FULLER WALLETS, BELLIES & HEARTS: MY BRIDAL SHOWER(S)

I actually started this post a while back, but of course little ole lazy me decided to just let it sit there collecting dust instead of actually finishing it. Well, it's now a few months later, but here I am, dusting off the cobwebs and trying to fill in the missing pieces. 

To get these wedding posts going, I figured it was best to start with the pre-wedding celebrations! While I wish I had of posted these right after they actually happened, I thought it was best to do so now before getting right to the main and good parts...the actual wedding and the honeymoon. I know what I'm like and if I don't do it now, the wedding post will (eventually) go up and these other ones will never make an appearance. And while they may not be the main events that's happened recently, they sure still mean an awful lot to me.




I remember after Christmas thinking about all of the fun wedding things that would lay ahead in the next five or six months. I love having fun things to look forward to (I mean who doesn't!!), so my excitement just thinking about it all was unlike no other. That's the thing about weddings, it's not just about that one day. While obviously that day is huge and probably one of the most significant and meaningful events that will happen in your life, there's a whole lot more excitement that comes along with that day too.

And, for me, it had absolutely nothing to do with being the centre of attention or the focus of the celebrations, but rather it had everything to do with us being surrounded by family and friends and celebrating together.

The first official pre-wedding celebration was my bridal shower in my home town the beginning of April. Bridal showers in my small community usually consist of inviting everyone, and not only from my community, but from many other ones too!! While it wasn't the intimate type of shower that I would normally go for, Todd's mom loves planning these types of showers and she really wanted to throw one for me, so I was in no way going to turn it down!




Believe it or not, I was actually pretty nervous that morning!! Did I mention that I don't work well when I feel like all eyes are on me?  I remember thinking that if I was nervous now, I was going to be in for a real treat in a few months time! Let's just say that a little pill known as Ativan was probably going to be on speed dial the day of our wedding!

By clinging to my closest family and friends, it turned out be a great afternoon! I went to a lot of these showers with my mom growing up, and it was a pretty surreal feeling sitting down in the same place and thinking about how I was now here for my own. Between that feeling and getting to see some familiar faces I hadn't seen in a while (not to mention the great help towards the wedding expenses), it was the perfect kick start for the rest of the celebrations that were about to come.

The second festivity was a Jack N' Jill shower for me and Todd. I mentioned the idea to my mom in the new year, and with the help of my bridesmaids, they planned the perfect celebration for the both of us at our house the end of May. It's funny because people kept saying they had no idea what a Jack N' Jill shower was or what's supposed to be involved, and my response to that was always "me neither"!! I just knew that a casual little party that involved both me and Todd and our couple friends sounded pretty darn fun. And fun it was!




Besides all of the chatting and eating and drinking, the highlight of the day was definitely playing the newlywed game. I could have played this all. day. long! It was so fun comparing what me and Todd had written for answers and seeing what the other said. I learned that Todd's favourite body part of mine is my boobs, he likes blondes better than brunettes (only because he can spell blonde and not brunette...I almost died later when he told me that), and that the animal my mom most resembles is a sloth (and I did die when we both held up our sheets with the same animal written...sorry mom!!).

Another fun thing that the girls planned was they asked everyone to write a little memory of either myself or Todd (or both) and to leave the note anonymous so we could guess who had written it. It was definitely a great way to add some memories and laughter all in one!!


Two of my bridesmaids! The other two live far, far away from me! :(


Ahhh...I'm already getting a little sad thinking back on all of the fun that we had and thinking about how thankful we were, and still are, for everything that everyone did for us!! That reminds me - my bridesmaids gave me the best wedding gifts, one which was a spa gift certificate. I thought about using it before the wedding (because hello stress!), but I'm soooo thankful I didn't because a spa day in the near future sounds like heaven right about now.

I seriously can not thank our parents and our bridal party enough! I'm tellin' you, I have never felt more loved in all of my life....and the bridal shower(s) was just the beginning of the huge appreciation we'd feel through it all!

Until next time.

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