The Sweetest Shower

Eliza J dress from Nordstrom

 On Saturday, I was honored to attend my very first bridal shower! I've been looking forward to this season of life for so long, and when Kim asked to throw me my first event, I was elated. Kim and her family live in North Georgia, and were my second family during my time up there post-college. Her four children are actually all in the wedding as junior bridesmaids, the ring bearer, and an usher!

Kim and my mom initially discovered each other as bloggers. As I got older, and began blogging, we discovered each other on Facebook, too. It's actually kind of funny...Wendy over at The House of Qs also followed my mom and knew of Kim. We started chatting too, and now talk every day. I was so excited she was able to come to my shower so we could finally meet in person!

When the shower planning began, we tossed around a couple of ideas, but when she suggested hosting the shower at a local candy store, I knew that would be perfect! I have such a sweet tooth, and the whole store is decked out in pink and white which of course I loved. It was especially exciting to discover that as the first bridal shower held at the shop, we would be featured in a regional wedding magazine!

Kim, her girls, and Karen, the owner of Liberty Candy Company in Flowery Branch, truly outdid themselves. Pink and gold balloons adorned each festively decorated table. In addition to an assortment of sweets, we enjoyed Chick-fil-A nuggets {of course!}, delicious sandwiches, fruit, and wine to kick off the evening. 

After eating, guests paired off to play a game about who knew the bride best. Apparently, I don't know myself at all! My friends all identified similar "favorites" of mine, that I hadn't listed as the answers. It was hilarious listening to their answers and seeing the confusion on their faces at what I had answered. The winners were two of my bridesmaids, of course! Next time, I'll have one of my best friends fill out the answers for me! 

The cutest freebie bridal shower game,
found here. 

The big surprise activity of the night was making our own chocolate bars! There were a few differently shaped molds, and we chose from dark, milk, and white chocolates before putting in different nuts and candies. It was so cute! While we took turns being creative in the kitchen, Kim's daughters had a candy ring-toss game set up in the hallway where we had three tries to toss a glow necklace over a pink or clear mason jar filled with pink saltwater taffy. It was so simple, but got really competitive and fun.

It's such an honor to spend time with friends and family members who took time out of their weekends to celebrate my upcoming marriage. Most memorable of all was the sweet toast my mother gave in my honor. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. This is such a special time for the two of us, too, and I'm so glad she could join us for the party.

To finish the evening, I opened all of the beautiful gifts my sweet friends blessed me with. Christopher and I are both so very thankful for all the love and thoughtfulness showered upon us as we start our lives together. It's of course a blast opening the gifts at the shower, but I loved showing off everything to Christopher once it was unloaded when I got home. We've made the decision to wait and save all of our gifts until after we're married and living together, so it will be like a second Christmas in the summer when we get to rediscover all of these sweet gifts again in May! 

The yummiest and prettiest white chocolate
covered Oreo's I've ever had! 

Aren't my twinning junior bridesmaids just
the cutest?!

Favors for the guests featuring pink
candies, and our hashtag:
#marryingmcafee 

All the thanks to Kim and her sweet family for showering me with so much love and fun! If you're interested in learning more about Liberty Candy Company, visit their Facebook page, or order some treats on their website.