Showers of Love! ~Friends~

It's time to give more Thanks!

There are so many ladies who had a part in my lovely day, but these 4, they took the cake!  Actually... I believe they bought the cake!  But either way, I'm very lucky to have them around me.

This picture is a preview of my Bridal party, and makes me smile every time I look at it just thinking about how much fun they made this day.  There were also incredibly generous gifts that I received from them, and will help the memories of this day last years and years to come.

Everyone hopes that as life goes on they don't lose touch with friends and connections don't fade away.  I have known these ladies for a combined 36 years... I think we're good :)

I'm also lucky to have so many people from different times in my life supporting me, and loving me, and celebrating with me.  My friend Liz definitely stands out for me in the photo below, as she traveled a whopping 2,045 miles to celebrate with me!  How did I get so lucky?

All of the ladies in this photo have played a special role in my life these past few years, and I am truly blessed to have them all to help guide my path as Mr. Man and I figure out this thing called "marriage."

And that brings me to the role models.  Each of the women in this photo have taught me something about life and love.  They are part of my Cape Cod family, and it's truly incredible to me that they take the time out of their busy lives to think of me and be a part of my day.

And just because it has to be said... one of these ladies is directly responsible for our little venue-switcheroo that we pulled just 5 months before the wedding!!  And so to her I say.... "Thank You!"

And there you have it, the part of the party that falls into the "family you get to choose" category.  And boy oh boy did I chose well!!

Showers of Love! ~Family~

Thank you Thank you Thank you!

Thank you to all who made my Bridal Shower possible!  It was an amazing day full of loving gifts and lots of laughter.

There is too much to be thankful for in one post... so I'll spread it out... this first one:

Family

So many times in my life I have taken for granted the amazing family that I have.  Every one of them traveled hundreds of miles to share in this day of celebration with me, and I couldn't be more grateful.  There was nothing taken for granted this weekend, that's for sure!

These amazing ladies took a train from Manhattan to be here with my mom and me, and they enjoyed every minute of the corsage pinning, veil wearing, gift opening, lingerie sharing, favor opening extravaganza!

This is the Curly haired side of the family... My Dad's family, whom I couldn't possibly say enough wonderful things about.  They will be making the 300 mile journey from NYC 3 times in the next 2 months to celebrate various Family occasions with us MA dwellers.

How lucky am I?

And the young-in in the photo above?  Yup, that's my flower-girl!!  Whom my friends, even 3 days after party, are still commenting to me how amazing she is.  Best comment: "She could totally be a 25 year old, and if she was, I would totally hang out with her!"

Oh, and you see my cousin with me in this photo below?  She's an artist!  Hang on, let me re-phrase that... She's an AMAZING Artist!  She took a 4x6 favorite photo of Mr. Man and Me from 2004 and turned it into a magical oil painting.  Yes, she painted that!  Complete with my summer highlights and wispy hair.

Incredible!!

And again, how lucky am I, that my cousin would spend Months working on something this special for me?

And of course the new family.  3 Generations of Mr. Mans, and me, their new DIL & GDIL.  These men came all the way to the shower, to spend 4 hours sitting in the next room over, just to be close by to the festivities and in case Mrs. Nana needed anything during the party.

Now that's Love & Dedication!

So there you have it, the first installment of my undying gratitude for the family members that made my Bridal Shower what it was...

AMAZING!!!