A Pinterest perfect Bridal Shower
Maybe you have or haven’t figured out that my lack of posting on the blog has been nothing short then an avoidance to talk about how hard this last year and a half has been. I have learned so much about myself, the people I surround myself with and where I want to change and grow in the next year and a half. But at the end of the day I still get to marry the best person I know and that thought has kept me sane throughout all of this. Over the last year and a half, amongst the course of wedding planning, I’ve lost family like relationships and lifelong friends. It’s true when they say that weddings can unveil issues that may have been there all along in an unavoidable way. All these changes were things that affected the big day in the sense that it altered how I planned on things going and how I envisioned who would be spending this day with me. Now do I still believe in everything happens for a reason? Yes. And alls well that ends well to end up with you as Ms. Swift would say.
Some of you may be thinking - “Seriously it can’t be that hard to plan a wedding”. And you’re right. It’s completely dependent on how much you care about the little details and I’m relieved to be at the part of the journey where there is not much else to worry or think about. In true Megan form I also decided to make it ONE of THE most challenging years of my life by starting a new job and buying a house. Let’s get one thing straight, I LOVE weddings. I THRIVE at weddings, Weddings are my happy place and I thought I made that perfectly clear to those surrounding me how big of deal it was to have them by my side. But people will be people and it was heartbreaking to realize that something that you’ve spent years talking about and caring about - others just simply didn’t.
Nevertheless, that’s no excuse for me to drop the ball on posting - especially when I have so many GOOD things to share. So onto the happy moments.
Lemons in Italy
I can’t begin to say Thank you enough to the effort and planning details that went into my bridal shower by my amazing mom/friend/big Hannah. Hannah is a friend that everyone needs and to know her is to love her. I kid you not down to the to-go containers and lemon soap in the bathroom not a detail was missed. She may just have involuntary signed herself up for hosting my baby showers in the future ;) love you Han. Another huge thank you to my mom for helping Hannah plan and doing whatever it took to have a splendid afternoon for me and all my attendees.
This weekend was so perfect, I kept telling David “Is this what it feels like to not have to worry about anything?”.
My makeup was of course done by the one and only Tiffany @dolledupluxe on Instagram. My dress was from Selfie Leslie bought back during their Black Friday deals* pro tip brides: You’re going to waste so much money if you buy every white dress you find on your IG ads. I tried to make my bridal wardrobe purchases in two major chunks. One around the Black Friday or other sales and two spaced out based on the event I was wearing it for.
Small details went a long way
Now I’ve obviously never planned a bridal shower before but if I can give any advice even applicable to the wedding planning process it would be two things. You have less time than you think, and small details make a big difference. Things like lemon themed signs for favors and “Advice for the bride” that I hadn’t even thought about really became some of my favorite details of the day.
Have a photo op or a main focal point
I can’t even explain how #sororityproud I was of not only Hannah but Hannah’s boyfriend for building this insane champagne wall. Hannah is the ultimate DIYer and if that’s not your thing you can rent items like these if you have the budget for it. Having a main focal points or photo op area helps the theme standout and gives you a place to either sit and enjoy but also makes taking pictures more fun and less awkward.
Food & Drinks
It’s YOUR bridal shower so eat and drink what you want. Since we went with an Italy thing all I wanted was pasta. This is how we arrived at a “luncheon” type shower with catering from Sauce as well as a few handmade pasta salads by my mom.
My mom was also thoughtful enough to get allergy friendly macaroons made by Delightful Deserts Designed by Chamin on Facebook and these on-point cookies. This amazing cake was by none other than our favorite. Buttercreamdreams.az on instagram. If you are local to the Chandler/Gilbert AZ area please check them out!
Having these allergy friendly options available also helped anyone that had smaller intolerances or vegan and vegetarian diets. As someone who often times shows up to the party with my own food, it felt good to be included and I know it was appreciated.
Some traditional tips
Some traditional things we did do apart of the shower was having my mom give a speech, and we opened gifts as a group. I haven’t done this since I was 12 so all the attention was a little nerve racking but make sure you have one or two of your bridal party members taking notes on who gave you what. Most registries also have this tracking ability but it’s so much easier to remember who was there if you have someone helping you.
And a little more modern trend I knew I wanted to be included was to have Byron stop by for the later part of the day and the gifts.
Overall I know it is going to remain one of my favorite days apart of this grand journey for a very long time, and just how these people have shaped my life to get me to where I’m at now, I hope they continue to be apart of my life for many years to come.