Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Wedding Wednesday: My Minneapolis Shower

Hello from Chicago!  I am back here for another work trip - I flew in yesterday morning and will be here until Thursday afternoon. Hopefully this is my last work trip before the wedding! With the wedding just over 5 weeks away, this is crunch time!!!

I've put in lots of work over the last several months into planning our wedding, but this past weekend I got to shift my focus to enjoying some pre-wedding celebrations! On Sunday my college friends threw me a beautiful wedding shower.  They are very good at planning parties, so I knew it would be a special event. But they really exceeded my expectations!

First things first, the invitation!  They really did a great job of tying in the book theme of our wedding!



Now for the event!  My friend Heidi hosted it in the club room of her apartment building. I was greeted with a mimosa!

Cheers!
Here is am with my hosts:  Brooke, Heidi and Amanda. We met in the spring of my freshman year back in 2000 when I joined the sorority they were members of. I know there are a lot of stereotypes and opinions about sororities, but I made some amazing friendships through the sorority that will last a lifetime. These girls have seen me through so many peaks and valleys that have occurred over the last 15+ years. On the light side, there are lots of inside jokes and stories and memories to laugh about. On the heavier side, we've stood by each others' sides through health challenges of our own and our family members, cross-country moves (both wanted and unwanted), and the other challenges of life.


There were so many details to take in at the shower.  My favorite was the banner that I plan to use at the church or reception. It's so pretty and ties in with our theme and colors so well!


From the tablescapes...

to the place setting wed-libs game...


to the thank you treats ("bookworms" aka gummy worms)

to the platter of macarons...


Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the brunch spread they prepared for us. But take my word - it was oh so good!

No detail was overlooked. It was truly a beautiful event that I will remember forever. What made is all the more special, though, was the people who were there. 14 friends from different corners of my life joined together to celebrate my upcoming nuptials. It gave me a small taste of how wonderful it's going to be to have all these special people in one place as Phil and I say "I do" for always and ever.

As soon as I got home, I got busy unpacking the many gifts my friends generously bestowed upon us. Since Phil is a total minimalist, I made sure to pack up anything that we will no longer need thanks to these new gifts! Within 2 hours, I had unpacked and delabeled all the gifts and packed of 6 boxes of things to give to family members or goodwill. I don't know what etiquette is about using gifts you receive for your wedding, but whether or not it's appropriate to put them to use right away, we are because I can't handle the chaos of lots of boxes! Plus it's great to reuse the boxes and tissue paper to pack up the things we want out of the house.


I have one last thing to share! The day after my shower we received an unexpected gift from the mom of one of Phil's college friends. Phil has gotten to know this set of parents so well as they live on a lake in Minnesota and have hosted Phil and his other college friends many times. She sent us the coolest gift!


It's currently being displayed on our piano but will definitely be on display at the wedding as well!

The pre-wedding festivities are just beginning, though!  Next weekend I have my family shower at the lake which I am oh so excited about!!  Then 3 weeks later, I have my "Girls Gone Mild" bachelorette Party. Let the good times roll!

18 comments:

Gracie said...

What a sweet group of friends. They did a great job sticking with your theme and had such cute ideas! Like the book worm favors. I'm also transfixed by the carved book. Totally cool and a perfect gift for you two.

Jeanie said...

Oh Lisa, there is so much to love here and your friends should team up for an event planning business. Every detail is perfect. They were so thorough in their creative execution, right down to the invitation and the adorable banner. I am so impressed. SO impressed. I've done a lot of events and now I feel paltry and embarrassed compared to this. Really spectacular!

My personal rule on using things (Christmas, etc.) is once the thank you note is written, it can be used! Keeps me honest! Knowing you, those notes were done by Monday evening!

Abby said...

WOW!! what an amazing shower they put you. I think it is so great how close you have stayed over the years. Friends ingrained in your hearts for life!

I would use the gifts right away, too!! Can't wait to hear more about it when I see you in 2 DAYS!! Ah so excited!!

Marlys said...

Wow, that was awesome! I sort of wish our shower was first, as we have lots to live up to here! But we shall do our best to impress!
I can hardly wait to have all five of my children and all spouses or significant others at the lake this weekend, except one son-in-law and two grandsons who have decided to make a fast trip to CO for Easter! Other than that, it should be a fun filled weekend!

Leigh said...

What a beautiful shower that they threw you! That book is so cool too. How the heck did they make it?!

J and A said...

What a beautiful shower! I LOVE the theme for you and that book is incredibly cool!!

Marisa A. said...

Everything looks amazing! Especially those macarons :) Can't believe it's 5 weeks until the big day. I'm sure it will fly by and you'll be on your honeymoon before you know it!

Charbelle said...

love love love love!!!!! I've been anxiously awaiting this post!!!!!! So awesome!!!!! Everything looks just fabulous and they did an incredible job carrying your book theme through!!!!! ahhh!!!! So so so happy for you!!!!!

Nicole said...

How gorgeous! It looks like a wonderful way to kick off the wedding celebrations. I do hope you enjoy this time. Looking back when I got married, it wasn't until I actually started walking down the aisle that I realizedd how special a wedding can be. At no point again in your life will so many people be gathered together to celebrate you and your mate. Sending best wishes to you and Phil (and thank you for continuing to share via your blog)!

Carolina John said...

That looks like so much fun! How wonderful that your friends are sweet enough to put on such a nice party.

Erin said...

This is the perfect shower for you!!!!! I smiled reading every word and seeing all the pics :) I'm so happy for you and cannot wait to celebrate in 5 weeks!!!! Omg!!!!! It's almost here :)

Amber said...

Such an amazing shower! I loved reading about it and wish I could have been there. They really did not miss a single detail <3

Also that book gift is SO SO SO COOL!!!! What an amazing and unique gift, which will be PERFECT to display at the wedding!

Stephany said...

This is such a "Lisa" shower! Your girlfriends did a phenomenal job - all the little details are perfect.

I also cannot get over the book gift! What a thoughtful present. <3

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

Love the book theme! So awesome! Glad you had a good shower!

San said...

Wow, Lisa, what a beautiful shower and that wedding gift from Phil's friend's Mom is amazing!

katielookingforward said...

I think its great that you are using your gifts right away! So many of my friends still have things packed away, which makes me sad, they got married years ago and aren't using everything!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

What a beautiful shower <3 Your friends are so thoughtful to put so much time and care into all the little details. I love stuff like that :-)

I think using the gifts as soon as you get them is pretty typical, so no worries about etiquette on that.

Linda said...

You're glowing with happiness!!