Ms. Clean

The countdown to the wedding for most brides includes a shower and/or bachelorette party. Well this bride was lucky enough to have three. Busy summer schedules and lots of family members wanting to be a part of my "special day" resulted in three separate celebrations on three separate days in three separate locations.

We started in Boston with the official shower and bachelorette party, or Bridal Extravaganza as the invitation stated. We had brunch on the roof deck of Daedalus, a restaurant I'd been dying to go to since I spied its gorgeous flowers tumbling from the boxes on the second story deck. Lynn, my mom, and Erin did a fabulous job of organizing and decorating. The food was delicious and the games were a hoot! Just look at these adorable favors:
We continued on to a few bars during the afternoon, where I was forced to wear the requisite veil and "Bride-to-Be" sash. It was such a fun day and perfect for me as it was all during the day and I was able to be home before 6 pm! We traveled to New York that evening for another shower the next day, which was hosted by my Dad and Nancy and catered by Aunt Sue and Uncle George. It was quite the day as I ate till I was going to burst and was made to feel like a special princess thanks to the the wonderful hosts and hostesses. We played games in the pool and laughed until it hurt. A perfect day and a fabulous celebration! Oh, and the pickles weren't bad either:By the second shower, I was starting to feel pretty clean, so it was a good thing we had a hiatus between Shower #2 and Shower #3. Monday, Mom, Erin, and I traveled to Lake Champlain and stopped at Saratoga Race Track on the way. There we ate chowder, drank stinky spring water, and I won $6. We got to Willsboro just in time to jump in the lake before the rain and with plenty of time to rest up before Shower #3.

The spread at Shower #3 was pretty intense... it ranged from a healthy fruit salad and Japanese rice snacks to decadent brownies and, of course, chips and salsa. Lots of aunts and uncles came to wish me well and it was so nice to have everyone together. We played some more of the great games my mom planned and celebrated under a ceiling of crepe paper and balloons. I was definitely feeling squeaky clean after all of my wonderful showers. But the glow I felt wasn't just due to my cleanliness, but also due to the intense sense of gratitude and thankfulness I felt from being surrounded by such loving and fabulous friends and family. Three showers in four days seemed like a lot, and it was.... a lot of love and affection from the best family and friends a girl could ask for!