Another Wedding . . . Another Shower!

Last Saturday we had a bridal shower for my younger daughter. It's not so easy planning a second shower as you might think.  When you've already had a wonderful shower for your older daughter, you have to come up with fresh ideas, venue, timing, gifts etc. or else you will have a "rerun" of the previous event . . . and how would that be "special?"  Every bride deserves a shower to remember and to be surprised when it happens. This is what we did.

First we had to pick a date. You might think, what's the big deal?  Well, we have a March wedding, so we have to consider the holidays and then the unpredictable winter weather all before March. Then there's the little fact that the bride turns 30 in January and her father turns 65, both milestone occasions that we want to celebrate. There's also the fact that the grooms brother is getting married in June and that couple also has to have a shower and both families have to work around both weddings. I could go on, but this is why we had the shower earlier than tradition would call for.

Then I had to decide on a place for the event. I remembered a small Italian restaurant where the food was very good, but the place was too small to hold a shower. Something told me to look at their website. I saw a mention of a party room that was decorated like a courtyard in Tuscany, Italy.  I went to go look at it and booked the shower immediately. The room was so different, so unique, you could almost believe you were sitting in an Italian courtyard! The two owners were one nicer than the other. They prepared a wonderful menu for the guests to choose from. I was very happy to have the shower there.

Next we had to come up with a lie to get my daughter there. Not only did we have to have a good lie that she would believe, but we had to make sure she would be "dressed up" for pictures. Her fiancé told me he would handle the "clever ruse" to get her there and dressed for the occasion. Great! One less thing for me to worry about. Mind you it took some work as my daughter kept trying to figure out where and when the shower would happen. But, he managed to keep her in the dark until the big day.

The rest of the things were taken care of early, once the venue was booked. Favors, invitations, gifts, and ordering a cake were all fairly easy. Wrapping the gifts, not so much. I could only find paper that was 30 inches long!  Hallmark must be slipping!

So the big day is finally here. I am a little nervous, hoping everything will go perfectly, and it did. The restaurant had the room all set up for us very early. We brought in our gifts and the cake. The seating arrangements were taken care of. The mother of the groom provided the beautiful balloons. And all the guests arrived on time. We just had to wait for my daughter.

She walked in, everyone yelled "Surprise!" She was expecting to go to a party for the groom's uncle. When she walked in she expected to see his side of the family. But then she saw her side of the family and for a moment she was frozen. I could see her wheels turning as she looked around. Her brain trying to process why her family was at his uncle's party, until it sunk in it was her shower!  We took lots of pictures throughout. Everyone had a great time. The food and service were excellent. It couldn't have gone any better.  On to the next celebration!

The End