Bachelorette party

Today's post is all about my bachelorette party :) It was SUCH a fun time, and I could really tell that a lot of thought was put into it.

We all met up at my house, and Heather brought a cake she had her boss make-lemon! So delicious :D

We then drove to Traverse City, me driving, still not knowing where I was going! That's how the whole day was: "Go straight, turn right..." The girls made up a CD of mixed songs to listen to that remind them of me :) 

Our first stop was at the Chateau Chantal, where we tasted wine and stomped grapes!!!

Heather and I suck at wine tasting. I know you're supposed to spit it out, but we didn't. 

We were also allowed to pick grapes right off the vine-AMAZING! I wish I could have picked a huge container of them, they were so delicious!

We then made our way to the Old Mission General Store, just for fun :)

Heather said we should have bought Tim an animal pelt..."Nothing says 'I love you' like soft dead animal fur...right?" Um, yeah okay, Heather hahaha!

Then we were off...to a bakery! Of course :)

We had to make a pit stop at Zales so I could pick up our wedding rings :)

And then...we went to the most AMAZING restaurant for dinner!

Besides Tim calling me at the restaurant to let me know that sewage was coming out of a pipe in our basement, it was a really really great day! Don't worry, we called a plumber, and they fixed our pipes. But I sure don't envy Tim who had to clean up the basement. How did I get so lucky? :)

My Bridal Shower

I've finally got a bunch of wedding posts drafted! Woohoo! There's like 20 of them! I'm going to start with my bridal shower :) We didn't take a ton of pictures of all the details that went into the day, which TOTALLY sucks because everything looked SO nice, but I am happy with what was captured :)

No, uh, that's not what it looks like…we're making mints haha! I had seen a recipe for homemade dinner mints on Pinterest (of course, where else would you find a recipe for them haha), so my sister got everything together for them, and we had a mint making party :D Super yummy!

My sister made homemade granola as prizes, and it was AMAZING. So many different types of nuts and goodness-I was lucky enough to be the guest of honor, so I got one even though I didn't win a game :)

We had two different drinks: water with lemons and oranges as well as "ocean punch", which was a super pretty teal color, but alas, no picture :( I think it had blue raspberry kool-aid, pop, and maybe pina colada mix in it? It was super delicious.

My sister also made delicious heart shaped rice krispy treats dipped in chocolate, and I made the cupcakes, which were lemon with lemon frosting. My mom made brownie batter with I think strawberries, graham crackers, and pretzels to dip in it, Heather made 7-layer dip, Jennifer made cucumber, basil, and chive cream cheese tea sandwiches,  and I seriously can't remember what else there was….I really wish I had taken a picture of the food table! And the tables the guests sat at! They had the same flowers we had on the tables at our wedding, a super pretty sunflower and other flower mix (I don't know my flowers)-can't you just imagine it with my amazing describing skills???

I am glad I got a picture of this-everyone got together at my house to make coffee filter flowers, and Jennifer worked on the banner :)

I wrote little notes about each of my "maids", letting everyone know who they are and some reasons why I love them and chose them to be in the wedding :)

I was complimented on how excited I was with each gift I opened. It wasn't fake, I really love opening gifts and was truly grateful for each one :)

Side note: I didn't realize how short my dress was until I sat down to open gifts. I hope I didn't flash anyone haha! I'm much more of a t-shirt and jeans girl, but it was fun to dress up :)

This cupcake holder is AWESOME!!! You actually pull the handle up on the top, and it makes it taller! It can hold 24 cupcakes! It's perfect for all those times I make cupcakes for Tim to take to his coworkers :)

My aunt got us two mugs that say "Begin each day with a grateful heart." I absolutely LOVE THEM!!!

My friend Heather got me a journal to use on our honeymoon to write down everything we did :) I still need to finish up writing in it, but I absolutely loved it because it was such a personal gift. Her and her husband wrote in theirs on their month long trip in Europe, and now they are able to go back and remember things they would have forgotten :)

A bunch of ladies from church got us an awesome pan set! I love them, besides not realizing how easily stained they get...It's so annoying using stainless cookware and having the bottom inside look disgusting! I need to get some good cleaner.

Tim's mom got us two sets of GORGEOUS bakeware/cookware! Glass rolling pin, pie pans, muffin pan, bread pan, serving dishes...etc. So pretty! Now I just need another empty cupboard so I have space for everything :) 

My sister-in-laws

My mom, sister, sister-in-law, and niece (also my flower girl)

My lovely bridesmaids who put on the shower. It was great :)

And this is why they're my bridesmaids-I'm so happy to have found close friends (and a sister I'm lucky enough to have as my best friend) that I can be myself with :)