My niece Amanda is getting married in 38 days.
Last weekend, I traveled to where all my family lives so we could throw a bridal shower for her at my mom’s house. We set up tables on the patio and in the yard, hung paper lanterns, and set floral centerpieces on the tables.
It was sweetly romantic.
Then nature started to laugh at us.
While the weather at my house has been blistering hot for the past few weeks, it was cooler there.
And stormy.
In fact, about 90 minutes before the shower was to begin, the skies opened up and poured down buckets and sheets of rain while the wind blew everything halfway to kingdom come.
Frantically scrambling to gather everything and shove it under the patio or the pop-up tents we’d set up in the yard, we waited for the storm to pass.
A few members of the family, including my 80+ year old dad, were completely soaked.
When the storm ended, we tossed the tablecloths into the dryer, wiped off chair seats, rearranged the gift table and set everything back to rights.
By the time guests arrived, the sun was nearly peeking out again and no one seemed any the wiser that we’d been showered at the shower.
We played a variety of shower games, like this word scramble that had the attendees intently rushing to figure out the answers in the allotted time. The bride and one of her bridesmaids (top right corner) were accused of cheating, but assured the accuser they were “sharing answers.”
We also played the “make a dress out of toilet paper” game which proved to be highly entertaining. Five groups rushed to create a gown. The maid of honor had quite a nice ensemble when they finished.
Amanda received so many wonderful gifts. The generosity of friends and family was so appreciated.
I had the pleasure of meeting the groom’s lovely mother and sister. Although Amanda threatened bodily harm if I tried to make her a bow and paper plate hat, her future mother-in-law ignored the threats and made one anyway.
We are all quite amused she did.
I was nine when Amanda was born and she became “my baby.” Feisty and spunky right from the start, she was always a handful, but so loveable.
It is with great excitement and joy that I look forward to her wedding. She’s marrying a very nice man. I couldn’t have picked anyone better suited for her.
So stay tuned…
I’m sure I’ll have some photos to share after the wedding!
