"so is everything all wrapped up?"
"are you all ready for the big day?"
"what REALLY is there left to do?"
these are questions i hear on a daily basis.
i simply smile and answer respectively...
"uhhh NO."
'loud chuckle' followed by a look that says - are you kidding me?!
"ummm....i have a 'to do before i do' list in the double digits."
so there you go. twenty six days, eh? bring it on. :)
i CAN officially say, however, that the shower season has officially wrapped up!
three of my favorite girls in the world - also in the bridal party - came to columbus from sioux falls and omaha to join us! they drove in friday night, and we gathered around our big dining room table in the home i grew up - one which my parents built in 1963 - and poured wine and played catch up. my mom even took a spot at the head of the table and listened as we carried on about all things female. slumber parties and giggling are FAR too underrated. in typical fashion, the words and the wine went long, and we stayed up way past curfew....
my dress gal - that's what i have grown to call her - showed up at 8:00 a.m. on the dot the following morning. she is my cousin's sister-in-law and a retired teacher that has lived on a farm her whole life. let's just say, these aren't your typical bridal shoppe alterations sessions. :) she looked at all the girls in their dresses and noted any adjustments necessary. she's also adding a sash & brooch-like piece to the front. AND....dun da da da!....she brought over my finished VEIL. alllllllllllllllllllll of that tulle. with lace trim.
i die.
that aisle at st. bon's won't know what to do with itself.
mary the dress gal was still working on my bustle at 10:15 a.m. the only problem with this is that a) i was still IN the dress and b) the shower was kicking off at 11:00. mary finally dismissed me, and i was off in a mad flurry - one has to be presentable when being the center of attention!
i had a lovely bridal shower hosted by my aunts last weekend in my hometown. it was held in the parish center and had delish muffins (which, luckily for me, did NOT count as sweets according to my mom. i gave up sweets for lent & i grumble to myself nearly every day. pout.), fruit and coffee. the ideal brunch food groups if you ask me.
i was SO thankful to my cousins and aunts that came to celebrate with me -- some traveling from surrounding cities! it's all so surreal to be the center of attention and express utter glee in opening a NINJA blender in front of a group of women. this is what they call bridal bliss. i was SO dang excited about that blender among all the other delightful kitchen and home-making gifts. i also received my first piece for my place settings! seeing that beautiful pattern in person and knowing that it will one day be a part of hosting a big family gathering just makes me plain giddy!
now, when we initially arrived at the parish center, my mom toted in three packages. i tsk tsk'd her because, my goodness, she has done MORE than enough throughout this whole process. as i was unwrapping gifts, my aunt handed me one of the gifts my mom brought in; i opened the card to the bag and saw that it wasn't from my mom after all. inside the gift bag was a beautiful & meticulously stitched quilt. done by the hands of my grandma mary who passed away when i was in high school. she came to america by herself from germany at the age of 18 to take care of children on a farm in nebraska. i will forever remember her as an eternally optimistic woman with a distinct german accent. she loved to play cards, host gatherings for her family and QUILT. she oftentimes had a quilting stand in her living room in humphrey, nebraska. when she moved to the nursing home, they would assemble a large quilting stand in the living room as you entered the building. EVERYONE loved grandma mary. apparently. she made a quilt for each of her grandchildren when she was alive, and Mom has been saving it for me all these years. now tell me, what spare bedroom is every going to be good enough for THAT?! :)
a few more wonderful gifts were opened & ooohed & ahhhed over, and then my aunt handed me another package my mom brought in. i opened this one & immediately recognized it. inside was an old wooden silverware chest with one silverware setting and a note my mom gave me on behalf of my grandma rosie ---- wishing me many happy hosting events, just as she loved to do; she passed a way when i was a junior in college. my grandma rosie & grandpa tony lived five houses down the street from me as i was growing up. she was the one that took care of me when mom & dad needed a babysitter. she made the best pies & sugar cookies you have ever tasted, and she let me put as MANY sprinkles on my cookies as i wanted. all of my aunts & uncles went over to their house for sunday dinner & cards every week. she could peel an apple in one long strip. she would always read me the school lunch menu from the bulletin every saturday night after mass and giggle and giggle when we reached the day where peas were served. i HATED peas. she taught me how to play gin rummy & i taught her king's corner. she would let me sit on her lap as we looked through the american girl and jc penney catalogs, and i would point out alllll the things i REALLY wanted.
so after this second surprise gift, what do you know, this bride starts crying.
seriously america, if i'm this much of a bawl baby at a joyous SHOWER, what am i going to do come april 13th??! just warning y'all. and i may have to do some serious shopping for 'weather-proof' makeup. recommendations welcome. sheesh.
here are a couple pics from the shower...(don't worry, i started tanning. i will NOT match my dress)...
afterward, we snuck over to the church to see the painting progress. my oh my is it....vibrant. gone are the earth tones of taupe and ecru and gold. hello BLUES! and REDS! and MUSTARD! and gold. i have been told that it won't be finished in time for Easter, thus, it will not be finished in time for my nuptial mass. sigh. the priests have made several announcements at mass and in the bulletin to refrain from coming in & talking to the painters as they work. father mike went so far as to approach my dad after mass & shake his finger at him. my dad? talk? to strangers? pshhhh. ;) let's just hope my fabulous photographers will be able to avoid the scaffolding....
coming up next.........tackling the programs.........easy task, right? about as easy as having 'everything wrapped up' twenty six days out.
:)
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