Party Party Party!!

A wedding is really just a great excuse to visit and party with all the people you love. There is not just the wedding but the engagement party, bridal showers, and bachelor/bachelorette parties. All of which are great reasons to gather everyone you love and have some booze and fun! So with only a week left before our big day I wanted to recap on all the fun with friends and family we have had along the way...

Back in June I was the luckiest bride to have the most beautiful bridal shower ever! Ryan's step-aunt Linda was kind enough to host it at her gorgeous house. What a nice treat it was for everyone to see the famous "log cabin house" of Northville. I owe such a BIG thanks to Linda, Lauren, Aunt Sue and my mom Joyce for planning my fabulous shower!! The food was amazing, the drinks were delicious but the company was the best part. There is nothing like seeing all your favorite ladies in one room.

 

The BEAUTIFUL tablescape!!

 

Page cousins!! Katie (my bridesmaid) and Kristen (who is taller then me!!)

 

The Schlaff ladies : )

 

My Other Moms! Big BIG thanks to Karen for taking all
these great photos!!

Jessica (my maid of honor) and Linda

The Page ladies!

 

The woman of the day Miss Cassidy and her Mom, my amazing cousin Carrie.
That morning Cassidy asked her mom if she needs to bring soap to the shower!!
Gotta love it....

 

MOB and MOG

Lauren and Trisha, yay I have a sister in law!

Aunt Anita and Linda!

 

The best surprise was Adrienne showing up!! She came in
from New York. Love love love having her home!

 

My bridesmaids!! All so tall...

 

I had a little surprise up my sleeve too. I had a gift for my maid of honor Jessica and really wanted to give it to her in person. What a perfect time. I had a friend draw a rendering of her wedding dress so that she can always look at it. A girl's wedding dress is so special, why not look at it all the time!

 

Needless to say, she LOVED it!

And she deserved it too!

 

Best friends since 3 years old...

 





And now for the gifts!! Please do not get me wrong when I say this, but opening up a ton of gifts while everyone stares at you is very very awkward...even when it's all people you love and adore looking at you. But it was fun all the same! I had the best little helper passing me gifts. And I got so many wonderful gifts too. Thank you everyone for all your gave and for spending your Saturday afternoon with me!

The BEST gift helper there is!! Thanks Cass!!

Steal the show baby girl : )

One of my favorite and most sentimental gifts was the
cookie jar my Mom gave me. It's the same one she had
growing up. My Aunt gave her one this year and now I
have one too. The thought of my kids growing up with
the same cookie jar my Mom did makes my heart melt!







Another favorite gift is the recipe book from my Mom and
Lauren. Now I can make all our favorite foods!!!

Game time!!

So apparently I am the only bride who doesn't know the
bow game. Something about having a kid for every bow
you break. I will not share how many I broke but I will say
I did NOT like the outcome of this game : )

Look who showed up!!

The Fam...love! I also love how the bear head on the wall makes my brother
look like he has devil ears...

 

Again, thank you so much everyone for the greatest bridal shower I will ever have!! Everyone who knows me knows that I am a sentimental person. These are not just bridal gifts to me. I think about all the cookies I will make for my family with my new mixer, all the memories (or lack there of) I will have while using my wine glass, and so much more. It really does mean a lot to me. I've always made fun of my Mom for having items still from her bridal shower. But now having gone through it, I hope I do too in 30 plus years.

 

 

 

 

More recently I enjoyed an entirely different kind of party....it was time for a bachelorette weekend!! Jessica and all the girls planned the absolute BEST day!! My bridesmaid Amanda came in earlier that week and stayed at my place. Then on Friday my cousin/bridesmaid Katie and her friend came in town too.

 

Amanda and I working hard from home together : )



 

We started Saturday with brunch at one of my favorite places, Nookies followed by an afternoon at North Avenue beach. The water was perfect, it was so fun and relaxing! Nothing is better then just chilling out with the girls. But the weather decided to change and we had to leave the beach a little early. We headed back to Darcy's (bridesmaid) condo to relax some more and get ready for the evening festivities.

Brunch with all the ladies!

 

At the beach

 









The rest of the girls came over for dinner, another favorite of mine Pequods Pizza. And then it was time for games and gifts. Apparently I have a hidden talent I didn't know about. I was really good at guessing the pair of underwear each person got for me. Not sure that skill will come in handy after that weekend. Anyway I got some really cute things and some, well let's just say cute isn't the right word things. Another game we played was asking me questions Ryan had already answered. I had to guess what his answer would be. For the most part we rocked it. We know each other pretty darn well that Bennett guy and I  : )

 

Darcy's door- oh boy here we go!

 

 

Jealous Ryan???

 

 

Kudos to Todd for helping set everything up and sticking
around longer then anticipated. Had to get a pic in with him.

 

Opening gifts...notice the blushing...and drinking....

 

Drinking with my cousin Katie for the first time! Woo!

 

Next it was off to the bars!! We had an awesome party bus take us around the city. The first stop before the bar was an amazing spot by the museum campus. It has an incredible view of the city and was perfect for taking a picture with all the girls. Thanks to Lisa Meyer for the idea to go! Afterwards we went to a karaoke bar for some shots and sing alongs. We sang one of my favs "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay". But the highlight was definitely our rendition of "I've Blessed the Rains Down in Africa". It was super random but super amazing. After that we headed to....well I don't quite remember! All I know is I had so much fun!! Nothing compares to a day with all your best girlfriends. Thank you to my friends for the best day. Thank you to Jessica and all the bridesmaids for planning the best day. It was exactly what I needed...

Cheers!



Love this girl! Thanks for everything Jecca!!

Terrible picture but amazing friends

Erin and Kristy should really get their own sitcom. The way they play off
each other is hilarious. Anyone who meets them instantly loves them,
especially me : )

On the bus with Darcy, Kristy, Sarah and Jenny!

Singing "I blessed the rains down in africa" and doing a damn fine job at that!



 

I must be saying something REALLY interesting...or complete non-sense

Oh my gosh...love these girls!!!

Singing "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay"

no words....although this is pretty normal for us when we are together. 

 

 





Forgive me for not having more pictures. But what happens in Chicago stays in Chicago...

 

Like I said, weddings are a great excuse to get together with wonderful people and celebrate. In my honest opinion we need to do this more often. Not the gift part and all the planning but just find more excused to hang out and have fun. This my friends is what life is all about...next time though, I hope I remember more....