Wedding Wednesday: My Texas Bridal Shower!!

I'm so behind in posting this, but better late than never!

After attending bridal shower after bridal shower, there was definitely a part of me that thought "Well I can't wait until it's me in that chair, surrounded by all of these fabulous people to celebrate me getting married!"  So once Brian and I were engaged and getting married became real, I had a little obstacle to face in regards to showers.  With Brian being from Massachusetts and me being from Texas, our people were spread all over the place, including my bridesmaids.  Knowing that I would never expect anyone to travel anywhere for a shower, considering they're already traveling for the wedding, I broached the topic of possibly having a shower in Texas and a shower in Boston, and everyone was completely on board (whew!).  So half of my girls planned one and the other have planned the other, and I just felt so lucky to get to celebrate with two different groups of my people twice!

Brian and I flew home late June for a whirlwind trip of lots of family, lots of food, and my Texas bridal shower!  It honestly could not have been any more perfect and still makes me teary thinking about all of the effort and planning that went in to that day.  The girls made sure that I had zero idea of the plans, aside from the location and who would be there.  Decorations, details... I didn't know a thing and I loved being surprised!

There was a very southern/Texan feeling, which was fabulous.  My mom brought my dad's cowboy boots and they filled them with hydrangea (one of my favorites) and had that on the gift table when you first walked in.  (And that would be a sneak peek of one of our engagement pictures in the bottom right of the picture!  Our photographer says our gallery should be ready next week!!)

Our family and friends were so beyond generous and gifted us with such wonderful things from our registries!  One of my oldest friends in the world, Carol, knows me through and through-- she showed up with a fantastic wine basket!  There were two bottles of Texas wine, a bottle tote that said "Keep Calm and Pour More Wine," a fun little sign that read "Wine improves with age; I improve with wine" which I promptly hung up once we were home... it was so cute.  And because we couldn't take the wine in our carry-on bags, we of course just HAD to open the bottles once we were back at my parents house and sorting through everything. 

Everyone of course knew that we would have to take our gifts back to Boston with us, so we received lots of gift cards to our stores, and several cards with the gift receipt for an item that had been shipped to our apartment!  So considerate and genius of everyone to consider the traveling when they chose what to bring to the shower.  

And because I know there are lots of y'all who have either planned or will be the bride-to-be at a shower where you'll have to travel back to your home with gifts, I have a suggestion for you.  We received a few items that were a bit too large/heavy to fly back home, so our solution was to return them to the store they were purchased from, take the gift card that we were given from the store, and repurchase the item once we were back in Boston.  It worked out perfectly, and since we registered at Macy's, Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn, it was easy enough to find a local store to make the swap.  

A gift that I want to remember specifically was from my mom's friend and coworker, Lisa.  Her daughter and only child, Lindsay, was killed in a horrifically tragic accident several years ago, and I had told my mom that I beyond understood if Lisa was unable to attend, if it would just be too hard to be at that kind of event.  Well, Lisa came and hugged me tight and it made my heart happy to see her there.  When I started opening gifts and came to hers, I unwrapped it and immediately noticed that the Pampered Chef cardboard box had "Lindsay" written in black marker on the top.  Inside was a cupcake pan, just like the one that I had registered for.  I started to tear up as Lisa explained that she had purchased the pan as a gift for Lindsay before the accident, and how when she was looking through my registry and came across the cupcake pan, it was as if Lindsay was telling her "You've got the perfect thing for that, Mom!"  By then we were all in tears and I love with all of my heart how I will think of her sweet girl every single time I use that pan.

The day just wouldn't have happened without these two wonderful ladies.  My mom and my Aunt Linda took over lots of the big planning after a little wedding party snafu early on, and they did such a good job with everything, from the food to the pictures to the centerpieces that they handmade (and I have to say, they are not known for their crafting skills).  They just kept saying that they wanted the day to be perfect for me, and IT WAS.  Love them so much! 

Me and my Keegan!  One of my amazing bridesmaids and one of the best friends a girl could possibly have.  And at the time she had a two month old at home-- she looked amazing!  She is that friend who I hadn't seen in FOREVER but as soon as I saw her and hugged her neck, it was like we were right back where we left off.  She added so many fun details to the shower, and gets major points for doing it all with a newborn! 

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Two of my oldest friends in the world, Carol (l) and Amanda, my maid of honor!  They have known me since my supremely awkward middle school days of wearing khaki shorts and my dark brown Doc Marten sandals (and I've always been this pale-- picture it and know the unfortunateness of that pairing) and love me anyways.  From high school graduation to college graduation, to weddings and grown up jobs, we've been together through it all, and it's the best feeling in the world to be around people who know YOU, not the pretend you who sometimes has to come out to play to socialize and be social when you really want to be home in yoga pants.  They're the friends who I shared my very first drink with (Smirnoff Ice for the win!) and who I have been more drunkity-drunk with than I care to remember but will hopefully never ever forget because THE LAUGHS.  The laughs that we've shared, drunk and sober, happy and sad, good times and bad, just make friendship what it is supposed to be.  So these two faces made me so very happy that day.

 

There were a million little details that I know are recorded in pictures somewhere,  I just have to track them down!  My cake was actually two small cakes, one with Texas drawn on and the other with Massachusetts, and a trail of hearts connecting the two, similar to our save the date!  The favors were mini succulents that my mom's best friend had individually potted for everyone, as well as pairs of red socks for the guests to take home :)  

I honestly couldn't have asked for a more perfect shower.  At the end I thanked everyone for coming and nearly fell out in tears as I talked about how they're my people, the ones who have known me from the very beginning, and who I feel so blessed and lucky to have in my life and so grateful for them to have welcomed Brian into the big circle of crazy as well.  It's a wonderful thing to be surrounded by those who are closest to you, and I just love that they're all a part of such a big next step in my life!