A Bridal Shower

I had been planning my sister's bridal shower for what seemed like months, and two weeks ago, the day had finally come!

My sister (being the outgoing and lovable person she is) invited 74 people to her shower. SEVENTY-FOUR! Granted, several of those people were aunts and cousins who live out of state and we knew wouldn't be able to attend....but holy crap, that's a lot!

I designed the invites myself using the Printshop Deluxe software that my parents have. Staples printed all of them (I printed 80) for an unbeatable price of $50 (which included a box of 100 envelopes). FYI--you can save 10% on all prints if you sign up for their rewards card (not a credit or store card, just rewards).

Aside from the blurred words (the lighting is doing that...), this is what they looked like!

We had the shower in my small town's community center which is full of Lyons Club photos, 40-year-old microwaves, and lovely wood paneled walls. It definitely was not easy to make this place look shower-esque, but somehow we managed to turn it around!

This is a glimpse of what it looked like before...

This is a glimpse of the after--we covered all of the ugly wall hangings with white paper and other decor, moved the random microwaves, added some tule, and wa-la!

I made a date night jar (thank you, pinterest) and as people arrived they were invited to fill out date ideas for Abby and Dave.

We had a mimosa bar with orange, cranberry, blueberry/pomegranate, and pineapple juices (and champagne, of course) with sliced oranges, pineapple, and strawberries to add for garnish.

 

The food was prepared by my mom and Auntie Rita. I wish I had taken more pictures of the food--it all looked and tasted so good.

Once everyone was settled, the first thing I did was ask everyone to introduce themselves, where they were from, how they knew Abby, and who their "groom" was...

I had taped an envelope that said "Who has the groom?" under everyone's chair. Whoever had Abby's groom--Dave--won a door prize. All of the other grooms were ridiculous men--(Chuck Norris, Homer Simpson, Keith Morrison, etc.). My grandma ended up with the prize!

                                                   That's ^ the groom! (with the gray background)

We played three games...

The Price is Right was the first. I bought 15 random items (applesauce, bug spray, tampons, etc.) from Wal-Mart and everyone guessed how much I paid for each item. My little cousin, Lindsey, was my helper and walked around all the tables to show the guests the items.

I made this on Photo Shop too!

Lindsey showing everyone the items

The second game was 20 Questions. Everyone was given a mustache on a stick and lips on a stick (which I spent an entire day cutting out--but it was worth it as they turned out so cute!). I had a list of questions (for example, "who has had more speeding tickets?" "who was born on a Friday?" and "whose childhood nickname was 'Sexpot'?") and all of the guests held up the mustache if they thought the answer was Dave, the lips if they thought the answer was Abby, or both when necessary.

...in case you were wondering, it was my sister who was called "sexpot" as a kid ("sex" for short). Of all people, my MOM gave her that nickname (and still calls her that today). Weird family, I know.

   

Our family friend and neighbor, Amy

One of Abby's bridesmaids, Lindsay, and her mom

The last game we played was Pass the Presents. The tables were set up in a circle and I randomly handed out five or six presents. My Aunt Donna read a story and each time the word "left" or "right" was said, the presents were passed in that direction. The people that had the presents at the end of the story got to keep them.

Then, my sister opened all of her presents--she is so blessed, that beautiful bride! Everyone gave her such great gifts!

These are the gifts Abby had BEFORE any of her 30 guests arrived. A lot of her family from out of state sent gifts through the mail. So sweet!

My baby second-cousins insisted on "helping" with the presents and constantly reorganized them around my sister. ...it was so precious :) Eventually my Auntie Rita (their grandma) asked them not to touch the presents. So, the two of them sat down in the middle of all the tables and Kennedy put her arm around her little brother to try and console him. Of course, the "aww"'s came from everyone and people pulled out their cameras...which led to Quinn sitting straight up and saying "Cheese!" over and over. It was the cutest thing anyone had ever seen.

After all the presents were opened, one more prize was given to the guest who had collected the most pins (using paper-rock-scissors as the tie breaker) during the shower.

And that was the end! It was such a great day!

I forgot to take a picture of this at the shower....but we had a basket full of cookies/"cake" and this sign sitting out as people made their way out.

The prize table! The bags at the back were for the babies/kids and had either a coloring book and crayons or a stuffed animal in them (depending on the kid's age). The adult prizes were various things purchased from my very favorite kitchen store--"hot shit" and "bull shit" spices, black bean salsa, measuring spoons, dish towels, mixing spoons, spatulas, etc. All of which were quirky/random/fun/cute/couldn't-pass-up kind of gifts.

Current count down--41 days! I can't wait!!