New Orleans Bridal Shower Luncheon

One of the reasons I was away from blogland for a while (aside from being a lazy slug) was my eldest daughter's wedding.  Anyone who's planned a wedding knows that it is not a one night affair.  There are MANY pre wedding parties and events to host and/or attend....and the planning...and shopping....and DIY projects...and waiting for RSVP cards to arrive...and organizing gifts.  It is SOOOO much fun, but man, it does keep you busy.

Anyway, I thought I'd revisit the New Orleans Bridal Shower which was in June of 2012.  I say New Orleans because there were also several Mississippi wedding events, since that's where the groom is from.  If I can find some decent pictures, I'll do separate posts on each of those. They were FUN!

But back to this one, it was held at Ralph's on the Park which is a gorgeous restaurant overlooking New Orleans City Park.

Of course, you can't have a New Orleans Bridal Shower....or really any event in New Orleans, without a bar!  Your choice of Mimosas and other champagne cocktails, red or white wine, Brandy milk punch.....all on a gorgeous balcony overlooking City Park.

Speaking of bars and balconies....you just knew that's where I'd find the Bride and her maids....

But I digress.....the favors were small almond scented soaps bought locally from Bayou Soap Company (check out their Facebook page).  Oh my, did they smell delicious....like wedding cake.

They were super simple to decorate....a length of lace ribbon, a length of raffia, secured on the back with a round sticker with the phrase "From Megan's Shower to Yours" and the date.  Super simple.

Over a bottle or two or three of wine at my house the day before, the groom's mom and one of the bridesmaids did the floral arrangements...hydrangeas, roses and calla lilies.  I cut some ginger lily from my yard to help give the bottom of the vases some interest, and we filled the others with pearls.   We also sprinkled Mercury glass candles on the tables and around the room. 

Another fun thing was "Date Night" suggestions.  Each table had a frame explaining what to do, and cards and pens for the guests to share their suggestions.

The cards were then placed into a tulle filled Apothecary jar located on the gift table.

A good way for guests to get to know the story of the bride and groom is by playing the "Left/Right game".  There was a gift on each table.  At a designated time, the Maid of Honor got up and read the comical story of the bride and groom....how they met, their courtship, engagement, etc.  Each time the words "right or left" were used, the gift was passed around the table in the appropriate direction.  At the end of the story, whoever held the gift got to keep it.  It was hysterical.

We also played the "What's in your purse game?"  Talk about getting to know people better....who knew someone would actually have extra underwear!

The bride decided to be traditional and open her gifts at the shower.  And man, did she have some gifts to open!

The dutiful Maid of Honor (baby daughter) kept track of each gift.

and the cake......

Oh man....the cake was from Ambrosia Bakery, a Baton Rouge bakery that my daughter fell in love with while a student at LSU.  It was traditional white wedding cake with Pecan Praline filling.  My husband, being the devoted Dad he is, made the 2.5 hour round trip trek to Baton Rouge to pick up the cake.  No, those girls don't have him wrapped around their finger at all....noooooooo.

All in all, I think a good time was had by all. 

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Exactly one year from today

These two

will say...

...and these two families will be

over the moon with love and happiness

(and probably champagne)!!

Let the wedding countdown officially begin!!

Raise a glass - it's time for the Engagement Party!!

Finally, after months of waiting....this past Saturday we hosted an engagement party for our oldest daughter, Megan, and her fiance, Matt.  In case anyone missed my shouts from the rooftop, they got engaged back in March on a trip to New York City and I've been basically planning this event in my head since then. 

They're having a largish formal wedding in the fall of 2012, so I decided to go in the exact opposite direction with the engagement party.  Meg loves the whole "barn/rustic/mason jar look", so that was my jumping off point.  Unfortunately, I don't have a barn, but I can collect jars and boy, have I collected (and bought) jars in the last few months. 

You can't have a party, especially in our family, without sweets.  I opted for cupcakes rather than a cake...3 different kinds, cause you can never have enough cupcakes, right?

Chocolate Bavarian cream filled yellow cake with fudge frosting,

lemon poppyseed with cream cheese frosting,

and strawberry with strawberry whipped frosting

...oh and petit fours...chocolate and white...mmm

...more cupcakes...I said you can never have too many...

...and mini sugar cookies

....and Hershey's kisses....

A sideboard with a variety of cheeses, crackers and a

make-your-own bruschetta station. 

We also had an array of hearty foods in the kitchen that I completely forgot to take pictures of...jambalaya, crawfish pasta, the best chicken gumbo furnished by our dear friends Mike and Darren, meatballs, mini muffulettas, salad, stuffed mini peppers...

I sure hope nobody left hungry. 

We decided to set up the bar on the patio outside.  The kids are big wine afficionados, so I opted for the "wine crate chic" look

both inside and outside. 

Lots of Prosecco

...and a variety of red

and white wines.

The "signature drink" for the night was a "Something Blue"...

a dash of blue Curacao with Prosecco.

Everything was set up just before dark, and then the

guests started to arrive. 

The outside tables had plenty of mason jar candles

 lots of tiki torches, twinkle lights, the wine bottle torches that we made a few months ago.  Thankfully, Mother Nature cooperated and, while it was a bit warm, there was no rain. 

Less than 24 hours later, the skies opened up.  Whew...

Rather than a guest book, we did a "Wish Tree".  Can I just tell you that the day after the party, I literally stood in front of the wish tree...all by myself...reading the kind, touching words that people had written, and I sobbed like a baby.

 ...and since none of us got to witness the actual engagement, Matt was kind enough to reenact it for us...with a giant
bling ring that was part of the decor.

...and here's to the happy couple.  Steve and I had such fun planning and putting together this party for these two "kids" that we love so much.  It was truly our honor and pleasure to host our family and friends and have them share in our happiness.

Meg and Matt, this is only the beginning of the

celebration of your upcoming marriage!  We love you both!!

Cheers!!!

...and with this ring....

In case some of y'all have been living under a rock and missed my shouts of joy....my eldest daughter, Megan, is engaged!!  They've been engaged for just over a month now and the wedding plans are moving along nicely.  The orignal plan was to just wait until after she and her fiance'. Matt, take the Bar exam in late July before they began any hardcore wedding planning, but after talking to a few vendors at a Bridal show a few weeks ago, we realized that many venues and vendors are already booking up for Fall of 2012. 
Can you even imagine that?!?

So....the planning has begun!

But I digress.....I figure most people have already seen "THE RING", so I'm safe now in posting a picture now on the www.  Here ya go.....isn't it beautiful??  And believe me, this picture doesn't do it justice.  If you could put Meg in the form of a ring, this one would sum up her personality perfectly. I can't believe what a great job Matt did in picking this ring out.  A++++

Think back to when you got your engagement ring.....do you remember how you couldn't look at it enough...how you caught glimpses of it in the mirror, or as you were holding a glass, or doing any number of mundane things....how elegant and foreign it looked on your hand?  How it reminded you that someone loves you with all his heart and you'll be sharing a lifetime together.  So much love, anticipation, hope and...as life goes on...memories wrapped up in a tiny band of diamonds.

Our first Bridal Show!!!

We took these fun pictures at a photo booth
at the Bridal Show

...and we're off!!!  Well, sort of...

Meg and I went to our first Bridal Show together last night.  We had a ball....spoke to a lot of wonderful vendors....got waaaaaay too much information (I think both of our heads are still spinning)....and realized that it's definitely not too early to start planning a wedding that won't take place for another 18 months....gulp.

We were fortunate enough to be able to speak to both a photographer and videographer she's interested in booking....only to find out that they're already booking up for fall of 2012.  Yikes!!

So, while Meg and Matt still need to put wedding planning on the back burner and focus on taking their law school finals and the bar exam, I have been given permission to gather information about venues.  Yeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaa!!!

...and so I'm off....sort of....venues it is!

Going to the chapel, and they're....

GONNA GET MARRIED!!!!!

That's right people!!!  Our firstborn is engaged!!!

Last week, on a cold Tuesday evening, Matt dropped to one knee in Central Park and slid a ring on Megan's finger.   They were in New York for Matt's law school competition (and let me just say, he and his partner finished 2nd out of 49 teams....how's that for maintaining your focus?) and on their first night in the Big Apple, he popped the question.  As if the whole Central Park thing isn't romantic enough, he also had arranged for a private car to pick them up at their hotel and bring them to a swanky restaurant where they sipped champagne and had a wonderful evening. 

We got the call the next morning and our feet haven't hit the ground yet!!  If we'd had our pick of all the guys in the world, we couldn't have chosen a better husband for Megan...and he's known our family for long enough now that he certainly can't say he wasn't forewarned about us.

We just couldn't be happier!!! 

Alas, wedding preparations will have to be put on hold for a little while.  They are both in the final weeks of law school and have to focus on finals and taking the bar exam in late July.

So...while the moms have visions of

and

and

these two kids (can I still call them that?) have their heads on straight and are putting first things first.

In the meantime, as I sit back and wonder where the years have gone, I'm going to enjoy the feeling of knowing that my daughter is blissfully happy.   There's truly no better feeling in the world.