flower girls! |
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| My beautiful sisters |
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| My best friend made this beautiful sign for my kitchen |
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| The groom arrives! |
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| Happy tears! |
So there you have it, friends! The details of my bridal shower! Lots of happy tears, beautiful gifts & a whole lot of love! I feel so blessed to have the memories of that day. Check in tomorrow for the details of my bachlorette party & the rehearsal dinner! <3
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