Catching up!!

Let the dates of these posts be a lesson to you. I started off with frequent posts detailing the little things that go along with wedding planning in detail. I kept all family and friends happy as they knew right where I was in the planning. And then as the wedding nears, my posts have become few and far between. Wedding tasks keep a bride rather busy and unfortunately the blogging takes a back burner. For this, I will apologize and make a pathetic attempt to catch everyone up. 

I’ll start with the invites. I am in love with our invitations. They feel so peaceful, which is how I envision our ceremony in the meadow so it was quite fitting. WeddingPaperDivas.com printed these for us and I could not be happier with their quality and service. Two thumbs up. I have to admit I hesitated clicking on their link since the word “divas” screamed glitter and neon colors, but I was pleasantly surprised with their diverse options and especially Andrew and I’s “perfect match” on invites. We spent a nice evening getting them all ready to mail out and felt so excited that the wedding was getting so close. Dropping those invites in the mailbox was a great feeling.

Here is a picture of getting the invites ready

of course we took a cheesy envelope-licking picture, wouldn’t you?!

 Andrew dropping invites in the mail

My turn!

 

One of the greatest parts about getting so close to the wedding is the fun events that lead you into it. Our first was our honeymoon shower thrown by my “Aunty O”, Olivia Collins. Shower my not be the right word for this occasion as this was a FIESTA. And Olivia pulled out all the stops on this one. Guests were instructed to wear beach-y attire, Andrew and I followed instruction very closely and arrived in bikini body t-shirts. They were perfect for the occasion! The event was held at the Manhattan Arts Center and when we walked in it was a Mexican Fiesta from wall to wall. The bar was amazing lined with brightly colored margarita glasses that were soon filled with my dad’s famous margarita recipe. Around the room there were piñatas, each with an idea of fun things Andrew and I could do on our honeymoon that guests could contribute to. And to top it all off, there was a delicious dinner catered by none other than Coco Bolos, which is always a favorite. We greeted guests and mingled as Mexican tunes filled the background and we got so excited for our honeymoon to Riviera Maya.  Part way through the evening we took a celebratory shot of tequila with all of our guests. What a treat this whole night was! A truly unforgettable evening that we just feel so honored to have been the reason for such a night of fun happening. We have so many wonderful people in our lives.

 Us arriving at the shower

 With our host

Speaking of wonderful people. That leads me to the next shower. This was my bridal shower (the no boys allowed one!). It was a kitchen themed shower and this theme was not a random choice. The Maxwell ladies (Kathy, Kelsey, and Sarah), whom I’ve known my entire life, surprised me and the guests with a short film of none other than yours truly, in my most awkward years of life, in a “newscast” shot on scene at Kathy’s Kitchen. Let me back up 15 years or so. When Kelsey, Sarah, and I were younger we used to get together and film newscasts called Weekly Chaos. This went on for years. There is TONS of footage of this. We would make up news stories, find stories from the local paper, anything to make a good show. We had stage names, we reported the weather, we made commercials, and we even went “on scene” (meaning a different room in the house). But one of the most (in)famous of the shows was when we went on-scene to “Kathy’s Kitchen”. Myself acting as Kathy (and no, this is not a true reference to the real Kathy!!), made this kitchen as disgusting as could be including my own appearance. I had pillows stuffed everywhere they’d fit on me, I pretended to snot on the food, scratch lice (white rice) from my hair, and even kill then cook with roaches (rolled up black electrical tape) trying to crawl across the grill. Needless to say it was in no way cute. But looking back at it now, pretty stinking hilarious. After watching that clip, we headed back to the shower area where a mimosa bar awaited us with different juices, champagnes, and fruit. Yum!! The centerpieces were fun vases of flowers accented with kitchen utensils (so cute!) and my three hosts were dressed the part in their adorable aprons. We had a couple fun activities, ate some delicious brunch, and opened gifts (and I didn’t break a single ribbon). I now have a fabulous ribbon bouquet for my rehearsal. This was the best bridal shower EVER. Not kidding you. And it was for me! How great is that??? Another unforgettable day. Perhaps there will be another of those this week? ;) 

 Bridal shower group

 With my hosts!!

 With my mom and sister

And lastly, I quick glimpse at the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Andrew went over spring break to Breckenridge for a ski trip with his friends. I didn't ask for any details, but I know he had a great time and I have one picture to share.

Andrew and Jonathan getting ready to hit the slopes

I chose a similar location and headed to Denver with my friends the last weekend of April. We had a great time!!

Our group having dinner at Lime

Me with my "Bride" tiara and boa from Lime!

We went to a terrifically fun and hilarious show in downtown Denver where I got another boa and was brought on stage for some fun for the bachelorette.

Here is me with Cassie (that fierce blonde in a black dress) and some of the show performers

What great times surround the wedding. So many memories have been. Now we are just a few days from the main event. I can't wait to write a post as Mrs. Esser to fill you in on how the big day went.

Megan Andrews, signing off....

Bridal Shows: Friend or Foe?

This weekend we went to our second (and final?) bridal show. January is typically the month when most bridal shows take place, and since we got engaged in March we missed them last year. This year we are four months from the wedding and have already secured most of our vendors for the wedding. So going to these two shows was really more for the fun of it (and the potential to win some prizes, though that didn’t happen).

Let me start with some good that came out of going to these shows. We were able to see most of our vendors that we’ve already booked. I really like getting to see all of these people. They are going to play such a big part in making our big day as special as it can be and I really appreciate the relationships we have with each of them. And let me tell you, we have the A Team.

We also did have a few unexpected finds that we may decide to add on, one being a videographer. I had not really considered using a videographer. We hired stellar photographers  (J&C Imaging) and I have so much confidence in their ability to capture our day beautifully that I thought the added cost of a videographer was not necessary. I also decided to have one groomsmen and one bridesmaid use flip video cameras to capture some of the pre-wedding festivities. But, when speaking with a videographer at one of the bridal shows he mentioned a package he has to just cover the ceremony portion of the day for a very reasonable price. And the thought of getting to see a video of those special moments seems pretty wonderful. Now, I need to do some research on the videographer options out there. But just the idea of hiring one for just the ceremony wasn’t something I had considered but really love the idea. Hold on a sec, gotta go add that to my to-do list….

So now let me tell you what drives me nuts about these bridal shows. THE OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNT OF CAKE. Okay, I get it. You want these brides to taste your cake, love it, and hire you to make their wedding cake. But seriously, let’s get real. We’re brides. Want to know what brides do? The one thing that takes the longest to do pre-wedding? We go on a bridal DIET. I have known some seriously skinny brides, and you know what they do? They go on a bridal diet. Do they need to? No. But every bride wants to look her absolute best that day and eating a little healthier helps them feel even more like they do. Cake is good. We already know that. It’s fantastic. But with the number of cake samples a bride is going to try at the bridal show I doubt any single one is going to stick out as “the most amazing tasting cake” she’s ever had. She probably had two other cake samples that she was trying to suck down simultaneously. Because it’s there (everywhere), it’s delicious, we’re sick of this “bridal diet”, we’re hungry, and hey, it’s a special occasion….right?  Why, oh bridal show, do you do this to us vulnerable brides? However, at today’s bridal show I found something that made me smile ear to ear. A cute little gathering of bite size veggies in a shot glass with a small dip of ranch in the bottom. Thank you, Dela Voce. You restored my faith in a wedding food vendor looking out for the bride. Your tiny garden was a delicious, guilt free treat. And cute to boot. Score you.

Stay tuned! The wedding is a few short months away!

Days to wedding: 118