Our Wedding Party Members Are Crazy In Love With Each Other!

Okay, actually it's just two of them and they're getting married today!

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my bridesmaid Brooke and Mr. Lab's groomsman Jimmy. We've all been friends for years and cannot believe their day has finally come! I will definitely post photos of their black and white with splashes of red wedding being held in a day chapel at a botanical garden.

Brooke & Jimmy on New Year's Eve. We're so happy we got to spend our engagement night with them!

I met Brooke as a freshman in college and we've been friends ever since. I still remember the late nights we spent in our dorm rooms gossiping, watching tv, and hiding alcohol (shhh!) from our RA. Jimmy is one our former co-workers and one of Mr. Lab's former roommates (actually, Brooke is too!). He's actually willing to lend a hand when we need one, whether it be moving or fixing something that's broken.

When Brooke and Jimmy started dating, I knew it would lead to marriage because they're made for each other! Congrats soooooo much and I cannot wait to get down at your wedding! ;)

A Rare Summer Shower in Georgia

It didn't rain this weekend in south Georgia but there was another kind of shower: my first bridal shower! Despite the 100+ degree heat, a handful of women braved the elements and made the trek over to my FMIL's friend's house. Isn't it beautiful?

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the fabulous spread laid out on the dining room table. There was quiche, pin wheels, petit fours, fruit, candied pecans, and more! Nom nom. And of course we drank sweet tea like the true southern belles we are! ;) We also took a moment to marvel over the centerpiece that even included real apples!

Two of my flower girls tagged along with my mom to the shower. Here is Morgan (honorary flower girl because of her age) and Haleigh, my older sister's daughters. Their older sister Autumn (one of my Jr. BMs) was spending the night with a friend. I was impressed with how well-behaved they were the entire time. They even helped me unwrap gifts! Can you believe they are just 2 of my 5 nieces?!?

Soon it was gift time! Here's a quick run down of the afternoon:

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I absolutely loved my shower hostesses! Mr. Lab grew up with all of their children and his mother is great friends with them. They take turns throwing showers and parties for each other's children so the mothers can relax along with the guest of honor. How thoughtful is that?

(l-r) Ms. Jo Ann, Ms. Sharon, me, & Ms. Vickie.

When we got back to FMIL's house, we decided to take a photo in the same spot we did 2 years ago after my FSIL's bridal shower (thrown by the same ladies). I'm going to print off this photo to put in a frame next to the earlier one for my FMIL.

FMIL, me, & FSIL

Leslie's 2007 bridal shower (brace-face alert!)

As we were leaving the shower, I snapped a photo of the balloons and bow tied to the mailbox in my honor. I didn't realize until later that there were only 2 out of 4 balloons in the picture. The temperature had risen so quickly in the two hours of the shower that the helium expanded and popped the other 2!

I loved all the gifts I received, but I must admit that I'm especially anxious to try out this puppy. Margaritas anyone? :D

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My MOH just told me today that the invites for our north Georgia (co-ed) wedding shower came in! I'm excited that Mr. Lab will be attendance at that one: it's a home & garden shower! Hopefully he'll rack up on some much needed power tools and lawn supplies while I continue collecting housewares. We need to update our registries now that one shower is out of the way so we can avoid duplicates (we registered for the same items at different locations so everyone had a chance to get to a local store). Hey, this registry thing isn't as bad as I thought after all! ;)

Our Wine & Cheese Engagement Party

My wonderful bridesmaid Brittany threw Chris and I an amazing engagement party a couple weeks ago. Another bridesmaid, Ashley, and my MOH, Amanda, helped out with the decorations and food setup as well as some of Brittany's roommates. I could not believe how fabulous the party was. I expected just a few bottles of wine and some cheese (since I knew the guests were expected to bring either a bottle of wine or a block of cheese), but I had no idea that they would have so many delicious hors d'oeuvres as well! The girls really outdid themselves. They made me wonder if hiring a caterer for the reception is really necessary...lol.

Brittany started out by sending adorable evites to the guests. Here's the main banner of the invitation:

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As I said, the food was absoluting amazing and yummy! There were mini burgers, mini strawberry cheesecakes, herbed potatoes with dip, fruit, & stuffed mushrooms. Brittany even went so far as to find napkins with a damask theme! How thoughtful is that?!?



Of course I can't forget the great wines & cheeses. The girls set up a display with balloons, a banner, and pictures of Chris & I along with the wine & cheese. They even put cute little bride & groom outfits on a couple bottles!



Me and the fabulous hostess!



And you'll have to excuse Chris's face in this one, but I wanted to show off how handsome he looks in his all-black ensemble. Grrrr... ;)



We topped off the party with a game of toilet paper wedding dresses! We split the guests up into groups and they had to design a wedding gown out of toilet paper on their "models" (which were all guys!). I then picked my favorite one by calling it pageant-style with runner-ups until the winner was announced. Trey's team (which ironically consisted of Brittany & Amanda) won! He's the second from the left with the "veil" covering his face. I picked them because he had a sweetheart, trumpet style gown which was closest to what I'm looking for in a gown! But I do have to say that the bow on Chris's butt was fabulous as well! ;)

Bride Wars!

I'm counting down the days until Saturday, when I'll have my first official outing with my maids. We're going to lunch and then a matinee of "Bride Wars" in a nearby town (best neutral meeting place).

My maids are scattered from Atlanta to Savannah, so I'm planning a couple get-togethers between now and November so they can get to know each other better. I want my wedding events to be big parties where everyone has fun. I think it's necessary that everyone become friends before those big events leading up to the wedding day. At Leslie's wedding, we all had so much fun because almost everyone in the wedding party had already hung out a few times before.

No new wedding planning updates today, other than my growing frustration with not finding one photographer that meets all my needs while staying within my budget. I know I'm going to have to sacrifice something, but I just haven't quite comes to terms with this yet. :(

The best news of the day: Amanda got my camera and phone back from the limo and overnight shipped them to me, so I should have them by tomorrow afternoon! Get ready for those much overdue proposal pictures!!! :D

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