My mother and sister hosted me a beautiful bridal shower this past weekend at the Peninsula in Chicago.  It was a reflection of the hostesses: classy, fashionable and personal.

My niece Lola addressed all the placecards herself with her A+ penmanship.

My sister and mother elected to use candles over flowers, keeping the mood elegant and clean.

Flower candles and glass stands from Dom itp, a Chicago-based unique gift store

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Oh man…where did the time go?!  Sorry for my absence…wedding planning and life just sorta took over!!  But alas…I am back and full of fun stuff to tell you about!

First up…MY SHOWER!!

I went back home to Nebraska over President’s Day weekend, and somewhere in the jammed packed schedule I had was my bridal shower!  Two of my fabulous aunts threw the shower for me and it was perfect!

Aunt J on the left…me in the middle..and Aunt K on the right!

We ate Pizza and cake, played some non-cheesy games, and I opened gifts with a time-of-day theme.

What is a time-of-day theme you ask??  Well each guest was sent a specific time with their invite for which their gift should correspond…brilliant no?  I think it made the whole gift-opening process less awkward for me and a little more fun for my guests.  I opened the gifts in the order of the day…and it was fun to see what all the ladies in my life came up with (and what they thought I might be doing! haha).

For instance…my Aunt C decided that around 8pm I would probably like to drink wine (yep!), watch a movie (yep!), and eat popcorn (double yep!)!

My little niece (to my right) was quite the helper when it came to opening gifts!

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I won’t be having a traditional bridal shower, instead we’ve requested to have a shower for the both of us together…I think it’s called a Jack and Jill shower? I’m not one to play all the shower games and I haven’t felt comfortable opening up multiple presents in front of lots of people since I was in elementary school. Having Mr. there will be a lot of fun and will help take some of the attention away from just me…and also, is it bad that I don’t want to be in a room with all his family by myself yet?

If I were to actually have a traditional bridal shower, I think this is the best idea EVER. Sarah of Blossom and Branch was featured on 100 Layer Cake for the Bodega Flowers class she teaches in the city. Sarah said, ″I thought, why not show people how to gather some bunches from the local bodega and create something charming in their home? This class teaches women how to shop for, clean/prepare and arrange flowers, using their own container.”

How AMAZING would a flower class be for any sort of shower or party! Pick up some fresh flowers from Whole Foods (maybe even ask guests to bring their favorite container or supply some for them), and hire a florist to teach an arranging class. Who wouldn’t like to know more about flower arranging?

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I am in total shock that my wedding is just about a month away – where did the time go? September was a total blur – starting with a last minute trip to Paris (I know, pretty amazing), followed closely by my bachelorette and Homecoming at Davidson. Then I had two fabulous showers in Brian’s hometown, and then a work trip to Chicago! And do you think I managed to get any wedding planning in during that time? No. I got back to my real life and had a melt down because of everything there is still left to do…

Well, fortunately I have amazing friends (one who drove down from Columbus, OH!) who helped me regain my sanity and excitement for all that is coming up.  We spent this past weekend getting the invitations ready to go out (they are amazing, even if they are a tidbit late going out…) and making plans for getting all the things left to do done.  I can’t believe it’s so close!

I have lots of upcoming projects and planning to tell you about, but before I dive into that I thought I would share some pictures from my adventures this past month. Enjoy!

First a few Paris ones…

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I am surrounded by some amazingly generous women who have showered me with love and affection (and lots of sugar!) at two recent bridal showers.  The first, hosted by my bridesmaids, was the last weekend in July and the second, hosted by my co-workers, was just last week.  Though I’m not big on being the center of attention (despite the fact that I’m an only child AND a Leo), I had a blast at both showers.

The first was a weekend full of fun events, but the actual “shower” was held at Williams Sonoma, which has recently started hosting private cooking parties for those that are registered there (amazing, I know!).  We got to watch as a professional chef cooked up an amazing meal and then we got to dig in (and boy was it good!).  Here are some pictures from the event (oh, they also take pictures for you so all the attendees can enjoy the party and not worry about documenting!):

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I put together a little thank you for each of my bridal shower hostesses. They wouldn’t let me help with anything at all, so I went shopping.

Each bag had Philosophy Red Velvet Cake shower gel, pink pomegranate soap, and two fancy chocolate bars. I wrote a note on paper left over from printing wedding invitations: Thank you for the sweet shower… Enjoy these sweets with your next shower!

I know, not original. And cheesy. But like I’m always saying while shamelessly copying, the classics are the classics for a reason. Also, I think I’m addicted to lining envelopes. Is there a support group for this?

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DJ’s mom hosted a bridal shower for me on a rainy Saturday, with help from my maid of honor and one bridesmaid.

Friends came! Quite a lot of them. 23, I think – but that number may have included me. The thing nobody warned me about (although I kind of knew) was that the generosity would be totally overwhelming.

DJ’s mom, K, and M worked really hard. Party planning is a real job. They tied forks and napkins in turquoise tulle, and even matched M&M’s to the color scheme. DJ’s mom must have spent hours shopping and cooking, and M was everywhere. Carrying gifts, gathering plates and glasses, offering to refill punch cups – I don’t think she sat down for hours.

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 I absolutely LOVE when bridal showers or bachelorette parties have a project, craft or activity.  This love does not extend to games, because, lets face it-bridal shower games are pretty horrific for the most part.  

A dear friend of mine has started a business called Wine and Designs.  I went to her house for lunch last week, and she had painted a glass for me with my married initials on it, and I LOVED it!  I think it’s such a cute thing to do with your bridesmaids or just some close friends.  Here are some ideas I came up with in a google image search:

I found it’s important to keep it simple if you’re not super artistic like me.  I love this one:

How cute would it be to make these for each of your girls, and have it look like them!?

Ok, so here’s my attempt.  The lighting is terrible, so the colors look wrong, but it’s kinda cute.  The letters are SO hard to do-so when I do another one, I’m probably going to stay away from writing anything…

Have any of you done this before?  It seems to me like the grown up version of paint your own pottery places.  Plus, you can do them at your house-and as soon as you’re finished painting you just bake them in the oven.  They are even dishwasher safe!  You can find all of the supplies here!

Fellow brides to be out there, have you noticed that along with all the various wedding-related festivities comes the pressure to buy new clothes? Lots and lots of new clothes?

{Death Wears Diamond Jewellery}

Let’s see, you’ve got the engagement party, the engagement pictures, at least one bridal shower, a bachelorette party, a rehearsal dinner, and for all these you need to look fabulous. Because you are the bride. And all eyes will be on you (oh, and that fellow who’s also involved with the wedding, I believe they call him the groom.).

Now a few new outfits over the course of say, nine months, would usually be no problem for me. Par for the course, actually. But lately I’ve been acting a little, well, cheap.

I’ll admit it! I’m cheap. And the wedding has only exacerbated that quality of mine. As I find myself thinking about bridesmaids gifts and parents gifts and gifts for the groom and all the other little things I’m dolling out the cash for these days, the thought of spending more money on all these new outfits is nerve wracking for me.

For our lovely engagement pictures, yes. That dress is new. So are the shoes. But I felt like I had to get new stuff to achieve the style I was going for for the e-session. But for other things, I’m having trouble coming to terms with spending more money.

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Looking for a unique bridal shower theme? Well, I have one for you … Around the Clock! Last Saturday my beautiful bridesmaids hosted a fabulous shower for me, using the same theme from my mother’s shower 30 years ago. Every detail was so carefully chosen and perfectly fit my personality. I feel so lucky and so loved!

Each invitation included an assigned time (many craft paper clocks were lovingly cut and assembled), and each guest was asked to bring a gift for Nick and I to use during that time. I’ll share some of the creative gift ideas in a bit, but first … the details.

The venue was a lakeside pavilion at Kain County Park, in Jacobus, PA. Red and orange streamers hung (by my dad) around the circumference of the pavilion with bunches of red, orange, and white balloons. It was such a peaceful spot surrounded by trees with the lake just a few yards away. I love the outdoors, and my sister/Maid of Honor Laura couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate setting.

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In early May, my bridesmaids hosted an incredible bridal shower for me. While I’ve been getting increasingly more excited for the wedding in recent months, excitement really started to mount with the shower the girls hosted for me and all of my family and friends. They put so much effort into making it a wonderful day and it truly was just that.

I will admit that it was a bit awkward for me to be banished from helping with shower preparations. I am very much hands on when it comes to social occasions and being on board to help with baking, cooking and logistics, but this time I wasn’t allowed to know anything aside from where and when to be. Upon arriving a few minutes before the other guests, the first thing I noticed were huge trays of cupcakes and tons of white roses. Two of my favorite things in life? Cupcakes and white roses. I knew right then and there it was going to be a great day.

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This post is not about the dress, or the bridesmaids dresses … It’s about my attire for the other wedding festivities.

While Nick and the guys are in the Outer Banks this weekend getting into bachelor party trouble (!!), I’ll be shopping with my mother and sister.

The bridal shower location and itinerary is a surprise, but my sister said something like one of these would be appropriate:

{credit J.Crew}

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