The past couple months have been completely amazing! I have enjoyed the immense generosity of so many of our friends and family at not one but four showers! (I know. I know.) It was a little hard to wrap my head around at first but once the ball started rolling, I just went with it and had a great time. It started after New Years when my mom threw me the first shower. I got to see cousins, aunts, neighbors and former teachers. We had sweet treats and finger sandwiches and I got to open the first of our wedding presents! It was definitely a nice mix of the things we registered for and special things that only my mom could think to give me. One of the most unique gifts I got was a beautiful quilt my mom had made for me out of handkerchiefs that belonged to her, my Nana and my great grandmothers. It is gorgeous and if I had the wallspace, I would frame it. But for now, I think we will use it at the wedding for our memory table where we will display framed pictures of our parents’ and grandparents’ weddings.
My super crafty bridesmaids presented me with two ribbon hats fashioned into a unicorn horn and mane. It was magnificent. It was so much fun getting home and going through the gifts a second time with Andrew and being grateful for all these people we have in our lives.
A few weeks later, I was lucky enough to have my second shower hosted by my mother in law. She invited my maids and her family and friends. It was a unicorn bonanza. The icing on the cake was in fact the cake: the sprinkled fondant unicorn cake. I have never seen something so amazing in my life. It tasted as it should: of rainbows and sparkles and joy. I spent the afternoon opening another round of gifts and feeling so humbled by the generosity of everyone there with me. We also played pin the horn on the unicorn so I was a happy, happy girl. Since Andrew was away that weekend for his bachelor party touring breweries in Delaware and Dewey Beach, I had to wait until Sunday afternoon when he returned to go through the gifts again and share with him all the great things we received.
The first weekend of March was a lovely affair at my matron of honor’s new home that she and her husband purchased shortly before their own wedding last June. This time, Andrew came with me and we got to enjoy the day together with friends and co-workers drinking Cupcake Prosecco and dining on quiche prepared for us by my MOH’s mother. I tested out my new dress from BHLDN.com that I spent months stalking until it went on sale and I pounced on it. My MOH did a beautiful job of making my day special and hostessing!
The following Monday we had our snowstorm and my work, like most of everyone elses, was closed. My delightful work friends had planned a soiree that day but rescheduled it to Wednesday. I think it is safe to say that everyone knows me pretty well and themed the party in unicorns and rainbows. I even received a specially designed unicorn headband complete with long, lustrous locks of curled iridescent ribbon. It was a sight to behold for sure.
Andrew and I are so amazed by everyone’s generosity in the months that have led up to our wedding. It has been thrilling to see all of our friends, family and co-workers attend our parties and to celebrate with them. We are now down to just a few weeks before our wedding and things are starting to pile up but steadily getting done one by one. We have kept a running “To Do” list and worked on it a little bit each day when we have time to sit down and tackle it. We just completed the seating chart, wrapped our groomsmen and bridesmaid’s gifts, and made the final fitting appointments for our wedding day attire!
My bachelorette party is this weekend and I am so excited to see my girlfriends and have another amazing night. Originally, I had planned to do a weekend out of town and maybe hit Ocean City and really live it up, but after four showers I had to get realistic. My girls aren’t made of time and money and neither am I! I am still in grad school working on my masters in library science through a distance learning program with North Carolina Central University and unfortunately weekly reading assignments and papers don’t go on hold just because you’re getting married. Before we leave and after we return from our honeymoon, I will have a research group paper due. I think my head might explode… If there are any other brides out there trying to go to school and get a degree, I know what you are going through. It’s a lot of work and an amazing amount of time management which truthfully is not my strong suit. Make lists. Lots of them. And check things off every day! It’s the only way to keep your sanity and get through everything you need to do and still manage to enjoy yourself. It also helps when you have a super supportive partner who takes the dogs to another room while you scowl in frustration at your computer screen.
Now that we are basically down to the wire, I am thinking about a million things and trying not to stress over any of them. I made peace with not losing the 20lbs I dreamed of losing before the wedding because I picked a dress that looked amazing at exactly the weight I was the day I tried it on. I know it is going to be the day of our dreams and when it all comes together no matter what- the football player and the librarian. – Courtney Rollins
