Yesterday, we (the bridesmaids) hosted Teresa's Bridal Shower at my house. Her wedding colors are Tiffany Blue and silver, so of course our theme was a "Something Blue" tea-party! We all brought big hats and made it a sort of Kentucky Derby-esque tea party. I just wish we had long white gloves or something too. Anyway, Karisa and Kelly came over around 9 am so we could start making and plating the food. It turns out that Karisa made so many delicious things by hand: chocolate covered strawberries, sugar-candy sprinkled cake-pops, chewy rice-crispies treats, and brownies for the dessert table. She also made apple-tuna salad and egg salad fillings for our sandwiches. Kelly bought all the other supplies (bread which she de-crusted) and cheese and meats. I provided most of the platters and plating, in addition to table cloths and such. We got to work putting the sandwiches and finger food together (veggie plate, lox-and-cream cheese over crackers with capers, sliced fruit) and plated.
We had croissants and cookies and other baked items to add to the mix. We also made a giant batch of lemonade and also tea, with different flavored jams on the side to sweeten the tea to our liking. Cheryl and Mary arrived later and started decorating with balloons, colored lanterns that I bought, and all these adorable table decorations. We had floating candles with vases lined in Tiffany-blue ribbons, blue flower petals, blue floating crystals, streamers, blue napkins with silverware and little fake engagement rings tied on, bags of candy, and little bottles of alcohol wrapped in blue. I had purchased a Tiffany-blue vase and several boquets of flowers, in addition to some pink potted plants. The whole thing came together really nicely and the overall effect was just adorable! We had about three hours to get it done, and we made it exactly at noon, when the first guests started to arrive. It was such a team effort, and we were all pretty beat afterward.
Of course, Barley wanted to help us the whole time (help us clean off the plates, that is). He vaccumed the floor by inhaling any and all real and imaginary crumbs he could find. He lucked out when a croissant fell to the ground. He covered the five feet of distance between him and the croissant in one second and scarfed down that thing in another second. It was amazing (and upsetting) to behold. Anyway, when the guests started filing in, we let them eat and socialize. Then we herded them outside to play some games and enjoy the sun! We started by making bridal gowns from tissue, with Teresa as the judge for best gown, taking into consideration style and also fit and construction. Mary, Cheryle and I won the prize! Ours was definitely the most well-constructed because it was the only one that didn't seem to be falling apart when the models hit the "cat-walk."
The sun was getting hotter, so we all crowded under the shade and sipped our lemonade while Karisa put up a poster board and had us play a wedding version of pictionary. We were divided into three teams and had to send forth an artist to draw whatever phrase or words they pulled out of a bag. We had to guess things like "til death do us part", "flower girl", "father of the bride", and "shotgun wedding". Our team, including Kelly, Mary, Janice, and Annie won. Woohoo! I can't help it. Sometimes I have a bit of a competitive streak. And the prize? The coveted little bottles of alcohol, of course.
Then, as it was getting quite hot, we headed inside for the final game. This time, each guest got to read one question from a list of 40+ questions Karisa had asked my brother to answer. (Things like: What's your favorite color? Purple. What's the bride's best feature? Smile. What's your dream car? Aston Marten Vanquish. When was your first kiss? age 14. What was your favorite meal cooked for you by Teresa? Shrimp and angel hair pasta. Etc.) Anyway, we got through 20 questions, and Teresa got 8 right (they were hard questions.) For each question she got wrong, she had to chew a piece of her favorite gum. By the end, there was huge lump of gum in her mouth and she no longer thought it was her favorite flavor anymore.
After this mild form of torture, we got to what probably was the bride-to-be's favorite part: opening presents! She got some sexy lingerie, pretty picture frames, cute clothes, and spa gift cards among other things. It was really cute to see the thought people put into the gifts.
Well, good job team-bridemaids! I think the whole thing was very successful. It took over a hundred back-and-forth emails, flights into San Jose from Los Angeles for several of you, quite a bit of shopping and prepping, and of course the work we put in on the day off. I'm so glad it worked out and that Teresa had a good time. I'm looking forward to the actual day of the wedding! It's going to be a blast.
To cap off a busy day? We had a family Mother's Day dinner with my grandma and aunt, my uncle and other aunt, my cousin Veronica, Teresa and her mom, my brother, mother, and I. Then we went home to pick up all the extra food left over from the Bridal Shower to bring to Albert's house to celebrate his birthday! The last time I had been there, his backyard was just dirt. This time, he had installed a patio, a fire trough, a mini golf green (only three holes, but still!), and a basketball court (well, half-court). It was amazing, and there were these beautiful plants growing everywhere. Of course, there was some extreme mini-gold trick shotting, knock-out basketball games, beer pong, beer hockey, and birthday drinks all around. It was good seeing everyone again!
Everyone was tuckered out by the end, but it was definitely the end of a long but wonderful day. I wish Mike could have been there! It turns out that when I finally got home from work, he was still up, having worked the whole night. Poor guy. Sigh. Either way, glad the day was a success. Cheers, until next time!