Christina’s bridal weekend
Saturday was my snister’s big day!
Christina and her bridesmaids (L to R: Kelsey, Amber, Kim, Christina, Jacquie, Ashleigh)
Okay, not the big BIG day, but a big LITTLE day – her bridal shower and (first*) bachelorette party!
I didn’t think about it until Monday, but this was actually the first bachelorette party I’ve ever been to! Is that crazy… or not?! Either way, it was so much fun! But let’s start at the beginning!
We held the bridal shower and the bachelorette party on the same day to make it easier for people who had to travel (ha ha… that would be me!). The party was in a city hall close to our hometown. I planned the party with my mom, and came to learn how much I love to delegate tasks. Ha ha! I asked my mom to do the decorations (because I am so NOT crafty) and she did a spectacular job!
Mom also brought game prizes and put together some goodie bags.
Well, geesh, did I do anything?! Ha ha. Yes. I brought cookies from Maria’s Oven to help fill the goodie bags:
And organized all the food and games with help from the bridesmaids and my grandmas, and hosted the party!
Confession: I don’t enjoy cheesy shower games, so I tried to come up with some that were the least painful… for the attendees anyway (not for Christina, muah ha ha)! I was really pleased with how they turned out! We did a game each between eating (appetizers and main course) and presents/cake and I thought that went well. The games were:
1. Sharing a favorite memory with the bride – I had everyone write a favorite memory with Christina, without their name on it. Then when I had them all, I passed them out and people had to figure out whose memory they got, then read it and introduce that person and memory to the group. I know, it sounds painful, but it was a fun way to get everyone to know one another. I thought it was fun.
2. Draw the bride a dream wedding dress (Mom’s idea) – Wow. This turned out to be so much fun. I didn’t realize I was sitting with a bunch of artists! Everyone came up with amazing designs for Christina!
3. The (almost) Newlywed Game – I sent Christina’s fiancé, Will, a list of fifteen questions and he answered them via video! So we’d ask Christina the question, then watch the video to see what Will’s response was. Some of the questions were: “What is Wills favorite movie?” “What is Will’s most annoying habit?” “What is Will’s favorite thing about Christina?” For every question Christina got wrong, we made her chew another piece of gum. Muah ha ha! She did really well and it was so fun to watch!
4. How Well Do You Know the Bride Quiz (from Christina) – Christina had these tear-out sheets with a fun questionnaire about her and Will. I learned that she thinks her first kiss was to a guy named Robert. Ha ha. And that she doesn’t have a favorite perfume or band!
After the party we cleaned up, packed up, and headed to Des Moines for a painting at Pinot’s Palette and hotel slumber party! I have to give a shout out to Erin at Pinot’s Palette. She was helpful and responded quickly to emails. She made setting up the painting party easy and stress-free! And I thought it was super cool that Christina got to choose which painting we would all do from a huge list. She chose (via bridesmaid vote) “Tree of Life.”
None of painting party attendees had ever done one of these BYOB(&food) painting classes before! So it was fun for me to see everyone be excited about it, and especially to see how their paintings all turned out!
I had made a previous deal with my mom that we would trade paintings at the end of the night since I am a horrible artist and she is not. So we made jokes with each other (as we had back-to-back easels) during class about “Oh man, you should see how your painting looks now!” Hee hee. But! I ended up liking mine and keeping it!
Someone said my yellow spots looked like hashtags which got my mom to ask what a hashtag was. Apparently, Mom was at a work meeting where hashtags were referenced and everyone laughed and she missed the joke! Now she is in the know.
After the painting party we went to our hotel. I found a hotel suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a full kitchen and living room! It was perfecto!
And I was super excited we ended up getting the hotel hot tub all to ourselves. I had been looking forward to soaking in it for weeks!
The hot tub closed at midnight but we stayed up much later than that, just chatting and goofing around (we now have a Śmigus-Dyngus inside joke… who would’ve thunk it?!). It was so fun to get to know Christina’s bridesmaids and friends! It really made me even more excited for her wedding on June 14th! But man, I just hope that day does not go by as fast as the parties did (what am I talking about? of course it will!).
We actually hung out a bit the day after the party too – bummed around the hotel in the morning, then hit up a few shops before having lunch together and splitting our separate ways. The next time I see Christina will probably be at her wedding. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Exciting!
*She is having another with her local friends in May.
Themocracy
SCHMNIGLE DINGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!!!! ALSO, FIRST!!!!!!!
Yay! I am so happy you had a good time, Pringle!
LOL, first 😉
Ahhhh! I have been waiting for this post! (some things about not being on fb SUCK!)
What a fantastic weekend you all had! So excited for Will and Christina’s BIG day 🙂
LOL! If you get back on you will have to look at the actual albums I posted – may more pictures 😉
I am so excited too! It’s going to be such a fun party! Oh, and the whole marriage thing will be nice, too 😉
What a wonderful and fun shower!! You and Mon did an amazing job. (Also, your dress in the 1st pic is super cute)
I often get tapped to organize the shower games. I’ll have to tell you my last great bridal shower game when I see you. 🙂
Aww, thank you!
Ahhh! But what if it makes me feel bad I didn’t use it?! JK, I want to hear it 🙂
Hmmm…this reminds me…I have a half-eaten cookie hanging out in my purse.
*prances to purse and noms cookie in a dark corner*
Ha ha ha. This is the best comment ever. I totally imagined you eating a cookie all hunched over in secret with a devilish smile on your face!
Wow! Sounds like great fun – I’d love to do one of those painting classes some time.
Is it a trend over there, too? 🙂 They are fun!
It looks like you had a fabulous weekend celebrating your snister.
I really need to try one of those painting classes so I can learn something! I have some canvases and paint but haven’t really done much with them because I’m clueless.
You should try one! I bet there are some around you. Although, they really just teach you how to copy the instructor 🙂
Wow, that looks like an amazing time! You are right about the dresses–holy talent! Glad you were able to celebrate in a way that was fun for everyone.
Looks awesome! In the photo at the top of the decorations, is that a scrapbook thing? Looks like project life? I have been scrapbooking for a while but now started looking for a simpler, easier way to do it since my time will be limited with this baby coming soon!
Yes! Is it that or something very similar. That is what Christina is using for her guest book at the wedding, and for the shower. So she has some of the spots in the sheets filled with pictures of her and Will, then blank spots open for people to write their messages and put them in. Have you checked it out/browsed one for yourself?
It is a mix of Project Life & other similar brands! 🙂 The pages are Project Life, but I’ve found that their selection of inserts aren’t as fun as other ones they have at Michaels or HL. I bought the Project Life punch so I can round all the corners! 🙂
That looks like so much fun!! I’d love to do one of those painting classes, we don’t have those around here!
Is this place by you? It seems like a similar concept! 🙂
http://www.wineanddesignus.com/locations
Hmm, it sure is, but I’ve heard it’s not that great.
Bummer!
You know how to throw a great party!! You all did such an amazing job. Christina is so lucky 🙂
Aw what a fun weekend! I love the idea of a painting party. I am SO not the typical bachelorette party type. The decorations came out so great. I’d be delegating that as well. Haha!
I LOVE BACHELORETTE PARTIES! I still want to throw you one. But it would probably be a little naughty 😉
Also, I love the games you did!!! I hate shower games (bridal or baby) but those sounded fun! I love the “dream wedding dress” – I never would have thought of that!
Ha ha ha. Describe “naughty.”
Aww, thanks! I just love what a hit that turned out to be!
Oh man! Such a fun and great party! And I’ve done the painting thing too in LaGrange. I am not an artsy person but I did like my painting.
That sounds like such a fantastic time- glad it went so well! And I love that idea of the design the dress game- how creative…and the drawings are gorgeous! And did the cookies get rave reviews?! (I’ll gladly finish any leftovers…)
Ha ha! Yes, they did! Can you believe no extras came back?!
This sounds like a really fun bridal shower weekend!! I also hate cheesy games, so I think it’s really special that you picked ones with meaning. I think your painting turned out really well!! (I’ve never been to one of those painting parties either, but I bet I’d be terrible at it.)
I bet you wouldn’t be terrible at it! As long as you follow the instructions, ha ha!