Thursday, October 16, 2014

Shower the People You Love With Love

I shouldn't wait until five days after an event to write about it, but this week has been full and I just didn't have it in me.  Let's begin with a blurry photo.


It's the only shot I have of the bride-to-be and her shower hostesses. Go me!

How 'bout we back up? Hubs and I drove down to Maryland last Friday and have mercy!, it was a long, aggravating ride. We sat on the NJ Turnpike for about an hour, literally inching our way forward. Hubs was in the passenger seat on a work phone call so I was driving, and for the record he is not the world's best passenger. Every few minutes he'd cover the phone and whisper shout-'You let four cars in!' Don't let four cars in!!'

Yeah, so the trip down was delightful. We met our friends at a restaurant near their house and we kind of wanted to kiss the ground when we got out of the car. The friends we met were our hosts for the weekend and the shower was held in their lovely home on the river. Their daughter got married almost two years ago, and we've all been friends since the girls were in the second grade. Sigh.

Daughter2, my friend E, and her daughter K, planned the party and everything was so sweet and special. Lots of little touches that made the day feel really personal starting with this-


The bride-to-be is sometimes called the candy queen, so her sister knew she wanted to have a candy bar on the day.


The bridesmaids are wearing a particular shade of green that doesn't exist in large quantities in the candy world, so we just went with all shades of green, and it was so pretty.


I'd ordered a banner that read Love is Sweet, along with treat bags that said the same, from two different Etsy shops and they were super cute.


I neglected to snap a photo of the candy bar set up with the bags at the end of the shower, but it was darling, and everyone took home a goody bag filled with green candy as their favor.


Daughter1 absolutely loves the brown Kraft paper look so our hostesses tried to incorporate some of that into the day. My friend wrapped up some boxes with Kraft paper and green ribbon to put in her foyer, and her son asked if he should move them into the family room to be opened. She told him they were empty, just there for decoration, and he did.not.get.it. Boys! Daughter1 loved the way it looked!

Then there was this adorable chalkboard sign-


This was on the bride-to-be's Pinterest board, so my friend copied it for the shower. She'd planned to hang it on the front door, but since it was a rainy Saturday it was hung in the foyer instead.


Several of the bridesmaids flew to DC for the weekend (three couldn't make the date), and honestly just having these friends in town for the weekend would have been enough for Daugther1. The shower was icing on the cake.

Sisters...sisters...never were there more devoted sisters...these girls y'all.


Both grandmas were able to be there too, and that is really, really special. It's not often both grandmothers are able to be in the same state at the same time. It's us, remember?


My girls are so well loved by these two wonderful women.
So am I.

And these aunts...


They went to a lot of trouble to be there on the day, and I don't say that lightly. Honestly my big sis made an 8 hour drive up and an 8 hour drive home in a two day time frame, which means she was literally on the road longer than she was in Maryland. She wanted so much to be part of our girl's day, and she was. That's what love looks like people.

Fun fact-brides still need Pyrex.


We played a couple of games because hello, do you know us?


Daughter2 organized a fun round of Wedding Scattegories and we also played Bingo while the bride opened her gifts. She got so many lovely things, which were the perfect combination of useful and beautiful.

We wrapped it up late afternoon, and the bride and her posse headed back to D.C. for some Bachelorette fun. We helped our host and hostess get the house back in order, then the four of us may or may not have dozed through a baseball game from the comfort of their couch. We're not old.


Sunday morning we woke to a heron on the boat house and the soft gentle beauty of fall on the river.


We managed to squeeze in a boat ride before getting back on the road headed north. I dropped hubs at the Newark Airport because he had a flight to California Sunday evening, and all I can say about that is better him than me. I was pooped.


So thankful for friends who love my girls. Who've watched them grow up and who watch them still. Who open their home and their heart and make a memory. For family who hold my girls close and who go the extra literal mile in loving them.


For sisters who share a heart connection. For daughters and laughter and all the love showered on a bride-to-be in this once in a lifetime season.

21 comments:

  1. Wow, what a sweet shower ... it must've made your mama's heart swell almost to bursting.

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  2. Is it weird (since I only know you through the computer?) that I was downright excited to see and hear all about this shower? lol I hope not because I was...And it all just looked soo wonderful. Where do I start? Well, first your daughter looked so beautiful. Sweet, glowing and so happy...just as bride should be. And then, the candy. My first thought when glancing at all the goodies was the bridesmaids must be wearing green, lol. I love the fun decorating ideas and things you can get on Etsy these days. I love that both her grandma's made it there...soo special. And that her friends flew in from all over. Her aunts traveled LONG roads to get there, and that you may or may not have dozed when it was all over. Perfect time to do the bachelorette fun too with all the girls already there. Yep, a memorable sweet time she'll remember always. She is obviously VERY loved.

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  3. Oh - don't you just love having the spouse as the "back seat driver" (in the passenger seat)! NO!! I go through it too. But, once there it sounds like the bridal shower was great fun - and your pictures are wonderful! My sis-in-law is throwing one for Lauren in January or Feb. Don't think she has set a date yet. I love your Etsy purchases! I keep hopping on Etsy & Pinterest and finding fun items for our upcoming wedding. Love these sites! We are off to a wedding tomorrow in Charleston and look forward to seeing it all with a mother-of-the-bride angle! If I see anything different & charming I'll let you know!!

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  4. There's something special about an at home shower hosted with love. Everything looks lovely and everyone looks happy :-)

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  5. It sure sounds like such a special time for your daughter and all her friends and family.

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  6. What a fun celebration! A candy bar....AWESOME!

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  7. Debbie's comment (above) says much of what I'm feeling, too. You have allowed us to share in these wonderful moments, so intimately, that it feels like (to me) we really know each other beyond the cloud. I am so excited for Shannon and am looking forward to the wedding (probably) as much as those grandmas and aunts who have known her all her life. Thanks for allowing us to peek in at all the excitement and happiness! You do have a beautiful family! Blessings abound!!

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  8. Such a fun time, you can tell everyone is having a ball. And wow the lake is beautiful!

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  9. What a wonderful celebration, and a true honor for your daughter that so many people made great sacrifices of mileage and time to make a special day that will linger long in her memory. I love the simple kraft paper and green paper look--and chuckled about the boys who 'don't get it." I can SO see that happening here with my guys--like, "What a waste of paper. You mean those boxes are empty?" Your bride-to-be girl looks more beautiful the closer she gets to being the Mrs. And oh, what a grand peaceful view to wake up to after the harried trip and hoopla. One more thing--I can relate all too well with the "you just let 4 people in--don't let anyone else in!" comment. It's why i do my darndest to get out of being at the wheel. Thanks for the post.

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  10. What a wonderful shower - and all those sweet personal touches are so thoughtful! Sounds like your daughter had a wonderful bachelorette weekend as well (I snuck over to her blog the other day!) What a fun and special time for all of you!!

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  11. Everything about this shower and the people involved is just beautiful. So sweet! So much love! So much fun! So much joy! I can only imagine how wonderful the wedding will be! I'm happy for you. It looks as though many people have invested in your family as I'm betting you have theirs as well.

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  12. EVERYONE in these pictures is beautiful! What a lovely shower and sweetness of spirit. The decorations are special. Thank you for inviting us to vicariously enjoy your daughter's bridal shower!

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  13. Oh man, can I relate to the 'side seat' driver!
    The shower looked like it was fabulous! I love the love is sweet theme. So, so special to have everyone there for her.
    I don't know how our guys keep the pace they keep. Makes me tired thinking about it.

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  14. Your daughters are so pretty! I love everything about this shower!

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  15. This was such a labor of love for your daughter. It looks like everything was just fun and lovely. And you've given me two new ear worms. :-)

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  16. Had to laugh about you letting four cars in.....who cares! My husband follows so close so that doesn't happen that I'm on pins and needles waiting for him to rear end someone! Looks like a fun party. These are the best of times......

    Love the candy bar with the treat bags, what a great idea.

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  17. What a fun entry and enjoyed sharing in this special shower. I think everything in the whole "wedding process" is so much fun and it appears that all of you are enjoying it. So wonderful that the extended family could share in the memory as well. Love sharing this special time with you!

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  18. I enjoyed reading your post about the bridal shower, and seeing the pictures. So cute! Special times, with special people!

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  19. Oh, I just KNEW it was going to be so 'sweet'! And it was! So glad everyone made it and big fun was had. I would have been pooped too. BTW, your hubby sounds like me in the car. LOL Thank you for sharing!

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