Bridal Shower #1

About two weeks ago, we had our first wedding shower.  My mom hosted the event, with some help from my dad, and it was spectacular!  I don't know that I had a preconceived idea about what it should be like that day, but it was just what I would have planned for myself!  It was held at Old Oak Country Club in Homer Glen, which is very near to where my parents live, and also happens to be where my dad works as a golf ranger during the summer.  My parents let me have a say in the food for the afternoon, not because I am a picky eater, but so that I could have just what I wanted.  The menu included cream of chicken soup (my favorite!) and a salad that was enormous and had fruit, candied nuts, large grilled shrimp, veggies, and much more that I can't even remember.  It was so huge that a common theme was to eat "all the good stuff" and leave the lettuce once we each realized we were barely making a dent into what was on our plates.  For dessert, we had vanilla ice cream with warm blueberries and whipped cream.  Oh, and the beverage of choice was a delicious punch, which if I could, I would have packaged up what was left and brought it home with me!

The room we were in had floor to ceiling windows with a view out on to the course, and thankfully, we had a beautiful day so it was nice and sunny!  The Banquet Manager, Juan, put out purple napkins for each place setting, since we told him that was the theme color.  And then at each seat, my mom had a purple gift bag with a bunch of my favorite candies from when I was a kid, along with a split of champagne for each guest.  There was a balloon attached to each bag to add some festiveness to the room and then there were purple and yellow flowers in the middle of each table.  My parents did an AMAZING JOB! 

When guests started arriving, my dad made sure to get pictures of each guest with me before they even had a chance to put down their purse.  I felt really special to have all of these people come and celebrate this day with me.  I had relatives I do not get to see too often and a friend I haven't seen in years!  And I felt so honored that in addition to all the planning my parents have done for the wedding and all the effort they have been going to, that they would add planning and hosting a wedding shower to their list.  That is the kind of people my parents are though - they go the extra mile and do all they can to make things special. 

After everyone was done eating, we moved on to a game where people had to form as many words out of "Sobczak Minster" as they could, but each word could be no less than 4 letters.  After people had time to think and write and write some more, we found our two winners and awarded the prizes.  We then moved on to Jack and I opening gifts and I was just completely overwhelmed and excited.  I have heard some people say that it is tough to be excited about getting towels, but every time I opened anything I was thrilled!  I thought, "one less thing for us to have to buy!" and I could start to picture setting up house in our new condo.  I was imaging how so many of these things would look and I started to picture us eating dinner using the utensils from the Nayder family, the plates from my Aunt Leah and the knives from my parents. 

We are so very grateful for all the gifts, but more importantly, it was just great to have everyone there that day.  It kind of prepped me for what it would be like at our wedding -- getting used to the idea that as much as you'd like to, you can't spend as long talking to people as you'd like, but realizing that everyone there is just excited to be there and share in the day.  Thank you to all who could attend.  Thank you to Gina & Kristen (two of my bridesmaids) for keeping things straight with all the gifts.  More importantly, thank you again to my parents for going above and beyond to give their little girl a day she will always remember!