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!
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!
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!!
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.
