Bride-to-Be Blogger Danielle: Showers of Happiness

Danielle and her 'maids.

The past two weekends have been full of smiles and love, as my family and my family-to-be held a bridal shower for me, followed by a girls’ weekend at the Jersey Shore.

My mother and mother-in-law threw the shower at a restaurant near my mom’s house in New York. The location was halfway between my extended family, who are mainly in New England, and Tim’s family, who are in the Philly area. It was so nice to introduce the two families to one another, and to see some people I had not seen in a very long time. The food was really good, and my future sister-in-law set up a fun candy bar in lieu of favors, which was a huge hit!

I was amazed at how many friends and family came to share the day with me, especially since it was local for only a few. It was the first time I’ve had my entire bridal party together since … well, ever! Even my lovely ‘maid from L.A. flew in for the occasion. (The poor girl ended up flying from LAX to Chicago, to Boston, to Philly, then hitched a ride with another friend — almost Planes, Trains and Automobiles.) I was so touched by her effort — and everyone else’s who took a whole day to be there.

And I’m glad she was there for two reasons. First, because she is six feet tall and was able to take down the awful umbrella the restaurant hung up in the shower room (I’m really not into the traditional shower decorations at all). And second, because I’m pretty sure she started the gigglefest over my bow bouquet, which was a masterpiece made of ribbons, tissue paper and tulle. My maid of honor took it home for “safekeeping.” She knows me well; it would have been the first thing to “not fit” in the car for the trip down to Rehoboth. So, she will bring it for me to use at our rehearsal. She also was my official scribe for the day, my sister took photos, and the other two ladies kept me laughing.

The next weekend I spent in Wildwood with Tim’s female relatives. It is a tradition to spend a weekend at the shore each time one of the girls gets married, even if we are marrying into the family. It is always a weekend full of food, cocktails, games and hysterics. We bring prizes for the games, some of which are G-rated, some not so much. We laughed so hard at some of them that I had a stitch in my side. It was fun to be together and just relax for an entire weekend.

I had two really fun weekends with family and friends, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again at the wedding, but now I have a huge concern: If those two events flew by as quickly as they did, I’m afraid I will blink and my wedding day will be over!

What can I do to “slow down” our wedding day?! Any tips for taking it in and being in the moment are appreciated!

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