Showering My Salsa

My sister is my salsa, and she is getting married! That's right: the same girl who played with Hot Wheels, chopped off Barbie hair, handcuffed me to the playroom chairs, won science fairs, and asked for sports equipment for every holiday is getting married. Wonders never cease :-) j/k salsa.

I am the matron of honor and though I don't like that term, I was happy to be able to work with Julia's maid of honor, Laura, to plan two super fun showers in Dallas this past weekend. The first shower was a luncheon for all of Julia's high school friends and their moms. All of our family also attended including aunts, grandmother, and cousin.

Then, later that day, we headed out to Grapevine to the Gaylord Texan to throw Julia a bachelorette party with all of her Texas bridesmaids and college friends. It was a whirlwind weekend, but Julia woke up on Sunday morning and told me, "That was so much fun" which made all the planning worth it.

I knew February was going to get busy, so I started working on the details of the parties back at Christmastime when I had a break. I'm glad I did! It all came together beautifully, and I had a blast with my mom and family doing last minute preparations. Julia, you're a wonderful sister and a wonderful friend, and you will make a beautiful bride in less than a month! Here are the pictures of both of last weekend's events.

(Warning: Picture overload! But isn't that why you look at blogs, anyway??)

I got into Dallas early and spent the night decorating with my mom, Grammy, and Aunt Robyn. We had the best time. Here is mom & I hanging the banner I posted about here.

Here I am cutting ribbon for a vase. My Aunt Robyn said I looked like I was sixteen, so I figure that's reason enough to post this one. :-)

Next we worked on making Martha Stewart tissue paper pom-poms for decorations. I've seen these pom-poms at every single baby shower ever blogged about, so I decided to snag them for our shower too. They were super easy to put together. Grammy was the pom-pom fluffer on the assembly line.

Here are the finished products!

They looked super cute on the mantle, in doorways, and hanging from light fixtures.

While we were decorating, here's what Grampy was doing. He was in his own little happy place with the women fussing over everything all around him!

Loved the flowers my dad picked out from Central Market! Nice job!

As guests left the shower, they got a little party favor in the entryway. We set up a candy bar using the shower's colors - orange, green, & purple.

They scooped their candy selections into a mini-paper bag.

And sealed it with these cute stickers I made.

Julia & I with our cousin Melissa

Set-up at the lunch buffet - wrapped silverware & Julia's wedding invitation

Dining room with pom-poms and cupcake stand

The gift table and blessing branch

Close up of the sweet blessings guests wrote

The bride getting her lunch

Melissa & I were the third wheels - we didn't fit with the moms or Julia's friends. So we had our own little corner. Some of Julia's friends at the shower

We were only staying one night at the Gaylord... but you wouldn't know by looking at us :-)

Here is Laura crowning Julia with her royal, plastic, blinking light bachelorette crown.

Sassy bride comes out to play

We went to a wine tasting at a vineyard in Grapevine... so fun!

The wine was just OK. They make it by the highway... haha. But we'll take what we can get for $10.

Cheers to the bride

Here's the bachelorette crowd on the way to dinner outside the fake Alamo backdrop at the Gaylord. Whatever works.

And that's where we stopped taking pictures... sorry! After wine, champagne, and dinner, I played the "matron" card and retired to the suite early. Juila & friends, on the other hand, went out to a club and danced the night away. Oh to be young...

All in all, it was an amazing weekend, and my sister deserves all the attention, gifts, and fun she had. Love you Julia!