Bridal Shower!

Posted from the wedding blog....cause I just had to share!

I knew my wonderful mom and MOH-sister and bridesmaids would be throwing a shower, but I didn't know when or where (well not really where...I had my suspicions). They surprised the heck out of me a week ago with a huge gathering of ladies in the back yard. They very craftily planned the shower on the same weekend as my 10-year high school reunion. This way, I'd be out of the house on Saturday and would be spending the night in Boston, the perfect setup for a sneak attack!

I knew that my mom and sister were putting a lot of work into planning, but I had NO idea how much they had done. They made a lot of the food and did all of the decorating!

My sister made a bunch of these pinwheels and had them all over the yard. She printed her own "Allison and Jamaal" paper - how amazing is that?!

I was so sad that these were only used for a day...until I realized that she craftily made them to match our wedding colors! I'll be dropping these in Middletown before the wedding so they can find a home at the Barns for our reception!

Every little detail was taken care of - the shower itself was a sort of brunch/tea. Favors were little teacups with a tea bag in them. The butterflies and flowers found on the teacups were an overall theme that carried over to everything from the signs used for the food to the cake.

Each teacup had a little butterfly- and flower-adorned 'Enjoy' card - my sister's handiwork:

She bought a couple Martha Stewart butterfly punches! Jealous!

Paper flower bouquets on the table for decoration

Amazing paper banner that said "Allison's Bridal Shower" The picture does it no justice at all, this thing was beautiful and was made out of coordinating pieces of scrapbook paper. I love it...and it's still hanging up there! Amy is going to help me make something similar for our chairs at the reception :)

Before I arrived there was a lot of prepwork. The tables were set and the fabulous hydrangea/rose centerpieces were put out.

My friend EE put together my "bridal chair"

My dad cleaned the pool. Everything must be perfect!!

The gift table piled up quickly (because I am a lucky girl!)

Guests gathered in the front yard right before I arrived (I wondered who Jamaal was texting)

Woohooo, surrrrprriiiise!!!

After a round of hugs, we moved into the backyard so I could marvel at the splendor:

There was even better stuff on the porch....FOOD:

Look at that spread! My mother had made almost 100 muffins in about 8 different flavors (yummmmm). There were sandwiches and quiches, seafood-macaroni salad and bean salad. Oh there were appetizers too (cheese, pepperoni, edible arrangement, veggies and dip), but I barely had the chance to eat them! Actually, I didn't get a chance to try the quiche at the shower, because a guest took the last piece, but that's another story ;) and my mother had the sense to put two in reserve!!

After eating (and sweating, it was about 100 degrees!) it was present opening time. I won't bore you with a million shots of me opening gifts, and I won't show you the shot of me with backsweat, but here are a few pics (I apologize for the cleavage, I had NO idea my dress was so boobylicious)

Some every day silverware - we can eat! WahoooO!

My sister designed and made me this cross stitch picture. It's a quote from "Across the Universe" by the Beatles, and it's beautiful. I wanted it on our aisle runner, but aisle runners are banned in our church. This is even better, now I can hang this in our apartment and see it whenever I want. The quote is: "Limitless undying love which shines upon me like a million suns, it calls me on and on across the universe."

Love.It.

Evelyn vase - beautiful

It's not a shower without lingerie! This was, thankfully, very tasteful!

I started to flag towards the end. People were insanely generous. I'm not going to show you all the pictures, or tell you everything we were given, but here's a basic sampling:

most of our "everyday dishes," baking supplies, tea kettle (the coveted one!), keurig, vases, 5 place settings of china, crate and barrel glassware, a silver chest, waterford flutes and goblets, the coveted charleston centerpiece bowl, a few pans, and....

last but not least, from all the bridesmaids:

A RED KITCHENAID MIXER!!! Yes!! I have already had one request for baked goods (future father in law, oatmeal raisin cookies) so I know what I'll be making first once we get our kitchen set up!

Of course I had to take a shot with the bridesmaids:

sans future sister-in-law, who had e. coli poisoning (how awful is that?!) I think this is a great bunch of good-looking ladies, and I can't wait til we're all dressed up and fancy :)

So that's just snippets from a totally amazing shower. I can't even tell you how perfect the day was - it went by like a flash though, it was over in what seemed like a blink of an eye - probably a good preview for what the wedding day will be like!