April Showers

Lets pretend that we're not already closing in on June while I recap an afternoon back in April that I got to spend with some of my favorite ladies showering the soon-to-be Mrs. Wente. She's getting married in early July and I am SO excited. She is something extra special - and I think she's found a perfect match in her future hubby, Chris.

I dug up this picture from the first time I ever met the handsome groom - at my birthday bash in January 2011.

The guest of honor and hosts - Me, Meg, Lindsey & Layne

MEGAN headed up the event, with help from her sweet momma, and they did an amazing job of personalizing it for the bride-to-be and incorporating her fun flavor and style. Layne and I pitched in with some small touches here and there, and it all came together as one happy celebration. We did heavy hors d'oeuvres at Tyler's Taproom in Raleigh, and brought in desserts. Lindsey's love for chocolate was a constant throughout, and Meg sorted through pounds of it to create a colorful candy bar tailored to that. Layne made some sinfully good Reese's cupcakes and we all got hopped up on sugar and love.

I snagged ideas from two of the blogs that I like to follow to make guest favors and a game. While Meg and I were discussing shower games that weren't too cheesy, I remembered reading Sierra's POST on her Wedding Word Scramble. I love that it can also serve as table decor:

We came up with words that were relevant to Chris and Lindsey in some way - from the places they went on their first date and where they got engaged, to characteristics about them (i.e. beach bodies) and their jobs (i.e. busy season). And then put it together just as Sierra outlined - printing two to a page on card stock. This was a fun way to kick off the afternoon, and the best part was watching Lindsey try to look at answers from people sitting around her after she realized she was the last one to figure it out :)

For small favors, I made THESE rosemary walnut and raisin crackers by Christina, stuffed them in mini Chinese takeout boxes from Michaels, created labels with the source of the recipe on one side and a quote on the other, and then tied the labels on with twine. HERE is a published PDF of the labels that I used.

Using the same card stock that I used for the labels, I cut out cupcake toppers to tie the color scheme together. I found toothpicks with small hearts on top of them, which worked perfectly for gluing the toppers on.

Over dessert, we went around the table asking the bride-to-be questions that Megan had handed out. Meg had already gotten Chris's answers to the same questions - and they all aligned so perfectly with Lindsey's. He gave elaborate, well-thought out, and sincere answers that showed how much fun they have together and how their various quirks just make them fall even more in love with each other everyday. It was the best.

I'm so pumped to be part of their special day in July!