Weekend of wedding festivities

Family

Dan and I left NH around 3:30 am on Friday morning after only sleeping about three hours. I was excited to see my family and spend the day with them. My youngest sister, Jaimie, has grown SO MUCH since I've seen her last.

I spent the day with my mom, sisters, and Dan running my mom around to do last minute shopping for my bridal shower. It was nice just spending time with them, even it it was sitting in a car, or standing idly at the grocery store.

That evening, Dan and I took Jaimie out to go roller skating. Dan and I were the oldest people there by far, but we still had a blast. We laughed so hard, and no one fell the whole time. By the time we left, we were sweaty and out feet hurt. It made a great opportunity for ice cream. I indulged in peanut butter TastyKake.

Bridal Shower

My bridesmaids threw me a bridal shower early Saturday afternoon with the help of my mom. It was a little awkward for me at first. I felt like a dog on display. LOL! I didn't know what to do, and the entire room was watching me. I didn't want to eat for the same reason, but the food looked so good! They decorated the hall with red roses and polka dot and damask prints just like I like :) I'm so grateful for all the hard work my girls put into it. Things went great. I am very thankful for the many generous gifts I received. I couldn't wait to show Dan. (He was just as excited and thankful when we went through the gifts together on Sunday afternoon).

I socialized, opened tons of gifts, and even embarrassed myself playing a trivia game thanks to Dan's sneaky tactics.... jerk. Lol. Throughout the course of the shower, I wore a light up tiara, a sash, the crazy bow hat("business in the front, party in the back"), a bride t-shirt, and even a basket of fake flowers! I had a great time, and I can't thank everyone enough for their help putting it together and for the friends and family who attended.

Bachelorette Party

My girls did a fabulous job planning the party. I had such a blast! We went to Philly, stayed at a nice (and very welcoming) hotel. While we waited to enter the hotel, cars honked at me wearing my tiara and sash and some passersby congratulated me. The hotel front desk gave all my girls complimentary breakfast and shared in our excitement. When I got to the room, I discovered that the girls had decorated the door with hot pink caution tape (which caused some guests to woot as they passed by during our stay). I was so embarrassed! Lol. The room was FILLED with decorations. It was awesome. They gave me lots of inappropriate gifts, many items that I had to use or wear throughout the evening. We partied a little, went in the hot tub, got ready, and headed out to the nightclub. We danced the night away, even on the catwalk suspended above the crowd! I completed most of the tasks on my scavenger hunt that made me and others around me laugh so hard. We stayed until the club closed, and socialized with other club goers on our walk back to the hotel.

We played some games when we got back to the room. I don't remember much else. We eventually crashed around 6 am only to wake around 7:30 thanks to Dani and her grapes!!! LOL! The next morning we cleaned up, enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the restaurant, and headed back to NJ, tired and hung over, but still in good spirits. I had such a good time! I really love my girls. Thank you guys for a great time. I really appreciate all your efforts. It was just what I wanted and so much more. Love you guys! 

When I got back to NJ on Sunday, I picked up Dan, and headed to my Uncle's house to wish my family off. It was sad seeing them go, but I wasn't as upset as usual because I know I'll see them again in less than two months. Can't wait! I miss them so much. I told Dan we're going to have to give them grand-babies so they come back to NJ for good ;)

Dan and I headed back to his mom's, checked out our gifts together, and accidentally fell asleep at 5 pm. We then proceeded to sleep through the entire night... lol.  

Wedding Errands 

On Monday, we went to the bakery to order our wedding cake. We had a few complications with the bakery since our contract was really under the reception venue's account. There was debate over what was covered and why a PLAIN cake is considered "fancy" and thus more expensive. Thankfully, Dan called our event coordinator, and she remedied the situation. We finally decided on square a three layer, vanilla cake with butter cream icing with one layer of rasperry filling. Yum. It will be finished smooth. Then, our venue's pastry chef is going to apply black satin ribbon and pearling. The rest of the decorations are already covered.

Then, we went to the church's florist to pick out the arrangements for the urns at the alter during the ceremony. It was hard deciding on something without pictures to choose from, but with Dan's help, we chose to go with red red roses surrounded by white flowers.

Next, we headed to our primary florist to give them the black urn I want to use and pay our remaining deposit. I can't express enough how much I really like the company we're working with. I honestly believe that Classic Floral Designs in Cinnaminson is the best in the area. The women there are wonderful.

Finally, we went to lunch with Dan's father and stepmother. We talked for HOURS. We ended up getting out of there far behind schedule, but we had a good time talking. I definetely feel like things have changed for the better with that side of the family since the wedding planning process began.

We got back to his mom's, and Dan packed the car with as many gifts as would fit in the car. Thanks to his strategic packing, we only had to leave behind two small empty laundry baskets that we'll take back next time. We got back to NH around 1:30 and quietly unpacked the car. Now, we can't wait to find places for all the new gifts!