Jen's PB Bridal Shower

Any day spent with you is my favorite day.

So, today is my new favorite day.

//A.A. Milne

Where has the time gone? I can't believe it is already October and that I have not posted since August! I apologize to anyone who has been reading along, and really hope I can get back to normally posting within the next few weeks. One of the major factors impacting the lack of blogging is that our hard drive reached capacity, so all of the photos on my desktop are kind of "stuck" there for now until we get an external hard drive. There isn't even enough memory to edit them! So I am kind of going a bit out of order here as some other events happened prior to this, but I had these photos from my cousins bridal shower on my laptop so I figured I would just post them now and then fill in the gaps later on. My cousin Jen's wedding is rapidly approaching in just a few weeks, so now is the perfect time to look back on her bridal shower that her Mom and Sister hosted back in August. I arrived down at the PB shore Friday night in order to help out and get things ready for the big day on Saturday. We couldn't help but take a break to enjoy the sunset and a beverage by the fire, though!

Can't believe she will be married soon!

We all woke up early Saturday and it was work work work to get ready for guests to arrive that afternoon. Jen had about 40 women coming from near and far, so there was a lot of planning that went into it and her Mom did a wonderful job, as always! The house looked gorgeous and we all pitched in to put up the decorations. 

How amazing are these little favors Jen's Mom (my Aunt Joanne/Godmother) made!? She is an avid sea glass collector and has THOUSANDS of pieces, so she made these adorable tea light candles in mini mason jars with sand  sea glass pieces. They were so cute and a great little favor to give to each lady attending the shower. 

I picked orange, as always!

We had lots of bridal decor that had to be hung, so we went to town decorating room by room. 

As the day went on, Jen's gift pile started to grow and grow. She is very loved!

I was playing around with Jens hair in the morning, and kind of turned her into Princess Leia. But, I like to practice braiding so it was worth it- if only i could do it on myself! Have not mastered that yet.

Barbie was up all the way from Florida, and was a big help that morning with decorating and setting up.

Isn't their house beautiful!? It's an oceanside paradise.

We of course had to add in pops of the ocean, with shells and sea glass adorning the tables.

Just a TINY sampling of some of Joannes sea glass collection. 

The outdoors started getting a bridal makeover as well!

I spy one adorable Scottish Terrier "guard dog" with a pretty purple bow.

Toe-toe was getting into party mode as well, just soaking up the sun and watching us work. Don't worry Toey, we've got it.

Hydrangeas were out in full bloom, and they are a favorite of my Aunt Joanne, as well as the rest of us PB ladies. The colors were gorgeous and actually matched Jen's purple wedding theme perfectly.

Motel 206 (our nickname for the house since we were kids) looks a lot differently now than it did a year ago, after a full tear down and rebuild. It's such a gorgeous home!

PB love for life!

Hence the 206 in "Motel 206".

Jen was really excited for everyone to arrive and to have the women in Doug's family be able to finally meet her extended family. Weddings are all about the blending of families, and I know her and Doug are really excited for that part of it. Jen's Dad took Doug and a few of the other husbands out onto the boat for the day to get them way from the MASS amounts of estrogen that would soon be descending upon the house. 

Jen and her Mom had made and sent a really pretty invitation, so I though it would be a good idea to take one outside and photograph it in the hydrangea bushes. I love photographing all of the details at weddings, so this is always my forte. 

Paper lanterns were hung all around the front of the house and underneath the deck.

The bride-to-be looking on at everything coming together!

Even the statues were decorated!

Toe-toe doing what he does best! (Looking like a gremlin!)

Like me, Pleasure Beach means so much to Jen, so there was no better place on earth for her to celebrate her wedding shower. We have grown up here and it's our favorite place in the world. The weather was holding off despite a rocky forecast, and it was shaping up to be a beautiful day.

As it got closer to the guests arriving, it was time for Jen to start getting ready. She wore a really pretty white eyelet sun dress with a pretty pink belt. 

Her bride and groom tumblers were a gift from a friend and what better a day to break out her bride cup for it's first usage.

Here is a painting of the old house! I still miss it, but the new house has definitely kept some of the feel of the old house and we know we will always have the memories no matter what changes the house goes through. 

Jen also had a pretty journal ready to be able to write down the list of who got her each gift. It is definitely important to keep track so that you can properly thank everyone. 

I also got the chance to steal Jen's engagement ring off her finger for a bit in order to get a couple photos. It is a stunning antique ring that was passed down from her Great Aunt. I know it is so special to her to have a family heirloom piece as her engagement ring.

Its so beautiful! Doug did good ;-)

Couldn't decide if I liked the pictures in color or black and white, so you get a bit of both!

Ready for guests to arrive and get their food on.

More hydrangea love!

I had the pleasure of making two big batches of a delicious white sangria for everyone to drink. It came out pretty yummy for just winging' it with the recipe. I usually make a red sangria so I kind of just adapted it into a white sangria, and it worked!

The outside of the house was decorated just as much as the inside.

The front deck and patio were all looking spiffy and bridal showery.

Like I said, Jen got a beautiful day for the shower! We were really happy that the weather man totally lied. The forecast was for rain and thunderstorms, but it somehow stayed like this all day long. 

Some of Jen's other bridesmaids had arrived and we were all getting excited for the day. Some pre-party candids were in order.

Girls peaking at the cake!!

One of the neighbors friends, Shirley, who has also become close with Jen came over to do her hair for the party since she is a professional hairstylist. 

A happy bride-to-be!

Shirley did a really nice braided up-do which was definitely an upgrade from the Princess Leia look I had done earlier that morning. It took her no time at all too, she is a pro!

The cake was revealed! A red velvet mocha cake from one of the best bake shops in the area. It was really pretty and SUPER delicious.

Snack time! Everything was ready at it was officially time to start the party. Appetizers and drinks were set out and it was time to divulge and stuff our faces with good food. 

The present pile- still growing!!

Before Jen started to open her gifts, we decided to take the bridesmaids out onto the dock and get some photos! We were all looking fancy and took turns sharing the spotlight with Jen. There are 6 bridesmaids in all but unfortunately we were missing Deanna that day as she was on vacation in Maryland. 

Jen's sister Lindsey, the maid of honor, and one of the hostesses of the bridal shower. Thanks for all of your hard work Linds, everything came out perfectly! 

My brothers girlfriend Lindsay has used my camera before so she was able to get some group shots of all of us girls. Jen has a great group of girlfriends and we all could not be happier to stand by her on her big day!

The bride and her MOH sister, ready to open all of the gifts!

Lea and Lindsay!

Barbie, and Jens Aunt Amy.

Lindsay and my Mom.

All the ladies gathered around in the shade to watch Jen open all of her presents.

Jen got so many nice gifts and it was really clear she appreciated and loved all of them. Her flower girl Carlie was a great helper and not only helped Jen unwrap her gifts and recycle the paper, she also got me all of ribbons and bows to make Jen's rehearsal bouquet.

Barbie was writing things down during the presents, but no one really knew exactly what she was doing at the time.... 

Linds doing her MOH duties and carefully writing down each of the gifts and who they were from. We all played some games during the gift opening too, like bridal shower BINGO and Trivia about Jen and Doug as a couple.

CAUGHT! Toe-toe was making a move towards the food plates.

There I am hard at work making the ribbon bouquet. Thanks to Lea for taking over with the camera for a bit and taking a bunch of these gift opening pictures while I had my hands full tying knots. 

Carlie being a great helper. She can't wait to be a flower girl!

Bingo and bouquets!

Jen got a big surprise from Doug's Mom- the coveted and highly SECRET pumpkin bread recipe! I know it made her really happy to know she was trusted with it, and that she is truly part of their family now.

Lea captured this lovelllyyyy face of mine. Maybe I saw someone steal a ribbon or something. 

The ribbon bouquet started to really take shape, and will be perfect for the rehearsal when Jen practices walking down the aisle before her wedding. 

SO many gifts! I think Jen was opening presents for about an hour and a half!

All done!

Glad to have been able to help and make the ribbon bouquet for my BFF!

We finally found out what Barbie was writing all that time. During the whole time of opening presents she was writing down quotes and commentary from the crowd, and then read it all back to us in one big paragraph. It was really funny surprise and a nice memento for Jen to have. I had never seen that done before- it's a really good idea!

My Aunt Izzy with Irene.

Some of Doug's family! His Mom is one of 16, so there are tons of Aunts and cousins! So nice to get to meet some of them at the shower.

Jen's aunt and cousin.

Doug's Mom and Shirley.

The neighbors, Pam and Stacey.

Jen's Mom and Aunt! 

Many of my favorite ladies all in one place!

There are THREE Lindsay C's!! They had to get a photo together.

After presents the sun had set and we went back out on to the dock to take a few more photos in the nice light. Check out the beautiful bride! Less than two weeks to go until she officially becomes a Mrs.!

The bridal party! Can't wait to celebrate Jen with all of them next week.

Kenzie! Party girl, looking for food scraps no doubt.

Some of the ladies from Doug's family hanging out on the sea wall.

An A+ day for sure!

Jen's cousin Caroline wasn't able to make the shower because it was the same day as her 30th birthday! But, she made sure to paddle over across the cove on her paddle board for a quick visit with her boyfriend. 

Thanks to Jen we had some fancy bridal party flair to don for the day!

Each of us gals in the bridal party used a chalk board to write how we met Jen. We have a special project in the works to go along with the photos, but that is all I can say for now!

Surprise! We even got Deanna in there! We were able to take her picture a couple weeks later at the bachelorette party.

Doug came back from his day on the boat with the guys, so I was able to snag a quick picture of him with Jen and his Mom.

Jens cousin Chris and his wife Felicia are newlyweds as well. They just got married a couple months ago at a winery in NH! Congrats guys!

Cake cutting time!

Hopefully Doug is just as nice at the wedding and doesn't smash it into Jen's face.

Linds and Caitlin had a nice cake feeding as well!

My Mom and her favorite- my best friend Lea!

The males began to slowly reappear, and the party continued on into the evening as more of a coed affair. 

Some puffy clouds rolled in and made for a nice sunset and the end to a wonderful day for Jen!

I know Jen had a wonderful day and was so happy to have all of her closets female friends and family by her side to celebrate her becoming a wife. She has a great support system and a lot of strong women to guide her through this next chapter in her life with Douglas! Can't wait to celebrate on the big night in just a couple weeks.